Paper Example on Online Drug Trade: The Impact of Internet Technology

The online drug trading is a phenomenon that has become more popular with the advent of internet technology in the 21st century. Proprietors of the computer crime use the various loopholes online to peddle drugs in ways that make the authorities unable to trace, or if they locate, it will have taken a painfully long time. The role of the internet in facilitating online drug trading gained prominence after the rise and fall of Silk Road, a deep website that was the first significant online market place for illegal goods and services (Van Hout & Bingham, 2014). When the federal agents busted the site in 2013, it only took a couple more months before more drug peddlers discovered other ways of trafficking their merchandise.

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Currently, there are more than 50 vendor shops and crypto markets where sellers can move their merchandise anonymously, and buyers can also jump on the bandwagon of anonymity where they acquire the drugs (Marsoof, 2019). The presence of numerous vendor shops and crypto markets makes it easier for online drug trading to take place. The buyers and sellers are assured of the anonymity that comes with conducting their activities in the deep web where the websites have several layers of end to end encryption (Van Hout & Bingham, 2014). While the deep web offers a significant level of anonymity to the vendors and buyers, the conventional search engines which are susceptible to scrutiny by the authorities also provide an avenue for vendors and buyers to interact. These conventional search engines often offer drugs which the code name is research chemicals (Marsoof, 2019). Online drug trading, therefore, also occurs quickly under the radar of the pertinent authorities whose job is to mitigate these activities in a bid to limit the ill effects that accrue from the population engaging in drugs.

As captured in the preceding paragraphs, online drug trading is a significant means of drug trafficking. According to Marsoof (2019), the monthly revenues that accrue from the sale of drugs on the crypto markets are in the double-digit million dollars. The study went on to assert that more than 50% of the analyzed crypto market listings had something to do with drug trading. The online drug trade is therefore facilitated by the numerous websites and listings not only in the deep web but also in the conventional search engines. The results of the study show that the phenomenon of drug trading is significant in contemporary times, and it will most likely rise with the development of more technologies and websites that support more robust encryption. Vendors and buyers will be able to peddle drugs with hardly a hint of detection, and thus, the online drug trading is far from dwindling.

The revenues that accrue from online drug trafficking, as mentioned above, are significant and thus, it is a pointer to the rampant drug markets around the world. According to Arjaliès et al. (2017), European countries are the primary producers of narcotics, and therefore, the significant revenues that accrue from online drug trading come from the vendors operating in the European countries. While most of the drugs come from Europe, a large number of users are in the United States of America (Dyer, 2018). The implication, therefore, is that the USA provides the largest market for online drug trading activity while Europe is merely the source. The reason for a large number of users in the USA could be due to the presence of less stringent regulations regarding the use of internet-based applications, making it easier to peddle drugs online. Of the European nations, Netherlands is by far the largest producer of narcotics as, according to Khosrow-Pour (2020), vendors operating from the country account for 8% of the total drug revenues.

Online drug trading in contemporary times is a significant problem that requires intense scrutiny and the formulation of robust policies to solve the menace. From the preceding paragraphs, it is clear that drug trading is rampant, and in the coming years, will worsen. Thus, it is essential to develop mitigation strategies to prevent further occurrences of the menace and also come up with actionable policies to curb the ongoing trafficking. The countries that generate a large amount of revenue from online drug trading should especially come up with preventive strategies to try and control the emergence of further detrimental effects of the vice. The investigation techniques that various authorities that are against online drug trading need to capture the contemporary issues that make the menace rampant. In so doing, the online drug trading will eventually fizzle out, and with it, the ill effects of the vice. It is, therefore, essential to research on online drug trading for the reasons as mentioned above. The first reason being that online drug trading is rampant and, thus, the need to curb it. The second reason being that the sources of drug trading need to mitigate the menace. Lastly, the need to educate users on how to avoid online drug trading and the reasons why they should do so.

References

Arjaliès, D., Grant, P., Hardie, I., MacKenzie, D., & Svetlova, E. (2017). Entangled trading. Oxford Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198802945.003.0005

Dyer, O. (2018). Online opioid distributors must cease trading, US drug regulator warns. BMJ, k2555. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2555

Khosrow-Pour D.B.A., M. (2020). Encyclopedia of criminal activities and the Deep Web. IGI Global.

Marsoof, A. (2019). The internet, intermediaries, and trademark infringements *. Internet Intermediaries and Trade Mark Rights, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351208512-1

Van Hout, M. C., & Bingham, T. (2014). Responsible vendors, intelligent consumers: Silk Road, the online revolution in drug trading. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25(2), 183-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.10.009