Thread by @NBCNews

At 1 p.m. on a Wednesday in February, a DJ in front of pink flashing lights played a trance song for a crowd of 90 people. The performance wasn’t at a warehouse rave.

It was in a Zoom room organized around meth use.

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While Zoom became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic, the platform was familiar to many meth users for years before.

“There is no meth without Zoom, and there is no Zoom without meth,” Paul, who said he’s been addicted to meth for about eight years, told @NBCNews.

Paul is part of a sprawling online community of meth users hidden in plain sight on nearly every major social platform, from Facebook to Zoom to Reddit to Twitter. “That is where I found a forum, like a tribe, where I could be my authentic self with no fear of judgment,” he said.

Some Zoom rooms are popular for their around-the-clock parties. With a mixed bag of policies pertaining to drug content that varies by platform, meth users have found places to congregate, sell drugs and encourage other people to use meth.

Reddit is home to a variety of meth-based communities. Groups openly host content that glorifies meth use. In r/meth, users post photos and videos of themselves using meth, seek advice on topics like cleaning up spilled drugs, and post personal ads looking for other users.

Frequent meth use increased by 66% between 2015 and 2019, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Despite prosecutors and law enforcement cracking down on users and sellers, meth-focused online behavior is openly thriving.

.@NBCNews interviewed 10 current and former meth users who described how modern-day social media platforms and communication tools like Zoom have fundamentally changed the experience of people using — and trying to get sober from — methamphetamine. nbcnews.to/35ISFB2

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's national helpline at 1-800-662-4357; the National Drug Helpline at 1-844-289-0879; or the American Addiction Centers' hotline at 866-464-3073