Beyond the dark web

Navigating the risks of cannabis supply over the surface web

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21605331
AutoresAndrew Child (0000-0002-1956-3212, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia, autor de correspondencia), Melissa Bull (0000-0003-4740-5753, Queensland University of Technology), Ross Coomber (0000-0002-8144-1996, University of Liverpool)
Año2022
Volumen29
Número4
Páginas403-414
Fecha de publicación2022-07-04
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDrugs Education Prevention and Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0968-7637 • E-ISSN: 1465-3370
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09687637.2021.1916439
OpenAlexW3157633481
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas81

Common depictions of buying and selling illicit drugs online centre on how drug market actors engage in dark web drug cryptomarkets, but the supply of illicit drugs also takes place in ‘plain site’ on the surface web. Drawing on netnographic observations and qualitative interviews with hard-to-reach buyers and vendors (n = 20), this paper explores LeafedOut, a specific, popular surface web platform, that provides a conduit for local cannabis exchanges. We found that the platform enabled easy access and supply at the local level but increased some specific risks to those involved. Actors neutralised the perceived risks of drug supply over this surface web platform through the broader societal normalisation of cannabis use/supply, adopting encrypted messaging applications to cover ‘digital traces’, and developing various methods to establish trust with an exchange partner (e.g. review systems, sending selfies with drug paraphernalia, selectively choosing meet-up locations). This paper expands our understanding of the growing number of online illicit drug markets by shifting attention from dark web cryptomarkets to the much more widely accessed surface/clear web. Theoretical implications for the study of trust and risk in online illicit drug market exchanges are also considered

Advertising · Business · Cannabis · Deep Web · Drug · Illicit drug · Internet privacy · Paraphernalia · Political science · The Internet · Web analytics · Web application security · Web development · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Law · Psychology · Spam and Phishing Detection