Disclaimer: In no way, shape or form does this blog entry advocate for or against the use of controlled substances. This blog entry discussed the use of controlled substances and the fallout of the closure of a marketplace that distributed controlled substances. Do not mistake the call for legalization as a call for use, it is not. The author of this blog entry feels that it's the individuals decision to engage in this activity or not, and it's not the government's decision to determine the legality of the individual's choice.

TOR is an interesting concept. It stands for The Onion Router and basically what it does is 'bounces' your signal across so many different servers globally that it's almost impossible to trace your activities back to you. This allows for another interesting concept to emerge. It's called the Deep Web and is not indexed by any search engine. Their domain names end in the .onion top level domain and can only be accessed by the TOR browser. These sites can only be accessed by those that are using the TOR browser and since no search engine can index the site, you have to know the exact web address to view the site. Naturally, this had lead to some very unusual and highly illegal activities on the Deep Web. It's also worth noting that the Deep Web is approximately 4 to 5 times larger than the regular web, but there's no way to know, for sure.

This is a very broad topic and can go in many interesting directions, but I want to talk about one site in particular, and the implications surrounding it: Silk Road. Development for this Deep Web site began in the second half of 2010 and the site was launched in February of 2011. Silk Road has been described as the Amazon or eBay of (illegal) drugs. The vast majority of the drugs sold on the site were illegal, but not all. Some were prescription medication that (from my understanding) was sold at a cheaper price than was commercially available.

It wasn't a free-for-all, either. Buyers were able to make an account, for free. Sellers, on the other hand, had to purchase a "seller's account" from an auction, which had a limited quantity. This ensured that the seller was legitimate and serious with their intentions. If someone was looking to flood the market with poor quality or incorrect drugs, they're far less likely to do so when they had to purchase their account.

There's an extra level of protection involved, because the entire site operates on the BitCoin currency, with the owner taking a cut. If you don't know what BitCoin is, it essentially boils down to this: an anonymous, decentralized, purely digital and global currency. BitCoin isn't something that world governments are particularly fond of, and countries like Thailand have already outright banned it. No BitCoin can be used in the country, enter or exit it anymore.

On the 2nd of October of this year, the FBI seized control of the domain for Silk Road and arrested the owner of the site, Ross William Ulbricht. This came as an alarming surprise to most, especially the buyers of the site. Supposedly, the FBI has obtained a bit-for-bit copy of the server(s) that host Silk Road, therefore having all the information on the site, including addresses where product was sent. It hasn't been said if the FBI will be using that information to press further charges against more individuals or not. The sting that brought about Ross's arrest is bizarre and not entirely relevant to the intent of this entry.

The more disturbing issue is the drugs and the buyers. The FBI has noted that the quality of the drugs sold on Silk Road is impressive. Upwards of 70% of the drugs they purchased (in over 100 purchases) were of 'high quality', which is practically unheard of. As well, the FBI seized all BitCoin deposits in the system when they took control of the site. Buyers had no option of withdrawing their BitCoins once they made a deposit into their Silk Road account.

This has created a host of issues for buyers. Many had made deposits valued at hundreds of dollars moments before the shut down of the site. Some had made deposits worth thousands. Even worse, many buyers have stated that the money they deposited into their account wasn't even theirs - it was being fronted to them by other individuals, to make purchases on their behalf. With the FBI closing the site, all that money is gone. Suddenly, hundreds, if not thousands, of people have lost large sums of money and are being held personally responsible to reimburse the lost funds, with money they don't have. The fall out of this will never be properly measured or known, but could be widespread and catastrophic. Supposedly, there's a mechanism in place to return all deposited BitCoins to buyers, in case of a situation like this, but no such mechanism has been triggered... yet.

Atlantis was considered to be Silk Road's competition. However, that marketplace was closed by their owners some time ago for 'security reasons'. As it currently stands, buyers and sellers have no viable fall back marketplace to turn to, to provide the services they desire and need. This has created a very dangerous situation for the buyers, some of whom suffer from an addiction and don't enjoy the luxury of stopping their purchases. The only place they have left to turn to now is the streets.

