1. New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in Deep Web Marketplaces (DWM):
DR. Fernando Caudevilla
Family Physician
Energy Control (ABD)

6. How important are NPS in DWMs?
Data from Silk Road 2.0 study
2) Some recent data on other DWMs sales and products
3) Data from Vendor Shops
4) Analysis from harm reduction threads in DWMs forum
5) Drug samples analyzed in International Drug Testing Service from Energy Control .

7. How important are NPS in DWMs?
Data from Silk Road 2.0 study
Caudevilla, F. (2014), ‘The importance of NPS in online drug markets: data from Silk Road 2.0’, III International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), Rome, 16/5/14.

8. Objective: Material and methods:
To obtain data about NPS in Silk Road Marketplace
Type of substances offered
Country of origin (sources of the merchandise)
Estimated volume of sales and demand
Comparision with traditional drugs
Material and methods:
Data from all the products offered and sales in Silk Road Marketplace 2.0 were collected from Nov 2013 to May 2013
Kind of product
Name of the vendor
Country of delivery
Number of sales
Price
Feedback from user
Analysis was limited to data from psychoactive, illegal drugs
Legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco), prescription drugs, and other products (art, jewels…) and services (money laundering, fake credit cards…) were excluded from analysis
Substances were classified as “classical” or “NPS” according to authors structured criteria

9. RESULTS: Drugs offered

10. RESULTS: nps offered
A total of 195 different NPS compounds (1456 items) are offered
SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS n
NPS PSYCHEDELICS
NPS
STIMULANTS
ECSTASY
DISSOCIATIVES
SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS
JWH family 42
Tryptamine derivatives 39
Cathinone derivatives 6
Beta-ketones 3
PCP derivatives 4
MT family 1
AM family 11
2C- family 17
Amphetamine derivatives 5
Other
Ketamine derivatives 2
AH family
HU family 8
DOx family
Pyrovalerones
CP family
NBOMe family
Benzofurans
URB family 7
PB family
AKB family 12
TOTAL 81 74 24

11. RESULTS: Drugs purchased

13. RESULTS: Drugs WITH NO SALES vs more than 50 sales
TOTAL PRODUCTS OFFERED
PRODUCTS WITH ZERO SALES %
CLASSICAL
5197
647
12,44%
NPS
1456
753
51,17%
TOTAL PRODUCTS OFFERED
PRODUCTS WITH MORE THAN 50 SALES %
CLASSICAL
5197
590
11,35%
NPS
1456 28
1,92%

14. RESULTS: estimated volume of sales
CLASSICAL DRUGS
EUR
NPS
EUR

15. RESULTS: PROPORTION OF OFFERED DRUGS WITH COST OVER/BELOW 200 EUR
CLASSICAL DRUGS N
< 200 EUR
>200 EUR
STIMULANTS
922
61,4%
38,6%
CANNABIS
1864
79,8%
20,2%
PSYCHEDELICS
836
81,7%
18,3%
ECSTASY
1234
69,5%
30,5%
OPIOIDS
159
85,7%
14,3%
NPS N
<200 EUR
>200 EUR
STIMULANTS
313
34,6%
65,4%
CANNABINOIDS
235
14,6%
85,4%
PSYCHEDELICS
654
21,1%
78,9%
ECSTASY RELATED
173
57,1%
42,9%
OPIOIDS 20 5%
95%

16. NUMBER OF DRUGS CLASSIFIED BY GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN (AS REPORTED BY VENDORS)
Etiquetas de fila
EUROPE
NORTH AMERICA
ASIA
AUSTRALIA AND NZ
AFRICA
SOUTH AMERICA
UNDECLARED
CLASSICAL STIMULANTS
488
211 5
122 2 88
ECSTASY
823
242 14 91 63
CANNABIS
978
730 32 44 13 66
OPIATES 83 51 20
CLASSICAL PSYCHEDELICS
450
246 10 45 84
KETAMINE 17
GHB 43 7 3 24
TOTAL CLASSICAL
2931
1507 80
312 18
347
SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS
152
NPS DISSOCIATIVES 12 23 22
NPS ECSTASY RELATED 39
108
NPS PSYCHEDELICS
167
155 29
136
NPS STIMULANTS 52
147 16
SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS
TOTAL NPS
372
277
613 36
157

