This year, investors are watching for big spikes in biotech companies working with psychedelics, especially as the once-controversial compounds return to the spotlight touting mental health benefits — and uniting lawmakers at the United States Capitol across party lines. The category’s future could make big legal gains in 2023, but due to the American government’s built-in checks and balances, even a Congress in agreement can’t shape drug policy alone. In May 2022, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Hawaii Democratic Senator Brian Schatz co-published a letter imploring the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized a five-day training course on cryptocurrencies and Dark Web investigation for Uzbekistan's police and prosecution forces. The course is a part of OSCE’s consistent efforts to educate Central Asian law enforcers on the emerging technologies that criminals might abuse in a strategically important region for the global drug trade. As the official press release from Oct. 21 goes, representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service attended the training from 17 to 21 Oct. to learn about the main concepts and key …

Digital asset market data firm Brave New Coin may soon be helping Nevada residents buy marijuana using crypto. According to Brave New Coin, blockchain firm Multichain Ventures will be using the company’s data and pricing infrastructure to fulfill regulatory requirements for cannabis businesses in the U.S. state of Nevada. Recreational and medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2016, but a bill introduced to the state’s legislature two years ago seeks for registered cannabis businesses to have a cashless payment system. The bill says this measure is intended for regulators to "monitor and facilitate the financial transactions of marijuana …

While the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, it has infected more than 30 million people, with almost 1 million confirmed to have died from it as it continues to spread across the world. The highly contagious virus has the ability to survive up to three weeks in frozen food supplies of meat and fish, according to a study. Related: Illicit crypto transactions are getting more attention from the government The United States — the worst-hit country by sheer numbers — is now facing two intersecting health crises: The ongoing opioid overdose epidemic and the coronavirus pandemic with …

Former police chief Yuri Zaitsev was recently sentenced to eight years in prison for acting as a bounty hunter for a dark web marketplace. In December 2018, Zaitsev was working as the leader of his unit within the Main Directorate for Drugs Control of the Republic of Khakassia — a law enforcement division analogous to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. At that time, he initiated contact with the operator of a darknet marketplace, offering to help hunt down a man who had appropriated drugs that were entrusted to him for placement in dead drops. In Russia, unlike …

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has charged two Costa Rican residents for illegally selling opioids on the darknet. Originally from the United States, David Brian Pate is a darknet vendor who along with Costa Rican pharmacist Jose Luis Hou sold drugs worth 23,903 Bitcoin (BTC) — approximately $270 million — to darknet customers. The jury charged Pate and Hou for conspiring to distribute controlled substances, distributing controlled substances, conspiring to import these substances and conspiring to launder money and money instruments. Selling drugs on SilkRoad and AlphaBay According to the statement published by the Department of …

Seven years ago, agents from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation busted into a San Francisco Public Library to arrest Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind the Silk Road. Launched in 2011, the Silk Road was the first modern darknet market where anonymous users could purchase illicit drugs, weapons and other illegal goods using Bitcoin (BTC). Although the Silk Road was shut down in 2013 following Ulbricht’s arrest, many individuals still use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to purchase illicit drugs from darknet markets. For example, a recent press release issued by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, states that …

Afghanistan’s healthcare ministry and several local pharmaceutical companies will use Fantom’s blockchain to combat counterfeit drugs. According to Fantom on July 6, its Opera blockchain will be used to track 80,000 units of four different pharmaceutical products in Afghanistan. After this initial pilot, the system will be scaled up to cover more products later this year. 50,000 units of hand sanitizer, 10,000 joint creams, 10,000 Kofol tablets and 10,000 Dioacare foot creams will be tracked during the pilot. The system is meant to address Afghanistan’s problem with counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Fantom stated that local law enforcement seized 100 tons of counterfeit, …

Law enforcement authorities throughout Europe arrested over 800 individuals that allegedly were using an encrypted chat network to coordinate their illicit activities. 60,000 members EncroChat was using modified Android devices to provide its users “worry free secure communications”. BBC reports that EncoChat has about 60,000 users: “An estimated 60,000 people, among them up to 10,000 in Britain, subscribed to France-based EncroChat, which has now been taken down.” Authorities allege that the criminals were using the encrypted messaging service to coordinate illegal activities like the sale of drugs and weapons. However, it is not clear whether they allege that all the …

Thai authorities are ramping up their efforts to crack down on the country’s drug networks and the ruses they use to launder their multi-million dollar turnovers — including cryptocurrency. AFP News reported on June 26 that the recent downfall of one meth syndicate — itself allegedly responsible for laundering tens of millions of dollars of narco profits via gold dealers, oil and the construction industry — has cast a spotlight on the "scale and sophistication” of such networks. Lieutenant-General Wissanu Prasarttong-Osoth — assistant to Thailand's police chief — has conceded “it's impossible to guess the real amount these drug networks …

A think-tank spanning Indian law enforcement, academic institutions, startups, and research and development organizations has begun working to bolster India’s darknet policing capabilities. The initiative has seen roughly one dozen "problem statements" identified and informed by police and central agencies distributed among 120 academic and research institutions. The program is expected to produce a diverse range of potential solutions and strategies for expanding the deep web policing prowess of Indian law enforcement. India’s Narcotics Control Bureau has made numerous arrests targeting darknet narcotics and black market pharmaceutical syndicates in recent months following the agency’s participation in the global "Operation Trance" …

May 19, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) awarded several federal agencies in the United States, whose joint probe led to the seizure of $22 million worth of cryptocurrency from the darkenet operators. 12-16% cashout fee This is an annual award whereby FinCEN recognizes law enforcement agencies for using Bank Secrecy Act reporting to successfully pursue and prosecute criminal investigations. The investigation involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, and United States Secret Service: “Investigative results identified dark web vendors sending illicitly earned Bitcoin with a physical receiving address via an encrypted email to conduct …