The deep web is a part of the World Wide Web that is not discoverable instantly. The deep web is accessible once certain browsers and programs are downloaded necessary to view it. The deep web is like looking under the hood of the internet. Over time the deep web became inhabited by people who wanted privacy from the government, which is considered the dark net. The deep web and dark net is, though, used majorly for good. University databases, unmarked government agencies and military services widely use it for their own information. Eventually, drug marketing sites were opened on the dark net (which is inside of the deep web) which varied in items being sold. Some sites sold only marijuana while others sold weapons, fake ID’s and other things. Popular sites such as Silk Road did not just sell drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.) but was a community where like minded people could discuss concerns such as overdosing and have philosophical discussions on the future of the war on drugs. Sites such as these were all over the dark net and evidence showed that sites like these had become bigger then eBay, amazon or even google. The government and vigorous agencies such as the DEA or FBI set out to shut down all of these dark net sites in order to stop the drugs from being sold. As a counter effect of the government shutting down major dark net sites, dozens of new sites open in result. The sites the government has shut down are much more then just drug markets, they stand for the peoples’ similar beliefs. The government should stop trying to shut down dark net sites because of the counter effects it is creating and instead give information on effects drugs have, how to do them safely and the consequences doing them may bring, although drugs have never been implemented into society as a norm because of the way our government and society has negatively portrayed any "illegal" substance(s).

As far as history traces back there has always been drugs, along with those who use and those who oppose. 5000 BC there are signs of people using Opium as a substance for “joy.” 1930’s was when marijuana became illegal and in the 1960’s tobacco took its high peak and was even suggested to be healthy. Today, America faces drugs like heroin, cocaine, meth, crack and many other drugs that are sold, yet still there has not become a way to implement these drugs normally into our society. Throughout all of history drugs have been used, yet still the government chooses to arrest and shut down people and sites selling rather then inform people on what these drugs actually do. Drugs are chemicals, and different drugs do different things to peoples bodies. Drugs weaken immune systems, put users at higher risk for brain damage and always subject users to the possibility of addiction. What some people fail to see, though, is that if a person chooses to do something to themselves, as long as they are not hurting others, they should be allowed to.

Betobaccofree.hhs.gov states that studies indicate tobacco is far worst then marijuana ever has been. The site writes that tobacco is known to cause leukemia, lung cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer and 11 other cancers throughout the body. It is known to give children cancer when a smoker smokes while pregnant and smokers of tobacco often die 13 to 14 years earlier then their life expectancy. Smokers are also more likely to get 1-3 strokes within their lives. While on the other hand marijuana is used for medicinal purposes. Some health effects of constant smokers of marijuana are short memory, breathing problems, hallucinations, increased heart rate and rarely lung cancer. The point here being that tobacco is widely accepted throughout the country and completely legal, while marijuana is still being treated as if it were a drug like heroin or cocaine which have far worst long lasting effects. If society has implanted tobacco into our culture (such as support groups, nicotine packs, etc.) then why cant marijuana be accepted? Some might say it is because people know the effects of tobacco so they are aloud to choose whether they want to do it or not. If that be the case, then that is what can be done for all drugs! If society had support systems, addiction clinics, information session and rallies for marijuana and other drugs, then these other drugs would not be as much a problem as they seem.

In 2014 alone over 25,000 people died from overdose. Drugs are becoming more popular and they are easier to access, this is a fact. Who knows how much lives could have been saved had the FBI set out to inform people rather then arrest them. How much of those 25,000 people died not knowing what they were using? Not knowing what to do when something drastic, like an overdose, were to happen? Or better yet, what triggers an overdose. The National Institute on Drug Abuse wrote an article showing all different types of deaths due to overdose. According to the article, titled Overdose Death Rates, over 5,000 overdosed on cocaine, over 10,000 on heroin and over 18,000 on pain relievers in 2014 alone. Thousand and thousands of lives lost and who knows how much could have been saved had they known what they were doing, where to go for help if they wanted to stop or what to do if something bad were to happen.

