The hardest part of scoring drugs in the age of the digital black market? Choosing among all the consumer-friendly websites ready to sell them. As I was reporting my profile of the Dread Pirate Roberts , the entrepreneur behind the booming Silk Road black market for illegal drugs, Forbes tested the Bitcoin-based drug-buying process on the three most well-known online anonymous black markets: The Silk Road, Atlantis and Black Market Reloaded. Though we purchased only small amounts of marijuana, harder drugs such as heroin and crack seemed to be just as readily available. A cautionary note: Don't try this at home. Buying most of these sites' drugs is illegal under U. Despite its creators' best efforts, the Tor anonymity software necessary to access the sites doesn't offer perfect privacy. Nor does Bitcoin, the crypto-currency they use for transactions. Our results were mixed, and far from scientific, since we made only one buy per site, and each site hosts dozens or hundreds of vendors. The sites' third-party seller model is more akin to eBay and Etsy than Amazon or Zappos. We also couldn't test the quality of the products--Our lawyer insisted we destroy them. See video below. But this much is clear: the age of narcotics e-commerce has arrived. Consumer experience: Not ideal. Consumer experience : Poor. Earnhardt, based in the Netherlands, was the only vendor we found on BMR selling small amounts of marijuana. The package may have been caught by customs. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. May 9, , pm EDT. May 6, , pm EDT. Apr 30, , pm EDT. Apr 28, , pm EDT. Apr 24, , pm EDT. Apr 19, , am EDT. Apr 17, , am EDT. Apr 14, , am EDT. Edit Story. Andy Greenberg Former Staff. Covering the worlds of data security, privacy and hacker culture. Aug 14, , am EDT. Andy Greenberg.