Pubdate: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 Source: Daily Tribune, The (Royal Oak, MI) Copyright: 2011 The Daily Tribune Contact: http://www.dailytribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1579 Author: Amanda Lee, Daily Tribune Staff Writer WEBSITE OFFERS ILLEGAL DRUGS You want to buy some pot online? How about some cocaine? Sound crazy? It is, but it's also apparently become a reality. The website Silk Road offers just that. The site, which is hidden and only available through a program that promises anonymity, actually lets drug users peruse different drugs, including marijuana, acid and cocaine. They can then order it and have it delivered to their home. "It's like eBay for drug users," said Cliff, an Eastpointe resident who admits to being a recreational marijuana user. "I think it sounds cool, but I'd be terrified to use it." Silk Road is actually akin to an Internet black market. Users can create an account -- after jumping through anonymity technology hoops. It also utilizes a feedback system much like that on eBay, where buyers can rate sellers for the quality of the product and the quickness of delivery. The majority of sellers -- which hover in the hundreds -- are located in the United States and Canada. To get to Silk Road, you have to go to ianxz6zefk72ulzz.onion/index.php . Before you can even take that step, however, you have to visit the TOR website at www.torproject.org . Computer novices probably won't have an easy time going through the anonymity procedures. "I think it sounds like some police scam," said Eduardo, a resident of Detroit who smokes medical marijuana. "I would be scared to death to go on there in case it was just some entrapment thing. "With my luck, it would lead the cops right to my door," he said. Another problem that might arise from the website is the potential for scam artists. "That's what I would worry about, too," Eduardo admits. "It's not like you can go to the cops and say this website ripped you off when you were trying to buy coke on it." However, the ratings system does seem to indicate there are trusted traders on the site who have come through with genuine product. While emails to the website administrator went unanswered, in an article published by Gawker.com, administrators said that users were "generally bright, honest and fair people, very understanding and willing to cooperate with each other." The website also espouses a more libertarian political view, urging visitors to essentially rebel against the government and their policies. Sellers on the site are promised anonymity thanks to TOR -- which masks a user's tracks. What about tracking money from a credit card or PayPal? Not an option. The currency used on Silk Road is Bitcoins, or "crypto-currency." Bitcoins are hard to use and are essentially set up and regulated by a network of computers. "That all sounds really complicated," said Mike, a resident of Hazel Park who says he "dabbles" in a few drugs on a recreational basis. "I think people are better off going to someone they know and trust. "If you buy on a website then it could be laced with something that's really dangerous," he said. To get Bitcoins, you have to buy some Bitcoins from another service, then create an account on Silk Road to deposit the Bitcoins before you can start trading. The question is, does the site actually serve a purpose? "I can see, in theory, how it would be easier than trying to find someone on the street," said Jennifer, a resident of Detroit who buys marijuana on a regular basis. "However, I'm sure that the cops are all over this trying to shut it down and I bet they'll manage it one way or another." Despite the insular drug community, standard citizens are dead set against the website. "I think that's awful," said Karen Wolfe, a resident of Roseville who has two teenage children. "If I thought my kids could go on the Internet to buy drugs I would be searching every package that came to the house. That's just freaky." And there's another problem for anyone thinking of buying illegal drugs online. Possession is still against the law, whether the illegal drugs are purchased online or at the drug pad. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.