Before this, they had Silk Road. They had a controlled, quality-driven marketplace where they could pick and choose exactly what they wanted from trusted and vetted sellers. Their drug of choice was purchased anonymously and sent directly to their home by mail, with no one aware of the content of their package. Now, without that service available, they need to turn to the outside world. It's no secret that the streets are not safe. Both from the people roaming it and the drugs that they sell. One former Silk Road user made a post, explaining the quality of MDMA (commonly referred to as Molly) in comparison between Silk Road and the streets. She had a sample from Silk Road, which she tested and found to be pure. She took two samples, each from independent vendors in New York City and found that both had been 'cut'. The MDMA had been diluted with another substance (sometimes other drugs, like heroin or tranquilizers designed for horses, etc.). Both samples were unpure and contained unknown third party chemicals. Even if the now ex-Silk Road buyers survive the violence of the street, the drugs their buying are now killing them, and much faster than before.

Silk Road sold illegal substances. No one is disputing that. The services that Silk Road provided were incredibly illegal. No one is disputing that. However, while the intentions of the FBI were good (they dealt a harsh blow to the drug cartels that were using Silk Road to distribute their products safely), they've done far more harm then good. They've forced untold numbers of buyers to turn to the streets to seek the drugs that they need. Once again, the fall out of this will never be properly measured or known, but could be widespread and catastrophic.

The owner of Atlantis has written a post mortem, from their experiences. The most striking quote from what they had to say is this, in my opinion:

"'What striking to me as an outside observer is there seems to be no shortage of well educated American males in their late 20′s (Manning/Snowden and now Ulbricht) willing to sacrifice bright futures and their own personal liberty to highlight the draconian laws and downright totalitarianism being inflicted by their government on the populous,' writes the Atlantis representative. 'History will show it’s the will of the people that’ll win in the end and not that of the dictators in power and I thanks to the actions of DPR and others like him I believe I am now witnessing a full revolution in progress and I for one will be sticking around to document it.'"

(source)

That really is interesting, isn't it? Ulbricht made some mistakes in how he conducted himself and his business, but it's undeniable that he was smart and knew what he was doing. Why would someone with so much future potential throw it all away? He'll probably never see the light of day, with the charged laid against him. Snowden is forced to reside in Russia, in temporary asylum. He doesn't know what his future holds or where he'll end up. All he knows is that he'll never be able to step foot into his native country or allies of his native country ever again. Manning, whose prison sentence ensures they won't be released until they're old enough to be a grandparent - their life is effectively over.

All these people's lives are effectively over. They also knew this when they chose to do what they did. But why? They all feel, whether correctly or incorrectly, that the government is over-stepping it's bounds, from within the law and the Constitution that created the country. They feel that the government is out of control and they felt they were playing their part to reign that control in. To put a stop to the injustices committed by the government.

The FBI has started an arms race that they have no hopes of being able to win. Look at The Pirate Bay, which is still alive and kicking. They're on the regular web, and they make no attempt to hide what they do and they're still around. Silk Road v2.0 is coming and soon. It'll be bigger and better and far more secure than ever before. If that's taken down, then another one will appear and another one and another one. The people have spoken, the demand is there and capitalism is doing its thing. This will not go away for the FBI or anyone else. Drugs will not go away, they're here to stay.

On a similar but unrelated note, the Ontario Liberal government launched a site to crowd-source suggestions for their next election platform (which is a hint that an election is coming, but that's another blog entry). One of the suggestions was for the government to set up a crown-corporation (of sorts) that produces Methamphetamine. It was immediately dismissed, of course, but is it such a bad idea?

Since the war on drugs was started, the quality of drugs has dramatically improved and the price has dramatically fallen. To me, at least, this seems like the exact opposite of what should be happening. As one former police officer put it, to win the war on drugs, it seems reasonable to completely remove every trace of drugs from the face of the Earth. That would constitute a "win" for the war, wouldn't it? Of course it would. But it is also entirely unrealistic and impossible to do.

The government's problem is that they're too involved with the lives of the individual. I say this as someone that is incredibly socially left-wing. One of the major arguments for the legalization of same-sex marriage is for the government to get out of the bedroom. The same case can be made here. As long as the drug user isn't harming anyone, let them do whatever they want. If they want help, give them the help they need. "But that'll cost money!" you say. However, they'll be doing the drugs anyways, and if they want the help to get better, it should be available to them. You shouldn't put a price on a human life and they'll become a productive member of society (assuming they aren't already, but chances are, if they need help, they aren't).

The government needs to legalize drugs and put an end to the pointless and expensive war. More importantly, instead of trying to squash the drug marketplace sites on the Deep Web, the government needs to open their own site and provide the services themselves.