Drug Buyers Are Not Looking for Bargains.

• Position: DARKNET

When drug users go online for the first time to buy opioids, they are not looking for the widest selection or the best prices for their illicit purchases, suggests a study from Ohio State University, Columbus, as researchers found that these purchasers who visited one marketplace on the "darknet" cared only about finding trustworthy sellers--those who would deliver what they promised and keep the buyers' identities secret.

"When opioid users are making that first purchase, price doesn't matter at all," maintains Scott Duxbury, lead author of the study and doctoral student in sociology. "If they come back to buy again, price matters a little, but trust remains their primary concern."

Adds Dana Haynie, professor of sociology: "The accessibility and ease of purchasing illegal drugs online opens up a global market where buyers and sellers are no longer constrained by locality and buyers have more options and diversity in product selection."

The researchers collected data on all transactions in a six-month period involving opioid dealers on one large drug distribution market, which they called "Cryptomarket." This market exists on the darknet--a largely hidden part of the web that can be accessed only through software that allows...