There is a movement far bigger happening when it comes to the war on drugs. Wired.com wrote an article titled The Untold Story of Silk Road Part. 1, where many details are released of the sites intentions. The dark net site Silk Road was a place where people with similar ideas formed a community where they stood for what they felt was right; having the freedom to sell and buy what they want without the government or industries restricting them with law. Not only Silk Road, but many dark net sites were a way to get around regulation from the state. These communities felt that the state tried to control nearly every aspect of their lives, not just drug use. These dark net sites gave an opportunity to live one’s life as they see fit, despite the governments efforts for anything otherwise.

The administrator of Silk Road went by the name Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR) and he would have philosophical discussions on Silk Road with hundreds of users about how he, and the site, stood for “a world where POWER resides in me and every individual,” stating the website was founded off of libertarian principles. He had a big interest in writer and philosopher Ludwig von Mises, who stood for the idea that the individual can act as the individual finds suitable, and in doing so no other can stop them in the process, especially if the individuals act together. DPR had a great passion and aggression when it came to the government, writing on Silk Road “we are NOT beasts of burden to be taxed and controlled,” and that ‘we the people’ should always have the option to “choose freedom over tyranny.” Eventually DPR was arrested and found guilty of being in charge of most actions conducted on the site, but even in an over the internet interview he has stated “We don’t allow the sale of anything that’s main purpose is to harm innocent people.” This administrator of Silk Road wanted more then just to legalize marijuana or even heroin, he wanted a new relationship between individuals and the government. To a point where the government was just not strong enough to control what people bought and sold. He had started Silk Road to reduce the violence in purchasing drugs. He, and many others, believed that people are going to buy and sell drugs no matter what. Violence is not just from people buying and selling drugs, it is from the police departments and federal agents prosecuting those who do. Not to mention all other countries America infiltrates to “control” the drug war. DPR once wrote, “what were doing isn’t about scoring drugs or sticking it to the man, its about standing up for our rights as human beings and refusing to submit when we’ve done no wrong. Silk road is a vehicle for that message. All else is secondary.”

What truly united people on these drug selling websites was to end the drug war entirely. Other sites have taken peoples bitcoins (form of money on the deep web) but these popular sites that the government shut down were about so much more then just selling drugs; it was an entire movement for the people. The people in charge of the drug selling sites had concern for the people! Individuals overdosing was a main concern for those selling. There were many instances where needles were given away for free so that people would be doing drugs in a safer manner then before. In many cases there were articles and discussions on how to do the drugs carefully and reduce chances of being hurt.

The drug war has been ongoing for decades. This war is unwinnable and is only putting the country into further debt. In the film Deep Web, Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Neill Franklin, is interviewed on his stance of the war, stating “We’ve been at this drug war for over four decades. And what has happened since then? At the beginning, it was just the organized crimes and cartel making a ton of money. Today they make, globally, 322 billion dollars off this industry. Corporate America is also now in the game. Private prisons…Drug testing companies have now become a multi billion-dollar industry. And who gets tested? Those who are in prison! Or under control of our criminal justice program. So corporate America is making a lot of money. What about law enforcement? Law enforcement is making a ton of money. The governments 1033 program, you know the armored vehicles and the machine guns and whatever we want surplus military equipment. That’s because of the drug war.” Had we not been at this war for so long, as Neill Franklin stated, we’d be billions of dollars less in debt. This drug war is doing no justice but rather costing billions of dollars for something that has made no progress for decades.

Neill Franklin explains how in his first year of working he had two police officers killed by drug dealers during a drug raid. He adds how within the following years a family of seven, five children included, were murdered by a single drug dealer due to altercations. Seeing this from a perspective of violence, drug policies police officers have to follow are counter productive to public safety, says Franklin. He goes on to say how he signed up to improve the drug system when really their just making it worst. Franklin states, “if Baltimore moved from street corners to online services, oh my god, do you know how much fewer shootings we'd have every year? Which equates to fewer homicides.” This is true, it removes the buyer from street corners or the back of alleys where buyers deal with the dealers. Buying from the internet removes the ‘dangerous area’ factor. The Director of Law Enforcement goes on to add “But… we’re shutting them down (the dark net sites), or attempting to shut them down, because well never entirely shut them down.”

