UK buying more legal and illegal drugs online, survey finds

More drug users are buying their drugs online – including so-called legal highs as well as illegal drugs such as cannabis and MDMA – because they say the quality is better, there is more choice and it is more convenient, research has found.

The 2014 Global Drug Survey (GDS) – which questioned almost 80,000 drug users from 43 countries, and is the largest research of its kind – indicates that although the majority of drug users still use dealers, a growing number are following 21st-century shopping habits by going online.

Hidden online drug marketplaces such as Silk Road – known as the "Amazon for drugs" before it was shut down in October last year – have sprung up and drug users are using the virtual currency Bitcoin to make transactions. The UK is also at the vanguard of this shift online, with the highest percentage...

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URL: 
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/14/drugs-uk-more-legal-illegal-bought-online-survey