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Use of S ilk R oad, the online drug marketplace, in the United Kingdom , A ustralia and the United States
Author(s) -
Barratt Monica J.,
Ferris Jason A.,
Winstock Adam R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12470
Subject(s) - medicine , heroin , odds ratio , confidence interval , cannabis , demography , ecstasy , environmental health , drug , family medicine , psychiatry , sociology
Aims To investigate the prevalence of awareness of the online illicit drug marketplace S ilk R oad ( SR ), consumption of drugs purchased from SR and reasons for use and non‐use of SR . Design and setting Global Drug Survey: purposive sample collected in late 2012. Participants The base sample ( n = 9470) reported recent drug purchase and resided in the United Kingdom ( n = 4315, median age 24, 76% male), A ustralia ( n = 2761, median age 32, 76% male) or the United States ( n = 2394, median age 21, 80% male). Measurements Online questionnaire. Findings A total of 65% of US , 53% of A ustralian and 40% of UK respondents had heard of SR ; 18% of US , 10% of UK and 7% of Australian respondents had consumed drugs purchased through SR . Across the three countries, 3,4‐methylenedioxy‐N‐methylamphetamine (MDMA) was the most commonly purchased drug (53–60%), followed by cannabis (34–51%), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (29–45%) and the 2C family (16%–27%). The most common reasons for purchasing from SR were wider range (75–89%), better quality (72–77%), greater convenience (67–69%) and the use of vendor rating systems (60–65%). The most common reasons for avoiding SR purchase were adequate drug access (63–68%) and fear of being caught (41–53%). Logistic regressions found that, compared with people from the UK, Australians [odds ratio ( OR) = 3.37; 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 2.29, 4.97) and Americans (OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.10, 1.94) were more likely to use SR due to lower prices; and to avoid SR purchase due to fear of being caught ( A ustralia: OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.39, 1.96; USA : OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.37, 1.92). Conclusions While reasons for S ilk R oad use accord with broader online commerce trends (range, quality, convenience, ratings), its appeal to drug purchasers is moderated by country‐specific deterrents and market characteristics.