17. How important are NPS in DWMs?
2) Some recent data on other DWMs sales and products

18. ABRAXAS MARKETPLACE (October 2015)
A total of products in the category of “cannabis” were offered
Natural cannabis: (62%)
Synthetic cannabinoids : (38%)
Volume of sales:
Natural cannabis: 91,2 %
Synthetic cannabinoides: 8.8 %

19. Number of sales in “ecstasy” cathegory in Alphabay marketplace (jun-sept 2015)

20. How important are NPS in DWMs?
3) Data from Vendor Shops

21. 88,8% (24/27) offered only “classical drugs”
DATA FROM “DIRECT VENDOR SHOPS”
27 “direct vendor shops”
88,8% (24/27) offered only “classical drugs”
145 different products offered
Cocaine (35,86%),
MDMA (28,96%)
Cannabis (27,58%)
Methamphetamine (6,89%)
2 shops offered NPS
Mephedrone ( 1,37%)
Synthetic cannabinoids (1,37%)

23. How important are NPS in DWMs?
4) Analysis from harm reduction threads in DWMs forum

25. Questions about NPS in an on-line harm reduction service on DWMs

26. Drug-Checking Service
Colorimetric
tests
Thin Layer
Cromatography (TLC)
Gas Cromatography/Mass Spectrophotometry(GC/MS)
Techniques:
Objectives:
Contact users and
provide information
Improve knowledge of
drugs market
Spread information
I spoke you before about the DTS of Energy Control, it is one of our most valuable and appreciated services.
Sometimes this service is MISUNDERSTOOD, we are not to say “this drug is good for you, this is not good”.
We perceive it as an opportunity to contact users and provide them information, to improve knowledge about drug markets and to spread information (we are part of the TEDI TRANSEUROPEAN DRUG INFORMATION NETWORK and the EARLY WARNING SYSTEM of EMCDDA)

27. How important are NPS in DWMs?
5) Drug samples analyzed in International Drug Testing Service from Energy Control

28. International Drug Testing Service: Results
18 months period (March September 2015)
285 samples analyzed
52 different substances
77,19 % common recreational drugs
14,04% prescription drugs
8,77% NPS
 Sample n
Only main compound detected
Purity b
Mean ± SD
Range
Cocaine
103
51.5% (53/103)
71.6 ± 19.4%
5-99%
LSD 15
100.0% (10/10)
123.6 ± 40.5µg
53-195µg
MDMA crystal 13
100.0% (13/13)
88.3 ± 1.4%
76-99%
MDMA pills 11
100.0% (11/11)
133.3 ± 38.4mg
83-188mg
Amphetamine 10
40.0% (4/10)
51.3 ± 33.9%
10-98%
Ketamine 6
50.0% (3/6)
71.3 ± 38.4%
27-95%
Cannabis resin 5
100.0% (5/5)
THC: 16.5 ± 7.5% CBD: 3.4 ± 1.5%
THC: % CBD: %

29. DISCUSSION
On-line drug markets are an emergent tendency that must be followed and monitored
Internet and on-line markets can provide valuable information (including NPS)
In “free market conditions” drug users choose preferently “classic drugs” than NPS
Limitations:
Are data reliable?
Are data extrapolable to other markets?
Do NPS users buy drugs in on-line markets?
Are NPS be used as adulterants to classical drugs?

30. Conclussions: Importance of NPS in DWM seems limited
There is a wide offer of NPS available to users, but, in general, they prefer classical drugs.
Methoxetamine and 25-x-NBOMe seem the most popular substances in their cathegories. Importance of synthetic cannabinoids seem limited.
Some NPS are being sold in great amounts, possibly indicating drug traffic instead of personal use
It is important to pay attention to online drug markets, as emergent tendencies.