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Citation |
Barratt MJ, Ferris JA, Winstock AR. Addiction 2014; 109(5): 774-783. |
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Affiliation |
National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, 6/19-35 Gertrude St, Fitzroy Victoria 3065, Australia. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2014, John Wiley and Sons) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
24372954 |
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Abstract |
Aims. To investigate the prevalence of awareness of the online illicit drug marketplace Silk Road (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=9,470) reported recent drug purchase and resided in the UK (n=4315, median age 24, 76% male), Australia (n=2761, median age 32, 76% male), or the USA (n=2394, median age 21, 80% male). Measurements. Online questionnaire. Findings. 65% of USA, 53% of Australia, and 40% of UK respondents had heard of SR. 18% of USA, 10% of UK, and 7% of Australian respondents had consumed drugs purchased through SR. Across the three countries, MDMA was the most commonly purchased drug (53-60%), followed by cannabis (34-51%), 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 Britain, Australians (OR=3.37; CI:2.29,4.97) and Americans (1.46; 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 (Australia: 1.65; 1.39,1.96; USA: 1.62; 1.37,1.92). Conclusions. While reasons for Silk Road 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. Language: en |