Another pro to the government not shutting down dark net sites is the new system of drugs becoming safer. The dark net site has brought a new aspect to the table that gives buyers and sellers accountability. Anyone can buy drugs and almost anyone can sell them, but now there are review and comment systems being implemented to the sites. This way, sellers have accountability for the product they sell and buyers have reliable, trustworthy and accountable information when buying from strangers. This allows users to review quality, purity and potency which can reduce overdose rates and make transactions much more safe for buyers.

First Silk Road was shut down by the government, then dozens of new dark net sites opened. Then the government shut down the majority of those and now hundreds are opening in replacement of all of those now down. In the documentary Deep Web, the narrator states “In this cat and mouse game, the mouse will win in the end, but the cat will be well fed,” which is the greatest way to explain what the government is doing with this dark net movement. They may shut down dozens, maybe hundreds of sites, but there will always be new Dread Pirate Roberts starting new sites and new software that is more and more difficult to hack into. It is an unwinnable war.

There are tons of facts and information that can be given to those doing these drugs that would help in the long run. What do these drugs make the individual feel? How can the individual do these drugs safely without overdosing or causing any harm to themselves? How can this affect the individuals’ health and will this have any consequences in the future for them? If we put the 222 million dollars used for drug prohibitions and instead put it to making these drugs safer, then it would be a lot easier to stop shutting down the dark net sites. If there were studies and researchers put to lessen the addiction of these drugs, make them safer and maybe not as potent, then people would not overdose as often, or at all. Also, if these drugs are not as addicting then they can be more recreational compared to just being used daily.

In the film Where To Invade Next, Michael Moore sets out on a trip across the world in order to find positive-striving countries and highlight what it is the United States can do to solve many of its problems by learning from other countries who have those problems figured out. When it came to the war on drugs, Michael Moore set out to Portugal, where the war on drugs has ended. In Portugal, the war on drugs was going nowhere, as it is right now in USA. So the government of Portugal decided it was time to try something new. Moore interviews two police officers from there and they state that they do not, can not, arrest people for having drugs. Marijuana, pills, heroin, meth- nothing.

Then, he interviewed the minister of Health for Portugal, Dr. Nuno Capaz, who said zero people went to jail for using drugs the last year, and in fact the last fifteen years because “it is not considered a crime” to use drugs. By decriminalizing all drugs, drug usage has gone down- not up. Michael Moore sits amazed. "When people think of drug users, they think of the 9 or 10% that are causing problems. People don’t think of the other 90% of drug users that aren’t causing any problems,” Dr. Capaz states. Michael Moore suggests that doing drugs may bring sadness to families or friends, Capaz responds “so does Facebook, are we going to illegalize it?” The United States thinks of it the other way, though. USA acts as if identifying those who are using and doing drugs, we can weed them out and use it as a crime. Once Dr. Capaz hears this he laughs and asks “is it working?” Then the film shows videos and photos of the history of drugs. How president Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagen claimed drugs were "menacing our societies" and "ruining our instiutions.” This is a great example of a society that has found a solution for a major problem that the United States is dealing with right now.

Since the arrest of the administrator of Silk Road (and subsequent shut down of the site) a group of cyber hackers met in London to work on the next step of "this revolution" in which they are going to try and create a software that would not be so easily shut down. This shows the deep web is more then just drugs, it is a huge community standing for a revolution against society, standing for what they feel is right. Empowering the individual for freedom of information and actions. These people do not stand for violence but rather a substantial positive impact for the future of humanity. Ludwig von Mises once wrote, “once the principle is admitted that it is the duty of the government to protect the individual against his own foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against further encroachments,” but when has mankind confessed to the government that it is their obligation to look after our foolishness or lack of good sense? The people of this movement are doing just that; objecting to the governments intrusion on the individual’s personal territory and rights. Or is this what our community is built off of? The people asking the government to look after them when they are 'foolish,' but objecting against them when they do further what the people have previously asked of them. The confession to asking the government to look after our faults, and then object and revolt against them when they do.