The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Abstract

Introduction and Aims Prescription medications are readily accessible on both the dark and surface web. This study focuses specifically on modafinil. Modafinal is a medication that is used to treat sleepiness due to a range of sleep disorders, but is also used off‐label as a cognitive enhancer. This study aimed to evaluate surface websites which sold modafinil to Australia to provide an overview of and to document the characteristics of surface web retailers. Design and Methods An online search to identify online retailers selling modafinil was performed using three search engines. Retailers were included if they sold modafinil to Australia, as verified through the purchasing process. Thirteen retailers were included in the final sample. Results Most retailers sold more than one product, with products being sold in tablet form the most common (88%). Retailers offered products of multiple strength, with the 200 mg product most common (51%). Most retailers included information on the side effects of the substances (77%), few listed any supporting evidence. Few listed information regarding legal status (24%). Most retailers used a number of features to indicate legitimacy. Discussion and Conclusion This is the first study to document the characteristics of surface web retailers purporting to sell modafinil to Australia. Future studies may analyse purchased samples to identify potential counterfeit or poor‐quality medications.

Study drug use among university students in Western Australia: Results of a web survey and their policy and practice implications

“…Yet, the fact that significant proportions of the users of these CEs reported negative side effects points to the downside of these drugs and provides support for a balanced and evidence-based discussion of costs and benefits as part of education campaigns and clinical interventions in university health services. While most users accessed their CEs from friends, over half the users of modafinil accessed it online, a finding consistent with recent work showing that modafinil is readily accessible in Australia through overseas sites via the surface web [38]. The risks of importing prescription medications into Australia without a valid prescription, along with the issues of counterfeit medications sold online, are also relevant for student education and health service interventions.…”

Ethical Issues in Neuropsychopharmacotherapy: US Perspective

“…A majority of these websites listed possible desired effects such as increased alertness, improved memory, increased concentration and productivity and performance enhancement. Similarly, Dursun et al (2019) found that 13 websites sold modafinil to consumers in Australia without prescription, with a median price of 118 Australian dollars (81 USD) for 90,150 mg pills. Such availability of unprescribed modafinil only fuels the already existing ethical controversy.…”

A focused netnographic study exploring experiences associated with counterfeit and contaminated anabolic-androgenic steroids

“…A primary consequence of illicit drug markets and the absence of regulation is the variable quality or purity of the final product [1], and for those substances which are illegal or used non-medically, there is a risk that substances may be of unknown quality or contain unknown impurities [2]. Counterfeit drugs have become a global problem and have increased with the expansion of the Internet [3][4][5]. Counterfeit drugs are considered by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as those which are substandard and falsified, and either fail to meet quality standards or are deliberately manufactured to imitate a legitimate product [6,7].…”