#Navy to sailors: Don’t buy LSD on the dark web

U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrive pierside and prepare to return to the ship at Naval Base Guam.

via REUTERS

The Navy recently released a bizarre warning urging sailors not to buy LSD on the dark web — because it’s dangerous and they’ll likely get caught.

Officials said the often illicit internet marketplace sells users hallucinogenic drugs with “perceived anonymity” — but the feds have ways of catching buyers, according to a message released by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service last Thursday.

“Recent law enforcement reporting has revealed that an increasing number of people are moving to purchasing illicit substances via the dark web because of the perceived anonymity provided by tools like The Onion Router,” the NCIS notice states. “While [it] offers anonymity by obscuring IP addresses, law enforcement use various investigative techniques to identify both purchasers and sellers.”

Plus, drugs sold on the dark web are sometimes cut with harmful chemicals, officials warned.

“Drugs purchased via the dark web are often laced with other substances in dangerous combinations that can lead to death,” the notice says. “Additionally, international, federal, state, and local law enforcement are working collectively, using a variety of techniques to infiltrate marketplaces, identify users, and combat the illicit drug threat.”

The Navy stopped testing sailors for LSD use in 2006 and has no way of knowing if seamen are still dropping acid, according to the military news site taskandpurpose.com.

It wasn’t clear why the military branch felt the need to issue the advisory.

But in May 2018, 14 Air Force officers tasked with safeguarding nuclear missile silos in Wyoming were disciplined for taking acid between shifts,  a move some say may have simply been due to boredom.

On the dark web, drugs — ranging from cocaine to diabetes meds — are sold on through specialized browsers, generally using encryption technology to protect the identity of users.