National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 22-32 King St, Randwick NSW 2031, Australia.
Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Utrecht University, Boothstraat 6, Utrecht, 3512 BW, The Netherlands.
Int J Drug Policy. 2017 Dec;50:48-55. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.09.004.
Online drug markets are expanding the boundaries of drug supply including the sale and purchase of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs). However, the role of the internet in IPED markets, and in particular the ways in which these substances are supplied via the surface web, has rarely been considered. This article examines the online IPED market in order to inform drug policy and to provide a nuanced understanding of retailers involved, particularly exploring the relationship between buyers and sellers.
This paper is based on two extensive research projects conducted in the Netherlands and Belgium. The first project focuses on muscle drugs and is based on 64 IPED dealing cases, semi-structured interviews with authorities (N=32), and dealers (N=15), along with an analysis of 10 steroid-selling websites. The second research project primarily focuses on weight loss drugs and sexual enhancers in the Netherlands, and relies on interviews with authorities (N=38), suppliers (N=30), and consumers (N=10), analysis of 69 criminal case files, and an online analysis.
In the literature, the illicit online sale of IPEDs is generally associated with illegal online pharmacies that try to mislead buyers. While confirmed in our research, we also illustrate that there are online suppliers who invest in customer relationships and services, and that users are aware of the illegal nature of their business. These e-vendors incorporate a 'social supply business model' by providing the best possible service to their customers and attempting to minimise risks in order to attract, satisfy and maintain customers.
As it is likely that users will continue to make use of the internet to order IPEDs, regardless of closing down selling websites, it is first of all important to counteract these online sources by educating all types of consumers and providing harm reduction services.
在线毒品市场正在扩大毒品供应的边界，包括销售和购买形象和性能增强药物（IPEDs）。然而，互联网在 IPED 市场中的作用，特别是这些物质通过表面网络供应的方式，很少被考虑。本文考察了在线 IPED 市场，以便为毒品政策提供信息，并对涉及的零售商提供细致入微的理解，特别是探索买家和卖家之间的关系。
本文基于在荷兰和比利时进行的两项广泛的研究项目。第一个项目侧重于肌肉药物，基于 64 个 IPED 交易案例、对当局（N=32）和经销商（N=15）的半结构化访谈，以及对 10 个类固醇销售网站的分析。第二个研究项目主要侧重于荷兰的减肥药和性增强剂，依赖于对当局（N=38）、供应商（N=30）和消费者（N=10）的访谈、69 个刑事案件档案的分析和在线分析。
在文献中，IPED 的非法在线销售通常与试图误导买家的非法在线药房有关。虽然在我们的研究中得到证实，但我们还说明了存在在线供应商投资于客户关系和服务的情况，并且用户意识到他们的业务是非法的。这些电子供应商通过为客户提供最佳服务并试图最小化风险来吸引、满足和留住客户，采用了“社交供应商业模式”。
由于无论关闭销售网站，用户都可能继续利用互联网订购 IPEDs，因此首先通过向各种消费者进行教育并提供减少伤害服务来对抗这些在线来源至关重要。
