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"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". Obviously the next one becomes the largest, but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one

"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". Obviously the next one becomes the largest, but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one of those markets a month. Probably legalizing weed would stop most of that more effectively than all those police operations after month of preparation.

aunetx 6y ago
I guess so, but the problem is that weed is not the only thing that is sold on these markets... So even if legalising it would make those markets lose profits, they still have a lot of nasty things to sell -- so taking them down is still the best thing to do for the moment, IMHO.
- Tenoke 6y ago
  The amount sold on these markets is tiny, however they are one of the safest ways to purchase drugs - with reviews, reputation, tests etc. Constantly interfering with the safest ways to buy drugs so people have to instead buy it from a random person in the real world with less guarantees, and more danger to everyone or from an online scammer that just popped up is not good at all. Further, the costs of these LE operations is very high to catch some small fries. These are extremely counterproductive.
  - capableweb 6y ago
    > up is not good at all I think that's the point. As far as I understand their reasoning (although I don't agree with it), is that some people buy drugs when they are easily accessible over the internet, but wouldn't do so if they have to meet risky people in person AFK. Of course, people who want drugs will get drugs, somehow, and if it's safer, that'd be better. But they want people to move into the riskier meat-space as it's easier to keep track on people and eventually arrest them then.
    - Tenoke 6y ago
      It's not even remotely believable that this is anywhere near an efficient way to eventually catch people irl instead of just spending all those resources on irl operations in the first place.
pengaru 6y ago
Uhhh... weed is not even close to the most purchased drug via the dark web. Certainly not in plant matter form. They'd have to legalize all the club/party drugs to make a dent; pills and powders, lsd.
- martin_a 6y ago
  So, let's just legalize them all and hope that people will use them responsibly. As a German, I can, with no problem whatsoever, go into the next supermarket and buy enough alcohol and cigarettes to severly hurt myself. No one gives a shit, probably because the state earns money when I do so. Either we find (all) drugs bad, or we stop being such liars in regards to this.
  - pengaru 6y ago
    I agree 100%, on the condition that a substantial portion of the taxes collected are allocated explicitly for funding free public mental health and addiction treatment facilities, perhaps homeless assistance programs as well.
    - martin_a 6y ago
      I'm totally with you on that.
  - 88840-8855 6y ago
    "So, let's just legalize them all and hope that people will use them responsibly." Same logic as... "let us not legally force face masks on people, but trust in their responsibility. Let us not control social distancing, but trust that people, especially young people, will be responsible" ... booooom, over 9000 covid cases. Democracy assumes rational people and people with responsibility. We see now how well it all works. Same "responsibility" applies to the free internet. It is amazing, when people are responsible and are not pushing fake news to allow demagogues and populists to rise to power. Was it Sokrates who once said that Democracy fails because of Unmündigkeit? I cannot find the English translation of this word.
FDSGSG 6y ago
>but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one of those markets a month. This isn't the case, it's been a loong time since the last big market takedown. LE takedowns are rare, exit scams are not.
JimBlackwood 6y ago
Afaik, weed is a small part of the market. Agree on the legalisation though. In the Netherlands at least, I find it hard to name more than a few individuals in my social group (university students from a range of studies) that aren’t recreational users of XTC/psychedelics. Having visited festivals and clubs in other European countries, I think the situation is not much different there. It seems a bit pointless to keep spending money on hunting these markets when the market consists of such a large percentage of the population. Most people still get it through dealers aswell, delivery is quicker than ordering pizza. More concerning are obviously the weapons, credit cards, etc. sold on these markets. Taking away the sales of drugs would probably help in that fight.
- oji0hub 6y ago
  Even the police stopping me every time at the border probably wake up with a cup of coffee, get a beer on Friday and maybe smoke a cigarette. We won't stop drugs because people don't want to.
- cmrdporcupine 6y ago
  I would be so scared to be a recreational user of MDMA at this point in time, because from what I hear there is a large amount of fentanyl and other concentrated opiates floating around in the street drug supply.
  - twic 6y ago
    This is one of the great things about the dark web marketplaces - you can order from a supplier who already has a track record of positive reviews, and every incentive to keep it that way.
  - pantalaimon 6y ago
    The effects of MDMA and opiates are entirely opposite - why would someone cut MDMA with fentanyl?
    - c0nducktr 6y ago
Synaesthesia 6y ago
I think weed is by far the most popular drug on all Darknetmarkets
- curryst 6y ago
  I'm curious, that would surprise me. Maybe by weight, but I would be surprised if that were by value. Weed is extremely difficult to send by mail, relative to most other drugs. It's large in volume, and it produces a distinct smell. You can combat that, but it's a pain, and I'm not sure how effective it is. Compared to something like LSD, which you could easily slip into the pages of a book, and produces no recognizable smell. At least on the human spectrum, and I severely doubt drug dogs can smell it.
  - ryanlol 6y ago
    You vacuum seal the weed once or twice and you’re good, use mylar bags if you’re feeling fancy. Most of the weed vendors aren’t shipping internationally so they don’t need to worry about dogs.
  - Synaesthesia 6y ago
    Yeah but most people aren't after LSD or MDMA. They will do it on occasion. Weed is something some people smoke every day, and your average Joe is more likely to try it. In regular drug dealing there is way more volume in weed.
qwerty456127 6y ago
True but please don't stop on weed, please also liberalize non-narcotic prescription medications availability to let people buy whatever they know they need without having to visit a doctor.
- ChrisRR 6y ago
  This wouldn't happen. Even from a pharmaceutical company's viewpoint, their regulatory body comes down on them like a ton of bricks if too many people suffer injury from their products. So pharmaceutical companies and other medical product manufacturers manage their risk by only selling to approved suppliers, so that they don't have people randomly putting themselves at risk using their products.
  - qwerty456127 6y ago
    It should be enough to put a clear warning on the box saying you take all the risk yourself if choose to self-prescribe and also list all the known interactions and counter-indications somewhere in the manual. This works just fine in some countries. You can't drink a chemical potentially poisonous to you after being warned and still sue the vendor like if they didn't tell you shouldn't.
    - ChrisRR 6y ago
      As someone who works in medical devices I can tell you in the medical field it's not enough to just write on a box "If you use this incorrectly and get injured, it's not our fault" Medical products have risk assessments a mile long for every scenario the manufacture can think of, and the mitigation for being administered on the wrong patient is often "Don't sell to non ISO-13485 approved clients" If enough people get injured because of your product, the FDA or MHRA is going to investigate you, no matter how many disclaimers you put on your products.
- curryst 6y ago
  I agree with you on many prescriptions, but many have a legitimate need to be regulated. Antibiotics are an obvious one. Antibiotic resistance is a real, and growing, issue. If people start popping them every time they get a sniffle, that's going to get a lot worse. Some medications have very serious side effects, and a doctor really should vet that you're healthy enough to withstand those. Some medications can have very severe interactions. Part of the prescription process is that their computer is supposed to alert the pharmacist if some combination of the meds you're on creates an issue. Honestly, those few categories knock out most of the useful medications. Mental health drugs are generally safe, but self-medication isn't usually effective in those scenarios.
npiit 6y ago
>"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand" People need promotion.
Strongylodon 6y ago
>"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". If they're not selling guns, child abuse imagery or other extreme stuff maybe treat it as a source of intelligence rather than keep playing whack a mole?

