The closure of the <scp>S</scp>ilk <scp>R</scp>oad: what has this meant for online drug trading?

Buskirk, Joe Van; Roxburgh, Amanda; Farrell, Michael; Burns, Lucy

doi:10.1111/add.12422

Cited by 42 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…With the fall of Silk Road, the change consisted in the longest-standing community institution being seized, and the unmasking of a charismatic leader, one who had articulated drug dealing as a means to liberation. While interventions against cryptomarkets have not stopped the growth of the economy (Soska and Christin 2015;Van Buskirk et al 2014), the closure of Silk Road seems to have put an end to the expressions of libertarian politics by cryptomarket participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing politics and crime – The prevalence and decline of political discourse on the cryptomarket

Munksgaard

Demant

2016

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing politics and crime – The prevalence and decline of political discourse on the cryptomarket

Munksgaard

Demant

2016

International Journal of Drug Policy

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“…The emergence of drug markets on the darknet since the 'Silk Road' phenomenon has prompted research on the processes involved in dealing specific drugs online (Barratt, 2012;Martin, 2013;Van Buskirk et al, 2014;Aldridge and Décary-Hétu, 2016;Demant et al, 2018). Recent multi-methodological studies have suggested that the Internet -both the dark and surface Web -operates on the transnational level of production and supply as well as locally in end-user markets (Di Nicola et al, 2015;Koenraadt, 2018;Hall and Antonopoulos, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Demant

Bakken

Hall

2020

DAT

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Purpose Internet use has changed the mechanics of drug dealing. Although this has spurred some initial academic interest in how markets and their users have been changing, the issue is still under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the organisation of the distribution of prescription drugs and other illegal drugs overlap in these online markets by analysing data gathered from observation of the Swedish Facebook drug market and its participants. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered during three months of digital ethnography conducted among Swedish Facebook posters supplemented by 25 interviews with sellers (20) and buyers (5). Screenshots and interview data were coded by carrying out an NVivo-based content analysis. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics of drug types, co-occurrence with other drugs, group size and the demographic characteristics of sellers. Additionally, the interviewees’ descriptions of the marketplace and their drug dealing or buying activities were included in the analysis. Findings In total, 57 Swedish Facebook groups that sold illegal substances were located. The groups rarely specialised in specific drug types, but were convened around demographic factors, such as specific cities and locales. The sales of prescription drugs were part of the overall activity of groups selling other illegal drugs, but they were more often sold in separate Facebook posts, possibly by specialist sellers. Swedish Facebook sales primarily concerned alprazolam, tramadol, pregabalin and clonazepam, and were sold by both professional and amateur sellers. Originality/value This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study on social media drug dealing, representing the first in-depth study of digitally mediated prescription drug dealing outside of cryptomarkets.

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“…Transacting anonymously, buyers and sellers of illegal drugs thereby evade world‐wide prohibitive controls; only a small proportion of postal deliveries can feasibly be intercepted by authorities. The cryptomarket drug trade is a growing area of interest for criminologists , public health researchers , drug policy analysts and for law enforcement and policymakers . Cryptomarkets offer a new channel for global drug diffusion .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will growth in cryptomarket drug buying increase the harms of illicit drugs?

2017

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Background and aimCryptomarkets—on‐line, anonymous market‐places for illicit goods and services that specialize mainly in drugs—account for a small but rapidly growing share of the illicit drug market in many countries. Policy responses so far are based generally on the assumption that their rise will only increase drug harms. In this contribution for debate, we question this assumption.MethodsWe provide a narrative review of the emerging literature connected to drug cryptomarkets. We use MacCoun & Reuter's formula to understand the effect of population‐level increases in use on total harm as depending on the level of harm associated with each unit of use. We then consider the potential for cryptomarkets to increase or decrease the harms and benefits related to each unit of drug use, with specific attention to the quality of drugs sold and the non‐drug‐related harms and benefits for customers.ResultsIt is likely that cryptomarkets will increase both the amount and the range of substances that are sold. However, we argue that the effects on harms will depend upon whether cryptomarkets also increase the quality and safety of products that are sold, provide harm‐reducing information to consumers and reduce transactional conflict involved in drug purchasing.ConclusionsThere is an emerging and rapidly growing evidence base connected to the macro and micro harms and benefits of cryptomarkets for drug users. Future researchers should use appropriately matched comparative designs to establish more firmly the differential harms and benefits of sourcing drugs both on‐ and off‐line. While it is unlikely that the on‐line drug trade can be eradicated completely, cryptomarkets will respond to regulation and enforcement in ways that have complex, and sometimes unanticipated, effects on both harms and benefits.

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The closure of the Silk Road: what has this meant for online drug trading?

Cited by 42 publications

References 6 publications

Mixing politics and crime – The prevalence and decline of political discourse on the cryptomarket

Mixing politics and crime – The prevalence and decline of political discourse on the cryptomarket

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Will growth in cryptomarket drug buying increase the harms of illicit drugs?

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