A pilot study investigating Silk Road, the anonymous online drug marketplace

Online drug marketplaces are fast becoming an integral part of wider illicit drug exchange networks. Understanding how this new way of obtaining drugs impacts upon buyers is critical if we are to better understand the current context of illicit drug use and harms. This project aims to understand Silk Road use from a buyer’s perspective. People who had purchased drugs from Silk Road 1.0 were invited to complete anonymous, encrypted online interviews. The interviewsinvolved a life history approach to ascertain drug use trajectories and drug purchasing trajectories, allowing us to understand the contexts of Silk Road and other online drug purchasing without collecting identifying information. We also have an interest whether and how drug use and harms were affected by increased access and the availability of a wider range of substances through Silk Road.