NPS, PEDs and other emerging drugs on the Clearnet and the Darkweb: Use in sport

Abstract

The aim of the project was to identify new performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) including novel psychoactive substances (NPS) both in the Darkweb as well as in the Clearnet that could be offered to athletes to improve their performance.Searches on the Darkweb revealed that the number of PEDs offered to athletes is limited, and mainly center on well-known anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, stimulants and metabolic modulators. No novel substances were found and the most sophisticated were well known and also offered on the Clearnet.On the Clearnet, we targeted novel psychoactive substances (NPS) reported by the UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS during the period of 2018 to July 2023. None of these substances could be found in nutritional supplements targeting the athletic population, nor did they appear in chat rooms exchanging information on performance enhancing stimulants.In conclusion, it appears that PEDs constitute only a minimal part of the Darkweb market and all of the ones offered are well known substances. On the Clearnet, NPS recently released into the market do not make immediate appearance in supplements for the sports community.

Keywords

• Darkweb
• Clearnet
• Novel psychoactive substances (NPS)
• Performance enhancing drugs (PED)
• Sport
• Anti-doping