aunetx 6y ago

I guess so, but the problem is that weed is not the only thing that is sold on these markets... So even if legalising it would make those markets lose profits, they still have a lot of nasty things to sell -- so taking them down is still the best thing to do for the moment, IMHO.

Tenoke 6y ago
The amount sold on these markets is tiny, however they are one of the safest ways to purchase drugs - with reviews, reputation, tests etc. Constantly interfering with the safest ways to buy drugs so people have to instead buy it from a random person in the real world with less guarantees, and more danger to everyone or from an online scammer that just popped up is not good at all. Further, the costs of these LE operations is very high to catch some small fries. These are extremely counterproductive.
- capableweb 6y ago
  > up is not good at all I think that's the point. As far as I understand their reasoning (although I don't agree with it), is that some people buy drugs when they are easily accessible over the internet, but wouldn't do so if they have to meet risky people in person AFK. Of course, people who want drugs will get drugs, somehow, and if it's safer, that'd be better. But they want people to move into the riskier meat-space as it's easier to keep track on people and eventually arrest them then.
  - Tenoke 6y ago
    It's not even remotely believable that this is anywhere near an efficient way to eventually catch people irl instead of just spending all those resources on irl operations in the first place.

pengaru 6y ago

Uhhh... weed is not even close to the most purchased drug via the dark web. Certainly not in plant matter form. They'd have to legalize all the club/party drugs to make a dent; pills and powders, lsd.

martin_a 6y ago
So, let's just legalize them all and hope that people will use them responsibly. As a German, I can, with no problem whatsoever, go into the next supermarket and buy enough alcohol and cigarettes to severly hurt myself. No one gives a shit, probably because the state earns money when I do so. Either we find (all) drugs bad, or we stop being such liars in regards to this.
- pengaru 6y ago
  I agree 100%, on the condition that a substantial portion of the taxes collected are allocated explicitly for funding free public mental health and addiction treatment facilities, perhaps homeless assistance programs as well.
  - martin_a 6y ago
    I'm totally with you on that.
- 88840-8855 6y ago
  "So, let's just legalize them all and hope that people will use them responsibly." Same logic as... "let us not legally force face masks on people, but trust in their responsibility. Let us not control social distancing, but trust that people, especially young people, will be responsible" ... booooom, over 9000 covid cases. Democracy assumes rational people and people with responsibility. We see now how well it all works. Same "responsibility" applies to the free internet. It is amazing, when people are responsible and are not pushing fake news to allow demagogues and populists to rise to power. Was it Sokrates who once said that Democracy fails because of Unmündigkeit? I cannot find the English translation of this word.

