websites that appear after a simple Google search and even on social media networks.
One of Facebook’s latest features, the marketplace, has been linked to several cases of people trying to sell drugs, among other illicit things. And numerous drug dealers have used Twitter to announce their products and/or services in 140 characters or less.
Darknet attracts global drug users
The GDS stated in its latest report that “globally, almost in 1 in 10 participants reported ever buying drugs off the darknet with those reporting last year darknet purchase rising from 4.5 percent to 6.7 percent.”
Compared to previous years, the highest rates of darknet drug purchases were seen in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland. But increased rates were also seen in Canada, between 2015 and 2016.
The record sample number of darknet drug buyers obtained by the report was 8,058, which included people purchasing drugs for themselves and people who had someone else purchase on their behalf.
The report also pointed out that people who are using the internet to buy drugs claim that they do so because there are advantages in such virtual interactions – less risk to one’s personal safety, decreased fear of physical violence, and decreased the risk of being detained by law enforcement authorities.
Some users also claimed to see benefits related to the drug products themselves, which were reported to be generally of better quality and more readily available. But a recent study reinforced that perhaps the biggest selling point for illicit online drug markets is the reduced violence.
Too dark
Digital drug markets are seemingly alluring to people who had never been exposed to drugs before – 5 percent of GDS respondents claimed that they did not consume drugs prior to accessing them through darknet markets.
The most popular drugs among those darknet shoppers during the last year were: MDMA, cannabis, new substances such as 2C-B or DMT, and LSD. The problem is that users often cannot figure out what was actually delivered to them, and what was supposed to be used recreationally turns out to be deadly.
“There’s no pharmaceutical grade quality control,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Brian Besser. “So, it’s like a batch of cookies. When you’re mixing a batch of chocolate chip cookies in your kitchen, you pour a bunch of chocolate chips into the batter and you mix it around. When you pull it out of the oven, one cookie may have one chocolate chip, another one may have 15. You can’t control that, and that’s the problem here with these drugs.”
According to Besser, lack of knowledge about toxic substances kills, and accessibility is also a major problem that has been hurting the youth.
“The internet is accessible to anyone,” Besser said. “No one is immune to it, but right now I know that the DEA is working tenaciously to try to reason with the Chinese government, for instance, on the regulation aspect of the majority of these drugs that are coming from overseas.”
How can law enforcement combat the virtual drug trade?
Besser explained that while a lot still needs to be done, an important step is dealing with China, which is one of the biggest drug sources.
“Right now, I don’t want to say that’s the forefront of the matter,” he said. “But at least one of the major fronts is dealing with China because a lot of these bulk drugs are coming from China into the U.S.”
One of the biggest challenges for the government is… (continue reading)
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
