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Abstract
Aims: The Internet has marked a revolution in the supply of illegal drugs, while at the same time, new types of illegal and semilegal drugs increasingly are becoming available. In order to deepen our understanding of the demand and supply of these new drugs on the Internet, this study focuses on the demographic characteristics, methods and preferences of people who purchase ‘lifestyle drugs’ through the surface web.
Methods: Data were obtained through the following two surveys: a prevalence study of 50,848 Dutch respondents and an in-depth study of 153 people who have purchased lifestyle drugs online.
Findings: At least 10.2% of the Dutch adult population has bought medicines online; the majority being lifestyle drugs (5.2%). In addition, an estimated 1.6% of the Dutch population has purchased medicines illicitly, with the majority of products concerning lifestyle drugs (0.9%). Illicit lifestyle drugs are primarily purchased through e-commerce sites and online pharmacies, and users report high satisfaction rates.
Conclusion: Purchasing lifestyle drugs is characterised by specific online dynamics, as the drugs are often openly accessible and the boundaries between legal and illegal sale blurred. As new types of drugs become available, it is important to further monitor customers’ preferences and experiences.
Notes
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Tim Bingham, independent researcher, and Daan van Uhm, associate professor at Utrecht University for their valuable comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the Dutch Ministry of Health and the European Union's Education Audio-visual and Cultural Executive Agency's Erasmus Mundus Fellowship.
Notes
1 The first panel of 56,700 participants was adequate for selecting 447 in-depth study respondents, but, in order to make reliable estimates on the Dutch population, we rephrased two questions on off- and online purchasing in a second prevalence study. The second prevalence study is based on 50,848 respondents, as outlined in the previous section.