"End users seem to be buying their drugs on the dark web to a lesser extent than in previous years.28 Qualitative information provided by people who use social media suggests that the use of such media for drug purchasing purposes has been increasing, especially at the retail level.29 This is occurring in a context in which the use of social media, typically accessed via the clear web (although not exclusively) is increasing more rapidly than the use of the Internet in general. 

"An Internet survey conducted simultaneously in 10 European Union countries in the period 2017–2018 among some 20,000 Internet-using drug consumers,15 using various recruitment strategies,16 found that 8 per cent of survey respondents had bought drugs on the dark web.17 This was a far smaller proportion than those who had bought drugs from a drug dealer (59 per cent), but a significantly larger proportion than those who had bought drugs from an online shop (3 per cent) or a specialized NPS shop (1 per cent).18 

"The increasing availability of potent substances such as opioids on the Dark Web indicates that the current drug policies are ineffective. Criminalizing drug use facilitates opportunities for illicit drug markets to operate both on the streets and online, including highly elusive spaces like the Dark Web. As found in this study, despite efforts to curb the availability of illicit substances on the Dark Web, cryptomarkets list these substances for sale in abundance.

"Highly anonymized, elusive, and unregulated, the Dark Web is an ideal landscape for vendors selling illicit substances. The substances, in addition to the markets themselves, that are available on the Dark Web at any given time are difficult to predict. To offer insight into and characterize Dark Web markets, we conducted a study of the substances available on the Dark Web, both historically—between 2012 and 2019—and at present, between 2022 and 2023.

"Descriptive analysis of the data collected through both the literature review and data scraping on the Dark Web indicated varying periods of volatility in the availability and distribution of psychoactive substances. Notably, no major changes were apparent in the distribution of substances, on average, between 2012 and 2019, as reported in the literature.

"The Dark Web is a subsection of the internet that has become a hub for illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons trading. The Dark Web offers extensive layers of anonymity, making it appealing for individuals to engage in criminal behavior (Gupta et al., 2019).

"From yearend 2011 to yearend 2021, the total adult community supervision population fell 22%, from 4,818,300 to 3,745,000 (table 1). Most of this decrease was due to a decline of 25% (1 million) in the number of adults on probation. The community supervision population has declined each year since 2007 and, at yearend 2021, was at its lowest level since 1994.²

"ƒ The U.S. prison population was 1,230,100 at yearend 2022, a 2% increase from yearend 2021 (1,205,100).

"ƒ The number of females in state or federal prison increased almost 5% from yearend 2021 (83,700) to yearend 2022 (87,800).

"ƒ Nine states and the BOP increased their total prison populations by over 1,000 persons from yearend 2021 to yearend 2022.

"ƒ State correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,039,500 persons sentenced to at least 1 year in prison in 2022, while the BOP had legal authority over 146,100 persons with similar sentences.

"The findings revealed that exposures to MOUD, even if not continued throughout the six-month exposure period was associated with reduced risk of a fatal poisoning compared to non-MOUD forms of treatment and no treatment exposure. It is also clear that risk of death associated with exposure to non-MOUD forms of treatment was no less than that for no treatment; indeed, non-MOUD treatment might have produced worse outcomes than no treatment.

"Among people aged 12 or older in 2022, 0.4 percent (or 991,000 people) misused fentanyl in the past year, including 0.1 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17, 0.2 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25, and 0.4 percent of adults aged 26 or older (Table A.12B). Corresponding estimated numbers of people who misused fentanyl in the past year were 34,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17, 75,000 young adults aged 18 to 25, and 882,000 adults aged 26 or older.

"IMF [Illegally Made Fentanyl] Use