Inside the seedy world of metaverse DRUGS where dealers peddle virtual ‘crypto highs’

THE metaverse is not just for virtual hangouts – apparently, you can go there to sharpen your drug-selling skills, too.

As tech giants develop their metaverses, smaller entities have also jumped on the opportunity to build their own.

GettyThe VR game DopeWarz lets users enter the metaverse and assume the role of a drug dealer[/caption]

One such company is DopeWarz, which lets users enter the metaverse and assume the role of a drug dealer.

Inspired by the 1984 computer game DrugWarz, this metaverse utilizes blockchain technology to imitate dealing drugs in the real world.

The virtual reality platform even created its own fixed-supply crypto token $DRUG, which is capped at 1 billion.

DopeWarz says $DRUG is “essential to have an inflationary token to enable constant growth and rewards at a healthy rate”.

Using the crypto, players have the ability to make trades and travel to other ‘Cityz’ for the chance to earn real-world tradeable assets.

These assets can then be used in DopeWarz’s black market as NFTs on the Binance Smart Chain, per Yahoo Finance.

While DopeWarz might seem seedy to some, the concept of drugs in the metaverse is only growing in popularity.

Late last year, Higher Life CBD launched a real CBD dispensary on Cryptovoxels, a virtual world created on the Ethereum blockchain.

Since then the weed company has not only offered customers a gamified shopping experience but has partnered with weed seller Saucey Farms and Extracts to actually deliver CBD to its customers, Forbes reported.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many companies to think about safe alternatives when it comes to communicating with employees and customers. For some, that means looking beyond the physical world and thinking outside of the box,” explained Higher Life CEO Brandon Howard.

Furthermore, digital platforms like AltspaceVR host rooms modeled after the popular Burning Man festival.

In these spaces, avatars can often be seen celebrating “420” – a term used to refer to marijuana or to the act of smoking marijuana.

Similarly, the virtual world of Second Life features a number of rooms featuring drugs, some designed to mimic hippie communes.

Meanwhile, in January, Miami-based psychedelics startup Ei.Ventures announced that it would begin conducting psychedelic therapy sessions in the metaverse.

Dubbed PSLY.COM, the company is hoping to provide clinical support to patients via the popular VR platform The Sandbox.

“PSLY.COM going to be a utopian space in the metaverse, it will be empowering to people in the most-high regard way,” David Nikzad, CEO of Ei.Ventures, told Forbes in an email.

The virtual space will utilize a combination of “tech, cannabis, psychedelics, outer space, and crypto-related holdings,” according to Nikzad.

“This will be a new way to interact with your friends in general, and provide psychedelic therapy in particular.”