In May this year, a UK law came into force which banned all new psychoactive substances , or “NPS”. Instead of prohibiting new drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids as they hit the market, the law bans all substances that have an effect on the brain (bar a list of pre-approved drugs, such as alcohol and nicotine). But banning a drug does not stifle customer demand for it. In its latest National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has said the trade of these substances will likely move to the online black market. “Change in legislation around NPS in May 2016 effectively banning so-called ‘legal highs’ is likely to see a large increase in these drugs being offered through the dark web instead,” the report , published late last week, reads. According to the report’s methodology, “likely” refers to an “associated probability range” of 75-85 percent. The NCA is right. Substances advertised as “spice,” a broad term for synthetic cannabinoids, are being sold by a number of different vendors across multiple dark web marketplaces. A screenshot of "spice" advertised on a dark web market On Dream Market, for example, a UK-based seller calling themselves SaintSymbiosis is selling 7 grams of Spice for 0.1094 bitcoins, or around £50 ($66). “This was a legal high in the UK untill [sic] very recently, it is extremely strong and unless you are an experienced user of this type of product I would strongly urge you not to order this, it will be too strong for you to enjoy and certainly not a drug you would want to take up as a new user,” the product description reads. As Motherboard found in October last year , a myriad of other previously legal drugs are widely available on the […]
