I posted the following on Reddit a few weeks ago. I think some of the points within it are extremely important, and I will arguing these widely over the coming months. I hope that it is of interest here:
DARKNET MARKETS & PUBLIC HEALTH
None of the following abrogates you from your responsibility for your own personal safety. It does not offer any sort of pass from practicing, for example, The 10 Commandments of Safer Drug Use.
Whether you believe that all drugs should be legal, or whether you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, I would invite you to consider the essential position of darknet markets in terms in protecting the health and welfare of drug consumers.
I do understand that this contradicts the ongoing war on drugs narrative, as perpetuated by governments and the mainstream media, but concrete factual reality must, at some point, prevail.
According to the United Nations, 250 million people use psychoactive drugs. This figure is relatively stable, and the situation is not going to change. If, therefore, you have any concern for, or empathy with, this substantial body of the world’s population, then you should at least consider the actuality of the supply chain.
In terms of sourcing there are generally two options: the physical world and the darknet. Boiling this down to the individual who is seeking supply, it is often the proverbial man in the pub versus a darknet market.
Let’s consider the risks associated with each scenario.
With respect to the former, you are on your own. Even assuming that the locale and social situation itself are safe, you have no assurance regarding the material purchased: it could be adulterated, it could be a dangerous fake, or it could be both. These are serious and significant risks.
Regarding darknet markets, whilst risk undoubtedly remains (and self-testing for example is still required), it is at least mitigated to some degree. For example:
The absence of these markets would surely, therefore, have a severe and detrimental effect upon the welfare of a significant number of people. In terms of safety, they are, at least from this perspective, providing an essential public service.
It is therefore not only disappointing that mainstream media reporting does not reflect this and that the police expend so much effort (and cost) in trying to take them down; it is actually counter to the public interest.
Finally, I will end by again stressing the importance of personal responsibility in terms of harm reduction: the relative safety of the supply process is merely a start point in terms of mitigating risk to your health and welfare. Also note that the use of the darknet does introduce the risk of interception, which again is a consideration, albeit not directly relating to health.
DARKNET MARKETS & PUBLIC HEALTH
None of the following abrogates you from your responsibility for your own personal safety. It does not offer any sort of pass from practicing, for example, The 10 Commandments of Safer Drug Use.
Whether you believe that all drugs should be legal, or whether you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, I would invite you to consider the essential position of darknet markets in terms in protecting the health and welfare of drug consumers.
I do understand that this contradicts the ongoing war on drugs narrative, as perpetuated by governments and the mainstream media, but concrete factual reality must, at some point, prevail.
According to the United Nations, 250 million people use psychoactive drugs. This figure is relatively stable, and the situation is not going to change. If, therefore, you have any concern for, or empathy with, this substantial body of the world’s population, then you should at least consider the actuality of the supply chain.
In terms of sourcing there are generally two options: the physical world and the darknet. Boiling this down to the individual who is seeking supply, it is often the proverbial man in the pub versus a darknet market.
Let’s consider the risks associated with each scenario.
With respect to the former, you are on your own. Even assuming that the locale and social situation itself are safe, you have no assurance regarding the material purchased: it could be adulterated, it could be a dangerous fake, or it could be both. These are serious and significant risks.
Regarding darknet markets, whilst risk undoubtedly remains (and self-testing for example is still required), it is at least mitigated to some degree. For example:
- An eBay type rating system is used, so you have an indication of the track record of the vendor
- Actors proven to be bad are generally expelled from the market
- Most major markets refuse to sell fentanyl and the rest seek to regulate its sale.
- There is a social media community to share consumer experiences (Dread)
- There is, increasingly, supply of harm reduction information at point of drug purchase. Almost all of major markets now offer a free PDF copy of the harm reduction book, The Drug Users Bible.
The absence of these markets would surely, therefore, have a severe and detrimental effect upon the welfare of a significant number of people. In terms of safety, they are, at least from this perspective, providing an essential public service.
It is therefore not only disappointing that mainstream media reporting does not reflect this and that the police expend so much effort (and cost) in trying to take them down; it is actually counter to the public interest.
Finally, I will end by again stressing the importance of personal responsibility in terms of harm reduction: the relative safety of the supply process is merely a start point in terms of mitigating risk to your health and welfare. Also note that the use of the darknet does introduce the risk of interception, which again is a consideration, albeit not directly relating to health.
