I think the majority of HN commentators would agree that buying drugs is not a crime in the philosophical sense. This is about crime in the legal sense though.

I think the majority of HN commentators would agree that buying drugs is not a crime in the philosophical sense. This is about crime in the legal sense though. And facilitating drug sellers and buyers (with furniture, or with websites and escrow systems) is definitely criminal conspiracy in the legal sense. To move back to the philosophical sense, it seems apparent that Ulbricht ordered the murders of at least 2 people, so I don't have a ton of sympathy for him. If it weren't for that I would probably be rooting for him (though I'd still agree he has little legal ground to stand on).