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German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

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301–310 of 332 posts

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#301

"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". Obviously the next one becomes the largest, but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one of those markets a month. Probably legalizing weed would stop most of that more effectively than all those police operations after month of preparation.

I think weed is by far the most popular drug on all Darknetmarkets

I'm curious, that would surprise me. Maybe by weight, but I would be surprised if that were by value.

Weed is extremely difficult to send by mail, relative to most other drugs. It's large in volume, and it produces a distinct smell. You can combat that, but it's a pain, and I'm not sure how effective it is.

Compared to something like LSD, which you could easily slip into the pages of a book, and produces no recognizable smell. At least on the human spectrum, and I severely doubt drug dogs can smell it.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think weed is by far the most popular drug on all Darknetmarkets

I'm curious, that would surprise me. Maybe by weight, but I would be surprised if that were by value. Weed is extremely difficult to send by mail, relative to most other drugs. It's large in volume, and it produces a distinct smell. You can combat that, but it's a pain, and I'm not sure how effective it is. Compared to something like LSD, which you could easily slip into the pages of a book, and produces no recogniza…

You vacuum seal the weed once or twice and you’re good, use mylar bags if you’re feeling fancy.

Most of the weed vendors aren’t shipping internationally so they don’t need to worry about dogs.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is larger?

I'm not sure what HN's policy is on discussion of illegal marketplaces, but I imagine it's no secret that the new #1 is White House Market.

It's not a secret. If the people who wrote this press release are not like outright lying for publicity then they are really really bad at their jobs.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#304

The article mentions the us irs were involved. For a german marketplace run by an Australian. Any idea why?

I'm speculating here, but they probably asked the FBI or some US agency for help tracking crypto transactions. The IRS probably got involved by those agencies with the excuse that people may be hiding income from the illicit transactions... but also because the IRS is, besides maybe the intelligence agencies, one of the agencies with the best crypto-tracking technology and capacity in the US.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#305
post #75

"the largest market" always reminds me of "Bin Ladens right hand". Obviously the next one becomes the largest, but nevertheless it's like they kill at least one of those markets a month. Probably legalizing weed would stop most of that more effectively than all those police operations after month of preparation.

Uhhh... weed is not even close to the most purchased drug via the dark web. Certainly not in plant matter form. They'd have to legalize all the club/party drugs to make a dent; pills and powders, lsd.

And they should legalize all drugs..

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#306
post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For the most part, yes. No. > Lots of the harm comes from the fact they're not legal and cheaply available. I fully agree with this. > For example, heroin, I would say nearly all the harm comes from the fact it's not legal. Overdoses are prevented because they can happen in safe places where people will notice. Even if that is true, the harm that does not come from the fact that it's illegal would be magnified a hu…

> Even if that is true, the harm that does not come from the fact that it's illegal would be magnified a hundredfold if it became as widespread as alcohol (which is, please keep that in mind, the scenario I was talking about). That's not hyperbole: Accodding to the European Drug Report 2018 ( https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/8585/ ...), the prevalence of injecting drugs (chiefly heroin) is betwe…

> Heroin is not a party drug while alcohol is. Cocaine, Meth, and MDMA I would expect to see increase in usage for the party scene but heroin specifically wouldn't see that increase, it would a small increase at first but overall that would go down.

Given how strong the heroin high is and how quickly and strongly physical addiction is, I would not be so sure about that.

> Portugal has shown that if you legalise the drug and make it a health issue

Portugal has not, in fact, legalised any previously illegal drug, or even fully decriminalized it. Not even cannabis.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#307
post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Portugal has not, in fact, fully decriminalized any previously illegal drug. Not even cannabis.

Quoth wikipedia: In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to abolish all criminal penalties for personal drug possession

Also quoth wikipedia: "criminal penalties are still applied to drug growers, dealers and traffickers."

Which is what I meant with "not fully decriminalized".

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#308
post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legalization has not stopped alcohol poisoning. Is there some reason it would stop heroin overdoses?

Because we have data to back this up. Countries like the Netherlands or Portugal have was fewer OD deaths than countries where a hard drugs use is more punished. https://www.statista.com/statistics/632372/total-number-of-d... https://transformdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation-in-portuga...

Thank you. That's very useful to know.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think weed is by far the most popular drug on all Darknetmarkets

I'm curious, that would surprise me. Maybe by weight, but I would be surprised if that were by value. Weed is extremely difficult to send by mail, relative to most other drugs. It's large in volume, and it produces a distinct smell. You can combat that, but it's a pain, and I'm not sure how effective it is. Compared to something like LSD, which you could easily slip into the pages of a book, and produces no recogniza…

Yeah but most people aren't after LSD or MDMA. They will do it on occasion. Weed is something some people smoke every day, and your average Joe is more likely to try it. In regular drug dealing there is way more volume in weed.

Re: German police take down 'world's largest darknet marketplace'

#310

The article mentions the us irs were involved. For a german marketplace run by an Australian. Any idea why?

An idea: much of the time the way dark net vendors are taken down involve the IRS. Did you know that you can legally report illicit income, legally, with ostensibly no negative consequence? >Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity. https://www.irs.gov/…

Sure, but the IRS has no jurisdiction in either Germany or Australia for non-citizens.
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