FDSGSG 6y ago

>but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one of those markets a month. This isn't the case, it's been a loong time since the last big market takedown. LE takedowns are rare, exit scams are not.

JimBlackwood 6y ago

Afaik, weed is a small part of the market. Agree on the legalisation though. In the Netherlands at least, I find it hard to name more than a few individuals in my social group (university students from a range of studies) that aren’t recreational users of XTC/psychedelics. Having visited festivals and clubs in other European countries, I think the situation is not much different there. It seems a bit pointless to keep spending money on hunting these markets when the market consists of such a large percentage of the population. Most people still get it through dealers aswell, delivery is quicker than ordering pizza. More concerning are obviously the weapons, credit cards, etc. sold on these markets. Taking away the sales of drugs would probably help in that fight.

oji0hub 6y ago
Even the police stopping me every time at the border probably wake up with a cup of coffee, get a beer on Friday and maybe smoke a cigarette. We won't stop drugs because people don't want to.
cmrdporcupine 6y ago
I would be so scared to be a recreational user of MDMA at this point in time, because from what I hear there is a large amount of fentanyl and other concentrated opiates floating around in the street drug supply.
- twic 6y ago
  This is one of the great things about the dark web marketplaces - you can order from a supplier who already has a track record of positive reviews, and every incentive to keep it that way.
- pantalaimon 6y ago
  The effects of MDMA and opiates are entirely opposite - why would someone cut MDMA with fentanyl?
  - c0nducktr 6y ago

Synaesthesia 6y ago

I think weed is by far the most popular drug on all Darknetmarkets

curryst 6y ago
I'm curious, that would surprise me. Maybe by weight, but I would be surprised if that were by value. Weed is extremely difficult to send by mail, relative to most other drugs. It's large in volume, and it produces a distinct smell. You can combat that, but it's a pain, and I'm not sure how effective it is. Compared to something like LSD, which you could easily slip into the pages of a book, and produces no recognizable smell. At least on the human spectrum, and I severely doubt drug dogs can smell it.
- ryanlol 6y ago
  You vacuum seal the weed once or twice and you’re good, use mylar bags if you’re feeling fancy. Most of the weed vendors aren’t shipping internationally so they don’t need to worry about dogs.
- Synaesthesia 6y ago
  Yeah but most people aren't after LSD or MDMA. They will do it on occasion. Weed is something some people smoke every day, and your average Joe is more likely to try it. In regular drug dealing there is way more volume in weed.

qwerty456127 6y ago

True but please don't stop on weed, please also liberalize non-narcotic prescription medications availability to let people buy whatever they know they need without having to visit a doctor.

ChrisRR 6y ago
This wouldn't happen. Even from a pharmaceutical company's viewpoint, their regulatory body comes down on them like a ton of bricks if too many people suffer injury from their products. So pharmaceutical companies and other medical product manufacturers manage their risk by only selling to approved suppliers, so that they don't have people randomly putting themselves at risk using their products.
- qwerty456127 6y ago
  It should be enough to put a clear warning on the box saying you take all the risk yourself if choose to self-prescribe and also list all the known interactions and counter-indications somewhere in the manual. This works just fine in some countries. You can't drink a chemical potentially poisonous to you after being warned and still sue the vendor like if they didn't tell you shouldn't.
  - ChrisRR 6y ago
    As someone who works in medical devices I can tell you in the medical field it's not enough to just write on a box "If you use this incorrectly and get injured, it's not our fault" Medical products have risk assessments a mile long for every scenario the manufacture can think of, and the mitigation for being administered on the wrong patient is often "Don't sell to non ISO-13485 approved clients" If enough people get injured because of your product, the FDA or MHRA is going to investigate you, no matter how many disclaimers you put on your products.
curryst 6y ago
I agree with you on many prescriptions, but many have a legitimate need to be regulated. Antibiotics are an obvious one. Antibiotic resistance is a real, and growing, issue. If people start popping them every time they get a sniffle, that's going to get a lot worse. Some medications have very serious side effects, and a doctor really should vet that you're healthy enough to withstand those. Some medications can have very severe interactions. Part of the prescription process is that their computer is supposed to alert the pharmacist if some combination of the meds you're on creates an issue. Honestly, those few categories knock out most of the useful medications. Mental health drugs are generally safe, but self-medication isn't usually effective in those scenarios.

npiit 6y ago

>"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand" People need promotion.

Strongylodon 6y ago

>"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". If they're not selling guns, child abuse imagery or other extreme stuff maybe treat it as a source of intelligence rather than keep playing whack a mole?