Comparing cryptomarkets for drugs. A characterisation of sellers and buyers over time

Tzanetakis, Meropi

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.01.022

Cited by 61 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Present results, highlighting a strong interest by psychonauts toward opioid drugs, are consistent with previous studies, which have analyzed the opioids' debate both in social media settings (Kalyanam et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2017;Pandrekar et al, 2018;Li et al, 2019) and on the darknet (Mackey et al, 2018;Tzanetakis, 2018;Cunliffe et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts’ Scenario

et al. 2020

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Background: A wide range of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) are regularly searched and discussed online by e-psychonauts. Among NPSs, the range of prescription/non-prescription opioids (fentanyl and non-fentanyl analogs) and herbal derivatives currently represents a challenge for governments and clinicians.Methods: Using a web crawler (i.e., NPS.Finder R ), the present study aimed at assessing psychonaut fora/platforms to better understand the online situation regarding opioids.Results: The open-web crawling/navigating software identified some 426 opioids, including 234 fentanyl analogs. Of these, 176 substances (162 were very potent fentanyls, including two ohmefentanyl and seven carfentanyl analogs) were not listed in either international or European NPS databases. Conclusion:A web crawling approach helped in identifying a large number, indeed higher than that listed by European/international agencies, of unknown opioids likely to possess a significant misuse potential. Most of these novel/emerging substances are still relatively unknown. This is a reason of concern; each of these analogs potentially presents with different toxicodynamic profiles, and there is a lack of docking, preclinical, and clinical observations. Strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and bioinformatics may prove useful in better assessing public health risks associated with opioids.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts’ Scenario

et al. 2020

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“…Of the remaining 33 studies, 9 provide commentaries based predominantly on digital trace work. These works have uncovered a number of insights about how cryptomarkets work, including: how competitive it is to be a successful vendor (Paquet-Clouston, Décary-Hétu, & Morselli, 2018); the usage of free samples with purchases to gain customer loyalty (Ladegaard, 2018); the growth in trade of new psychoactive substances (Wadsworth, Drummond, & Deluca, 2018); consumer loyalty to specific vendors (Décary-Hétu & Quessy-Doré, 2017); the usage of the markets to facilitate business-to-business transactions (Aldridge & Décary-Hétu, 2016; Demant, Munksgaard, & Houborg, 2018); the constrained geographical spread of the markets and within-region distribution of that trade (Broséus, Rhumorbarbe, Morelato, Staehli, & Rossy, 2017; Martin, Cunliffe, Décary-Hétu, & Aldridge, 2018; Norbutas, 2018; Tzanetakis, 2018); and the approximate value and product composition of the markets (Christin, 2013; Soska & Christin, 2015; Kruithof et al, 2016; Tzanetakis, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonmedical prescription psychiatric drug use and the darknet: A cryptomarket analysis

Cunliffe

Décary‐Hétu

Pollak

2019

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Background Nonmedical prescription psychiatric drug use (NMPDU) is an increasing global health problem, with recent concern focusing on darknet cryptomarkets as sources of procurement. There is a shortage of evidence regarding comparative worldwide NMPDU trends, due in part to data collection difficulties. This problem is particularly marked for non-opioid drugs, particularly those psychiatric drugs which act on the central nervous system (CNS) and have high misuse potential and are associated with high levels of dependency and fatal overdose. This paper therefore has two goals: 1) to report on the kinds of psychiatric prescription drugs available on cryptomarkets, and 2) to use this data to uncover temporal and geographical trends in sales of these products, potentially informing policy regarding NMPDU more generally. Method Digital trace data collected from 31 cryptomarkets in operation between September 2013 and July 2016 was analysed by country of origin descriptively and for trends in the sales for 7 psychiatric drug groupings, based on their main indication or intended use in psychiatric practice. Results Sedatives (such as diazepam and alprazolam) and CNS stimulants (mainly Adderall, modafinil and methylphenidate) had the greatest share of sales, but usage and trends varied by location. The UK has high and rising levels of sedative sales, whilst the USA has the greatest stimulant sales and increasing sedative rates. Sales of drugs used in the treatment of opioid dependency are also substantial in the USA. The picture is less clear in mainland Europe with high sales levels reported in unexpected Central and Northern European countries. There is evidence of a move towards the more potent sedative alprazolam – already implicated as a source of problematic NMPDU in the USA – in Australia and the UK. Sales of drugs such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and antidementia drugs – all drugs with limited abuse potential – were negligible, indicating minimal levels of online cryptomarket procurement for self-medicating mental health problems. Conclusion Predominantly, psychiatric drugs with potent sedative, stimulant or euphoriant effects are sold on cryptomarkets and this varies by country. With some caveats regarding the limitations of cryptomarket digital trace data taken into account, the study of trends of these products sold online over time may offer a novel and increasingly important window onto wider drug purchasing habits.

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“…2016b;Demant et al . 2016;Tzanetakis 2018b) . Allerdings bleibt unklar, in welcher Form die Substanzen weitergegeben werden: Ob es sich um einen profitorientierten Weiterverkauf handelt, die Finanzierung des eigenen Konsums oder um eine unentgeltliche Weitergabe an Freunde oder Bekannte, bedarf weiterer Forschung (vgl .…”

Section: Sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschungsstand Zu Kryptomärktenunclassified

“…2014;2016b;Demant et al . 2016; Soska und Christin 2015;Tzanetakis 2018b;van Buskirk et al . 2016; van Hout und Bingham 2013a, 2013b .…”

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Digitalisierung von illegalen Märkten

Tzanetakis

2018

Handbuch Drogen in Sozial- Und Kulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive

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Comparing cryptomarkets for drugs. A characterisation of sellers and buyers over time

Cited by 61 publications

References 22 publications

Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts’ Scenario

Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts’ Scenario

Nonmedical prescription psychiatric drug use and the darknet: A cryptomarket analysis

Digitalisierung von illegalen Märkten

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