Fact or Fiction? Researchers Suggest Buying Drugs Online Is Safer Than Buying Them On The Street

According to a recent report by the Chicago Tribune, researchers say buying drugs online is potentially the safer alternative to buying drugs on the street.

It is true much of the violence associated with the drug trade occurs on the street level- I mean let’s face it, usually dealers are fighting over turf. However. researchers say online there is no street turf to fight over, making online drug markets “safer” than buying drugs on the street.

Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, an online drug market, was recently convicted for creating his online drug business. However, his legal team argued Silk Road and similar drug markets have reduced the rates of violence and harm associated with the drug trade.  Researchers at the University of Manchester and University of Montreal agreed in the conclusion of a paper they published last year, the Chicago Tribune quotes, “With Silk Road functioning to considerable degree at the wholesale/broker market level, its virtual location should reduce violence, intimidation and territorialism,”

Similar to other online markets such as eBay or Amazon, online drug markets allow buyers to rate products and the seller. This could be used in argument to say sellers are less likely to cut their drugs with contaminants to prevent receiving bad reviews and losing business. Drugs being sold on the street have no comparable rating system.

According to data from the Global Drug Survey, respondents say they were six times as likely to report experiencing physical violence on the street versus purchasing drugs online, five times more likely to experience having their personal safety threatened, and about four times as likely to buy a product that was falsely advertised by the dealer. 100,00 respondents voluntarily opted to answer the survey and were questioned about their online drug purchases, including their risks of buying online versus on the street.

Online buyers still experience the cons of buying drugs online such as experiencing long wait times for their product shipment and not receiving products after paying. Online buyers are also more likely to get their drugs seized by customs and lose money as a result of scams. According to the Global Drug Survey, online buyers were eight times more likely than street buyers to say they lost money due to currency volatility.

In spite of the arguments defending the use of online drug markets, Federal District Court Judge Katherine Forrest still sentenced Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht to life in prison. “There’s no way Silk Road could be reasonably expected to reduce violence,”  said Forrest during Ulbricht’s sentencing.

 

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The post Fact or Fiction? Researchers Suggest Buying Drugs Online Is Safer Than Buying Them On The Street appeared first on Harbor Village Florida.

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