Conversation with a hitman (or not)
Today the owner of Silk Road announced the closure of its sister site, the weapons-dealing Armory. The reason was not heat from law enforcement or negative press, it was simply that the site was not profitable and members complained that many listings were scams. There are dozens of black market sites selling all manner of […]
Crap analysis shows wee problem with tough ecstasy laws
Yesterday the Australian Institute of Criminology released a report that independently verified what they had already been told by users themselves: when ecstasy is not available, recreational drug users turn to crystal meth. The verification came from an analysis of sewerage water from a municipality in Queensland. “Estimates were made of the average daily dose […]
Why politicians and law enforcement should embrace Silk Road
Online drugs marketplaces are far better than the current alternative. Despite what certain newspapers and ‘current affairs’ shows would have you believe, the vast majority of drug users – even chronic drugs users – are happy, non-violent people who hold down regular jobs. They don’t take drugs because there’s something lacking in their lives. They […]
The Great 420 Scam
A drug dealer ripping off customers? The nerve! Silk Road, as I reported previously, is the online illicit drug marketplace that has defied law enforcement efforts to close it down. Last month, Silk Road reported the greatest scam in its fifteen-month history, which cost the site’s users over a hundred thousand dollars in just two […]
The Drug’s in the Mail
Below is the full text of an article I wrote for The Age, which was the Focus Feature on 27 April 2012. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-drugs-in-the-mail-20120426-1xnth.html More Australians are buying illegal drugs from internet websites and having them delivered by regular post straight to their door. Eileen Ormsby reports on the new frontier of drug dealing. IT’S JUST […]