Drugs on the darknet: Assessing the global health risks of a rapidly expanding market

Buying illegal drugs through the internet (known as ‘cryptomarkets’) captured the public imagination after the emergence of Silk Road in 2011. Cryptomarkets provide a means to purchase illicit drugs online via anonymous, encrypted technologies (Tor) and virtual currencies (e.g. Bitcoin) and have them delivered via parcel post. Relatively high rates of participation in cryptomarkets have been reported in Australia and increasing rates internationally. Cryptomarkets represent an innovation in drug supply and have “profound implications” for global drug markets according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, but their influence on the overall harms associated with illicit drug use is unknown. This project sought to redress this significant gap, and inform policy makers about the nature and extent of health outcomes from drug cryptomarkets in Australia and globally.