Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia

The federal government has proposed legislation mandating that internet service providers (ISPs) block all websites hosting refused classification content. According to the Australian communications and media authority (ACMA), refused classification content includes “child abuse and child sexual abuse material, depictions of bestiality, material containing excessive violence or sexual violence, detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use, and/or material that advocates the doing of a terrorist act”. Presently, online content that is brought to the attention of the ACMA can be refused classification, but only websites hosted in Australia can be issued with a notice forcing them to shut down. Website owners can easily bypass these laws by hosting their websites in other less restrictive countries. Under the proposed legislation, ISPs would be required to block all sites that meet the definition of refused classification. In 2011, the Australian law reform commission began a review of the national classification scheme, including within its investigation the definition of refused classification. The national drug research institute (NDRI) has recently responded to the issues paper by considering the potential public health impacts of the proposed internet filter for people who use drugs

Beyond internet as tool: A mixed-methods study of online drug discussion

This thesis describes how internet use has shaped drug practices among Australians who engage in the recreational use of psychostimulants and hallucinogens (‘party drugs’) and participate in public internet forums. This thesis uniquely contributes to drugs research by applying theoretical frameworks from internet studies, finding that internet forums enable the consumption and production of drug information, facilitate the production of alternative online places, and are increasingly converged with offline social worlds

Representativeness of online purposive sampling with Australian cannabis cultivators

[No abstract available

Beyond recruitment? Participatory online research with people who use drugs

The use of the Internet by people who use drugs presents an opportunity for researchers not only to successfully recruit drug users to participate in research, but to go further and engage drug users more fully in dialogue. In this paper, we present data arising from a doctoral research project which examines drug use in an Internet society by focusing on the experiences of participants in online dance music and drug discussion forums, and we examine the ethical issues and problems that arose in this context due to the illegal and stigmatised status of drug use. We chose to engage with forum moderators and users instead of treating public Internet forums as freely available data. Successes and failures that occurred during this process are outlined, and we discuss what was involved in maintaining the discussion threads once they were accepted and supported by group moderators. Issues that arose in attempting to continue engagement beyond recruitment are also discussed. To conclude the paper, we evaluate our efforts to conduct participatory online research and suggest how other researchers investigating illegal and/or stigmatised behaviours may build on our work

Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services

Governments have traditionally censored drug-related information, both in traditional media and, in recent years, in online media. We explore Internet content regulation from a drug-policy perspective by describing the likely impacts of censoring drug websites and the parallel growth in hidden Internet services. Australia proposes a compulsory Internet filtering regime that would block websites that ‘depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of… drug misuse or addiction’ and/or ‘promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime’. In this article, we present findings from a mixed-methods study of online drug discussion. Our research found that websites dealing with drugs, that would likely be blocked by the filter, in fact contributed positively to harm reduction. Such sites helped people access more comprehensive and relevant information than was available elsewhere. Blocking these websites would likely drive drug discussion underground at a time when corporate-controlled ‘walled gardens’ (e.g. Facebook) and proprietary operating systems on mobile devices may also limit open drug discussion. At the same time, hidden Internet services, such as Silk Road, have emerged that are not affected by Internet filtering. The inability for any government to regulate Tor websites and the crypto-currency Bitcoin poses a unique challenge to drug prohibition policies

Safer scoring? Cryptomarkets, social supply and drug market violence

Background: Cryptomarkets are digital platforms that use anonymising software (e.g. Tor) and cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin) to facilitate trade of goods and services, most notably illicit drugs. Cryptomarkets may reduce systemic violence compared with in-person drug trading because no face-to-face contact is required and disputes can be resolved through a neutral third party. In this paper, we describe the purchasing behaviour of cryptomarket users and then compare the self-reported experiences of threats, violence and other drug-market concerns when obtaining drugs from cryptomarkets with obtaining drugs through friends, known dealers and strangers. Methods: The Global Drug Survey was completed in late 2014 by a self-selected sample who reported accessing drugs through cryptomarkets in the last 12 months (N = 3794). Results: Their median age was 22 years and 82% were male. The drug types most commonly obtained through cryptomarkets were MDMA/Ecstasy (55%), cannabis (43%) and LSD (35%). Cryptomarket users reported using a median of 2 sources in addition to cryptomarkets to access drugs, the most common being in-person friendships (74%), in-person dealers (57%) and open markets/strangers (26%). When asked to nominate the main source they would use if cryptomarkets were unavailable, 49% nominated friends, 34% known dealers and 4% strangers. 'Threats to personal safety' (3%) and 'experiencing physical violence' (1%) were less often reported when using cryptomarkets compared with sourcing through friends (14%; 6%), known dealers (24%; 10%) or strangers (35%; 15%). Concerns about drug impurities and law enforcement were reported more often when using the alternative source, while loss of money, waiting too long and not receiving the product were more often reported when using cryptomarkets. Conclusion: Cryptomarkets are associated with substantially less threats and violence than alternative market types used by cryptomarket customers, even though a large majority of these alternatives were closed networks where violence should be relatively less common

Social supply of cannabis in Australia (NDLERF Monograph Series 59)

While cannabis is the most prolifically used illicit drug in Australia, there is a gap in our understanding concerning the social interactions and friendships formed around its supply and use. The authors recruited cannabis users aged between 18 and 30 years throughout Australia, to explore the impact of supply routes on young users and their perceived notions of drug dealing in order to provide valuable insight into the influence that reciprocal relationships have on young people’s access to cannabis. Findings reveal that the supply of cannabis revolves around pre-existing connections and relationships formed through associates known to be able to readily source cannabis. It was found that motivations for proffering cannabis in a shared environment were related more to developing social capital than to generating financial gain. Given this, often those involved in supply do not perceive that they are breaking the law or that they are ‘dealers’. This social supply market appears to be built on trust and social interactions and, as such, presents several challenges to law enforcement. It is suggested that there would be benefit in providing targeted education campaigns to combat social supply dealing among young adults

Drug checking to improve monitoring of new psychoactive substances in Australia

As has been reported previously in the Journal, 1 novel psychoactive stimulant drugs are now increasingly prevalent in patients presenting to hospital emergency departments. A further cluster of 11 patients showing confusing hallmarks of sympathomimetic poisoning but no identifiable substance presented to St Vincent ’ s Hospital in Sydney over a public holiday weekend in April 2015. Also, the start to the 2015 e 2016 summer festival season has included multiple deaths and hospitalisations following drug use at festivals, leading to calls for novel actions to protect public health. 2 Here, we take the opportunity to describe a method of harm minimisation that has been deployed in Europe and could potentially be deployed locally to tackle this problem. As has been reported previously in the Journal, 1 novel psychoactive stimulant drugs are now increasingly prevalent in patients presenting to hospital emergency departments. A further cluster of 11 patients showing confusing hallmarks of sympathomimetic poisoning but no identifiable substance presented to St Vincent ’ s Hospital in Sydney over a public holiday weekend in April 2015. Also, the start to the 2015 e 2016 summer festival season has included multiple deaths and hospitalisations following drug use at festivals, leading to calls for novel actions to protect public health. 2 Here, we take the opportunity to describe a method of harm minimisation that has been deployed in Europe and could potentially be deployed locally to tackle this problem