Drugs and the internet

In this chapter we review how drug patterns, practices and policies are changing within internet saturated societies. Our discussion considers both established illicit drugs and new psychoactive substances. We introduce new concepts that assist us to rethink how the internet is understood in the drugs field - for example, internet technologies as 'tools', 'places' and 'ways of being'. Drug practices are shaped by internet technologies, and our responses to drug problems are shaped by internet technologies. Both aspects - drug practices and responses to them - need to be considered in light of the possibilities that the internet- saturated age provides, as well as the possible challenges. We describe drug market innovations shaped by the use of internet technologies through two case studies: anonymous drug marketplaces, known as cryptomarkets, and new psychoactive substances. We analyse policy responses, focusing on three areas: regulation of new psychoactive substances, internet content regulation and online participatory engagement. 6 The chapter concludes with a consideration of the implications of contemporary networked societies for understanding drug use and health.