Drug safety YouTubers face a quiet crisis at the mercy of algorithms

The eight-minute video, titled How to

a

LSD, runs through a step-by-step guide of how to take the psychedelic commonly known as acid. Before launching into the video, which has 4.5 million views, Adam says: “This video is for harm reduction purposes. I do not promote the use of illegal or dangerous substances.”

At over 860,000 subscribers and 70,000,000 views, PsychedSubstance is the largest of a clutch of YouTube channels dedicated to making videos about drug education, also known as "harm reduction”. In the absence of government-sanctioned, evidence-based drug education, YouTube has become one of the most accessible places to turn to for information about minimising the negative and potentially fatal, effects of illicit substances.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/youtube-drug-safety-harm-reduction-videos