Pubdate: Wed, 16 Nov 2005
Source: Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (Finland)
Copyright: 2005, Helsingin Sanomat
Contact:  http://www.helsinki-hs.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1158

HUNDREDS OF FINNS BELIEVED TO ORDER ILLEGAL DRUGS ON LINE

A European Union study reveals that it is relatively easy to find web 
sites on the Internet that sell illegal drugs. The Psychonaut study, 
involving eight countries of the European Union, went through 1,600 
web sites with the subject of drugs.

Taking part in the study was Finland's A Clinic Foundation, which 
estimates that hundreds of Finns buy drugs or drug-related 
paraphernalia from foreign web sites.

According to A-Clinic Foundation project coordinator Aino Majava, 
drugs can be ordered on line by anyone with access to a credit card.

Of the pages examined by the researchers, about one in ten - or more 
than 160, offered drugs for sale. None of the web sites were Finnish. 
Most were based in the United States, the UK, or The Netherlands, but 
some were also based in Sweden.

Majava was surprised at how easy it was to find such a large number 
of web sites selling drugs. The products on sale included cannabis 
and other plant-based drugs, as well as research chemicals, 
psychoactive pharmaceuticals, and spores of hallucinogenic mushrooms. 
Hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or amphetamine were not on offer.

Based on comments on just one Finnish on-line message board, Majava 
concludes that there such web sites have at least dozens of Finnish 
customers. She believes that the total number of Finnish clients is 
in the hundreds.

Based on the messages, some orders arrive at their destinations 
unopened, some are inspected by customs, which sometimes confiscates 
some of the goods, and some deliveries never arrive at all.

"The products on sale are nearly all illegal. Discussions on message 
boards reveal that many buyers are not sure of the legality. Many 
hope to find a loophole that would make legal intoxicants available", 
Majava says.

There were nearly as many web sites offering instructions for the 
manufacture and growing of drugs as there were pages offering them for sale.

Most of the 1,600 pages examined were produced by private individuals 
or companies. Web sites produced by public institutions and health 
care officials were in the minority.

Slightly fewer than half of the drug-related web sites expressed a 
negative view of drugs. About one fifth were classified as pro-drug. 
Only few web sites took an overall positive view of all drugs - 
typically, positive attitudes were restricted to cannabis, for example.

Drug-related web sites produced in Finland are typically maintained 
by various organisations and public institutions. Finland had fewer 
pro-drug web sites than most other countries.

The research group found information about 100 psychoactive drugs 
with little or no expert information about their use as intoxicants. 
The products ranged from mild stimulants to powerful hallucinogens.

The material for the study was collected between June 2003 and November 2004.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman