'Surfing the Silk Road': a study of users' experiences.
The International journal on drug policy November 1, 2013 Marie Claire Van Hout, Tim Bingham 211 citations
The online drug marketplace Silk Road, operating anonymously on the Deep Web since 2011, attracts users primarily for reasons of curiosity, concerns about street drug quality and personal safety, product variety, anonymous transactions, and convenient delivery. Based on systematic online observations, monitoring of discussion threads over four months, and anonymous online interviews with 20 adult users, most participants were male, in professional employment or tertiary education, with drug use histories ranging from 18 months to 25 years. Favorite drugs included MDMA, 2C-B, mephedrone, nitrous oxide, ketamine, cannabis, and cocaine. Vendor selection relied on trust, transaction speed, stealth, and product quality. A minority reported customs seizures, and many described a displacement away from traditional street and closed drug markets toward Silk Road.