How accurate are drug cryptomarket listings by content, weight, purity and repeat purchase?

Abstract

Purpose Drug cryptomarkets increase information available to market actors, which should reduce information asymmetry and increase market efficiency. This study aims to determine whether cryptomarket listings accurately represent the advertised substance, weight or number and purity, and whether there are differences in products purchased from the same listing multiple times. Design/methodology/approach Law enforcement drug purchases – predominantly cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and heroin – from Australian cryptomarket vendors (n = 38 in 2016/2017) were chemically analysed and matched with cryptomarket listings (n = 23). Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted. Findings Almost all samples contained the advertised substance. In most of these cases, drugs were either supplied as-advertised-weight or number, or overweight or number. All listings that quantified purity overestimated the actual purity. There was no consistent relationship between advertised purity terms and actual purity. Across the six listings purchased from multiple times, repeat purchases from the same listing varied in purity, sometimes drastically, with wide variation detected on listings purchased from only one month apart. Research limitations/implications In this data set, cryptomarket listings were mostly accurate, but the system was far from perfect, with purity overestimated. A newer, larger, globally representative sample should be obtained to test the applicability of these findings to currently operating cryptomarkets. Originality/value This paper reports on the largest data set of forensic analysis of drug samples obtained from cryptomarkets, where data about advertised drug strength/dose were obtained.

Adulteration and substitution of drugs purchased in Australia from cryptomarkets: An analysis of Test4Pay

“…Using a Canadian-based testing service resulted in a long delay while the drugs were posted from Australia to Canada then tested (3 weeks), reducing utility of the information. There is also no guarantee that the substance submitted for testing is the same substance sold under the identical drug listing by that vendor [38]. Our comparison with CanTEST is also limited by the use of different analysis techniques.…”