Synthetic drug sales on the rise as dealers cover their tracks and make misleading claims.
In the secretive world of online drug dealing, an underground website named Silk Road entices shoppers with a wide range of illegal substances -- from Ecstasy and other synthetic drugs to heroin and high-grade marijuana.
The site, launched in February, is one of many new online outlets fueling a sudden and dangerous surge in synthetic drug abuse in Minnesota and nationwide, a Star Tribune investigation shows.
Of 86 drug sites that were examined, 64 do not appear to have existed even just two years ago, according to Internet Exposure, a Web design and research firm that analyzed traffic data for the Star Tribune. Unique visitors to those sites soared from 122,090 in June 2009 to 404,469 in June 2011.
The sheer volume and clandestine nature of these online sales are making it difficult, if not impossible, for authorities to stop illegal trafficking of dangerous drug products in this lucrative, anything-goes virtual marketplace.
Just two months after Minnesota started enforcing a law banning many synthetic drugs, the products -- typically sold as bath salts, plant food, herbal incense and research chemicals -- remain widely available and easy to purchase from online retailers, the Star Tribune investigation found.
Identifying the merchants who actually operate synthetic drug sites can be extremely difficult.
"Anyone who wants to cover up their involvement in a website can register a domain with false information or use a domain privacy service," said Jeff Hahn, CEO of Internet Exposure, in Minneapolis. Such privacy services specialize in concealing the identities of their clients.
Link: http://www.startribune.com/local/129596073.html