Silk Road research interviews closed [SR1]

Hi Reddit,

Over the last 9 months, we have been conducting research interviews with people who purchased drugs on Silk Road (v1.0) about their experiences. You can view links to our previous posts here Interviews for this research are now closed. We would like to thank the people who participated, we don't know who they are.

This research has been conducted from a harm reduction perspective for the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University. Our aim is to understand the transitions in illicit drug purchase and use within the context of the Silk Road darknet marketplace. More broadly, this research considers the increasing accessibility of anonymous drug markets in the darknet and what their social implications are. Findings from this research will be used to raise perspectives for drug policy consideration, with the intention of reducing harms surrounding drug consumption.

These interviews have provided a depth of experience, from people who engage in this environment. We are grateful to the Redditors on the darknet markets subreddit, and the Silk Road subreddit, who hosted and engaged with our research. Your engagement provided us with valuable balancing insights into how this research was received and perceived by the broader community.

We are now working on analysis of the interviews and anticipate publishing on the research findings by next year. We'll post back here with our findings.

If you are curious about the research and would like to see some of our early discussions, you can check out the following links: Our TASA 2013 conference presentation on our research approach and methods. Our presentation to the Melbourne Bitcoin community in May.

For further information or to stay up-to-date with the research findings and publications, please contact the lead researcher of this project, Dr Monica Barratt.

Thanks for taking the time to read about this. We appreciated your support and engagement with what we're doing. We hope that you will find benefit from the research both personally and for the wider community.


Comments


[16 Points] gonzobon:

Thanks for doing this.

Harm Reduction + Legalization > Prohibition and Prison


[6 Points] None:

This is great.

I'm sick of hearing "don't do drugs" Seriously, people are always going to do drugs. Those who are interested in them will take them. Those who aren't won't. It's much more important to educate users on harm reduction than it is to fucking lecture them. I wish the medical profession would get behind this instead of just preaching, it keeps people safe which is after all supposed to be their job.


[2 Points] obsidianchao:

Hello! I'm sorry I couldn't personally find time to answer your questions - at the time, some things came up. That said, I can't wait to see the final results of your research! Thanks for your hard work.


[1 Points] alexiamadd:

Thanks for your responses and support of the harm reduction approach. We think it's important too.