Our technological overlords are taking over pretty much every aspect of our lives: first it was dating, and the next stage, apparently, is drugs. In fact, technology has taken over the drug market completely enough that it is estimated that cocaine delivery is faster than pizza delivery in London (with New York and Berlin not far behind.)
This year’s Global Drug Survey will aim to investigate the effect of encrypted messaging services and other methods of drug ordering and delivery that have made obtaining drugs easier and faster than ever before. Professor Adam R Winstock, a consultant psychiatrist and founder of the survey, told the Independent that street dealing has become riskier for both buyers and sellers than some higher-tech alternatives.
“With the darknet facilitating the delivery of drugs direct to people’s letter boxes and encrypted social media platforms allowing people to order in secret, it’s not surprising that there’d be an impact on the speed of delivery,” Winstock said. “Despite additional charges for swift drug delivery, the attraction of convenience and discretion means it makes sense for dealers to invest in premium delivery services.”
“With all this in mind, we decided to look at efficiency and speed of drug delivery across the world. And to make a symbolic comparison, we’re using pizzas as a benchmark and cocaine as the test,” he continued.
Their current research leads them to believe that London is projected to be the top city for cocaine delivery, but New York and Berlin are also apparently in the running.
The Global Drug Survey is the world’s biggest survey about drugs. An independent research company based in London, the GDS produces yearly reports in the interest of drug education as well as free online harm reduction resources and anonymous, confidential self-assessment tools.
This year, they’re asking for people to (anonymously!) contribute to their survey in an attempt to improve the knowledge, understanding, and safety around taking drugs. For 2018, they’re interested in a few choice topics. They will be interested in how respondents lost their “drug virginity,” how drinkers are affected by alcohol labels, ketamine bladder, dark net markets, and more. They will also be examining at how cannabis smokers kick the habit, as well as drug testing at festivals.
The research team at the GDS are (rather predictably) telling people that taking part in their survey has become “more important than ever before” as “advances in technology” have opened “new avenues for risk and risk reduction.”
