The book doesn’t mention Ross or Silk Road at all. It was more a generic discussion on legal and illegal drug markets. It did mention the Sacklers.

I’m in two minds about Silk Road.

If you are purchasing drugs via a website, you generally know what you are doing and expecting. You’re also less likely to be killed in a dark alley somewhere buying drugs. And you are also more likely to be aware that the drugs you are buying are addictive. Would it lead to an increase in drug taking? I don’t know the answer to that. Possibly. It would have been interesting to see some research done on this.

Would it make life safer for those that are already addicted?Again, possibly.

People are going to do what they want regardless of the law so I probably lean more to the harm minimisation side of things.

This book explores some of that grey area. Should opium be illegal? Does it make it more or less dangerous? Natural vs synthetic etc.

In contrast, the Sacklers actively marketed their drug as safe and less addictive, pushed it to doctors, who then pushed it to people who were injured or ill.

The company knew the likely implications.

So people who weren’t looking for drugs to get high, and who simply wanted to be well were duped into becoming addicts.

I think that’s the difference for me, the issue of choice.