The internet poses unique challenges for drug prohibition

[kiwi_farmer]

The internet has increased opportunities to buy illicit drugs and accelerated drug trends

 

 

The Australia21 report argues the “war on drugs” has failed and we should consider other options for controlling drugs, such as decriminalisation or regulation. In addition to these arguments, an important challenge for drug prohibition has been overlooked in the drugs debate so far: the internet.

While the internet has opened up new opportunities to buy drugs, it has also accelerated new drug trends. In the past year, we’ve seen the emergence of two key trends: synthetic cannabinoids (sold as Kronic, K2, Spice, among other names) and the anonymous online marketplace Silk Road.

What are synthetic cannabinoids?

 

Synthetic cannabinoids are drugs that mimic the effects of cannabis. They are typically sold as a smokeable herb mixture which has been sprayed with synthetic cannabinoid chemicals and then dried. They first appeared internationally around 2004 and became the focus of increased media and regulatory attention in Australia in 2011.

Research into the harms of these products is in its infancy, but early reports suggest some synthetic cannabinoids may be more likely to produce paranoia and adverse cardiovascular problems than cannabis itself.

The internet is used to sell these products, as Googling the word Kronic will show you. Nevertheless, preliminary results from our yet-to-be-published survey of 316 synthetic cannabinoid users found that only 22% bought from online stores. Most preferred to buy from bricks-and-mortar stores such as herbal high shops, adult shops and tobacconists.

Comparisons of Google search statistics with our survey data suggest a link between the discussion of synthetic cannabinoids in online news, online searches for synthetic cannabinoids, and reports from survey respondents of when they first tried the drug. Increased media coverage of synthetic cannabis seems to pique public and drug user interest in these substances, which leads to further media interest in an iterative cycle.

Illicit drugs can be purchased online. ElvertBarnes

 

Policy responses under prohibition

 

Various Australian states and territories, as well as the federal Therapeutic Goods Administration, legislated against specific synthetic cannabinoids during 2011. In response, manufacturers have attempted to get around these laws by creating new blends which they claim are legal.

It is still too early to tell whether soon-to-be-enacted federal laws – prohibiting eight broad categories of synthetic cannabinoids and any drugs that claim to mimic cannabis – will effectively end this cat-and-mouse game.

Silk Road

 

Silk Road is like an eBay for illicit drugs. All kinds of substances are available, including heroin, ecstasy, methamphetamine and cannabis. Similarly to eBay, buyers rate sellers and provide comments about the quality of their products, how fast they ship, and their level of professionalism and discretion.

Silk Road is accessible only to people who are using Tor anonymising software. Tor uses encryption which aims to make it impossible for anyone to trace the internet user’s IP address. Buyers and sellers on Silk Road also use the encrypted currency Bitcoin, which is supposed to prevent the financial transactions from being traced.

Australian buyers may be concerned about the potential for customs to discover the illicit contents of the package they receive in the mail. But discussions in the Silk Road forum suggest that Australians are using Silk Road to buy from both overseas and Australian sellers.

There is a lot we don’t know about Silk Road and other similar marketplaces. My colleagues and I will soon begin a pilot study to better understand how Silk Road works.

Policy responses under prohibition

 

It’s unclear whether any policy responses to control Silk Road have been effective.

One approach is to try to regulate overseas internet content through the proposed internet filter. But I doubt it will have any effect on Silk Road because it operates in what is known as the “hidden web”.

The second approach is to ban the technologies that make Silk Road work: Tor and Bitcoin. This does not appear to be possible because both are peer-to-peer technologies and it’s hard to imagine how such a ban could be enforced.

The third is to increase scanning of posted letters and parcels. But while scanning of the parcel post has been increased over recent years, it’s not clear how effective such measures are and what impact they have on the speed of the postal system.

The fourth is for law enforcement to infiltrate Silk Road to gather intelligence. This is probably already occurring. We’re yet to see whether such law enforcement measures are capable of disrupting the Silk Road market.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that synthetic drugs and online anonymous drug marketplaces pose unique challenges for drug prohibition. Policy makers must keep these challenges in mind when considering alternative ways to control and regulate drugs.

[Ford Fairlane]

Always coming up with the interesting articles. Thanks Kiwi...

[Cerberus]

no offense to kiwi 'cos she didn't write the article (thanks for posting it though ) but that article is one of the worst attempts at tackling a topic I've ever seen.

 

Lemme scroll up 'cos it sounds like a newscorp article... meh, no source, probably came from the Daily Telegraph.

 

The only point in the article where the meaning was clear cut was the heading, the rest of it was just the journalist bullshitting along with small facts about topics only half related to the current cannabis debate. Just another example of Australian journalism, start out talking about something then quickly drift off and fill the rest of the page with another topic related to the headline, not much new or real information on the headline at all

 

Kronic? why would any smoke that shit if weed is easily available in many different strains? How is that even a credible threat that deserves more than 5 minutes of thought when debating the cannabis topic?

 

This journalist also writes the article like SR is the only place to buy drugs on the internet ffs, which means they're writing this article based on hearsay and rumours and not actually investigating for themselves. Many a journalist did the same thing during last years Tor exposure, spreading bits of misinformation like chinese whispers. Mostly negative.

 

So Cannabis gets decriminalised, does anyone honestly think that online drug markets will have a boost in traffic? I don't see how or why, so why write half an article about it like it's a critical factor in this debate?

 

If anyone is still wondering why this is important, it's because the general tone of the article paints Kronic and Tor/SR in a bad light, not necessarily a bad thing by itself but does it deserve to taint the current cannabis debate? You want to talk about the negatives of Tor and Kronic? then make the bloody headline say that then!

 

All the journo is doing is planting negative thoughts in the sheople's minds about the cannabis debate when in reality the points made above are insignificant to the topic and don't need to be discussed.

 

Personally I can't wait for Kronic to be pushed into the corner when cannabis is set free once again in our part of the world. The stuff is crap anyway, the article implies it, but it's not a reason to write an article like it could impede the current debate at hand. idiots

 

christ, the fact that the journo even mentioned the idea of shutting down bitcoin to stop online drug trading is hilarious in itself and shows that they are also misinformed and think bitcoin is the only online alternative currency. It's not even the only cryptographically encrypted online currency.

 

"It’s becoming increasingly clear that synthetic drugs and online anonymous drug marketplaces pose unique challenges for drug prohibition."

 

If it's becoming increasingly clear then how come the journo didn't get to the point somewhere in amongst all that bullshit and tell everyone what those challenges are?

 

Idiocracy is upon us and approaching fast. Don't be part of the problem

 

P.S. if anyone can find a source, that'd be lovely

Edited April 5, 2012 by Cerberus

[violetgaze]

An increase in alternatives which and unproven and unsafe is a direct result of prohibition. This is why people are beginning to recognise why the war on drugs has failed. As people turn to more dangerous alternative and more lives are put on the line, it becomes apparent that the original set of drugs which were made illegal weren't all that bad.