Impact of the UK Psychoactive Substances Act on awareness, use, experiences and knowledge of potential associated health risks of novel psychoactive substances

Abstract

Aims The risk of potential harms prompted the UK government to introduce the Psychoactive Substances Act in 2016. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of this new legislation on patterns of novel psychoactive substance (NPS) awareness, use, experiences and risk awareness in a self‐selected sample of UK consumers to inform education and policy. Methods The Bristol Online Survey was advertised on the Bluelight drug forum and social media Facebook pages and University email between 7 January and 7 February 2015 (168 responses) and 9 March to 18 September 2017 (726 responses). UK country of residence responses were extracted for analysis (SPSS). Results In a predominantly university‐educated, young (< 25 years) self‐selecting sample, 1 year after introduction of the legislation, NPS use (in males, under 18s, those educated to school/college level, P < .001) has increased, whilst health risk awareness has not changed and remains poor. Users are switching to sourcing NPSs via street dealers (49%) and the darknet (31%) and showing an increase in preference for the herbal NPS Salvia divinorum (P < .05). The main reasons for NPS use remain the influence of friends (69%) in a social setting and to get high (76%) usually in combination with alcohol, cannabis or ecstasy. Conclusion Regulation alone, so far, has not impacted on health risk awareness, NPS drug demand and culture in our UK survey sample. Alongside regulation, NPS health promotion education (particularly in schools, colleges) is needed that addresses resilience and both the risks and beneficial effects of NPS.

Analyzing the Open/Deep Web to Better Understand the New/Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Scenarios: Suggestions from CASSANDRA and NPS.Finder Research Projects

“…The hidden-web drug marketplaces and crypto markets are increasingly being used for the anonymous sale of drugs, including NPS. Recent legislation, such as the May 2016 UK Psychoactive Substances Act, has been created to tackle NPS diffusion [8]. As commented in [9], although the Act may have achieved a reduction in UK-based online stores and offline retail stores, the easily tracked open-web drug transactions could be displaced by alternative routes such as street-level drug dealing or crypto markets.…”

Exploring the Baseline Knowledge and Experience of Healthcare Professionals in the United Kingdom on Novel Psychoactive Substances

“…The review showed that PSA enforcement led to the ban of NPS sale through headshops, has limited the sales and availability of NPS and reduced use, and as a result, there is evidence of reduction in health and social harms [8]. Deligianni and colleagues [9] evaluated the impact and effectiveness of the PSA 2016 through an updated survey in 2017 regarding NPS awareness, use, experiences and risk awareness and concluded that this regulation has not impacted on health risk awareness and motivations for NPS use in the UK.…”

The challenge of the novel psychoactive substances: How have we responded and what are the implications of this response?

“…Unforeseen consequences of the focus on how we deal with the challenges of the emergence of the large number of NPS is the potential increase in the availability and purity of classical illicit drugs, which may lead to greater harms from these substances . It is important that future studies in this field consider drug use in its entirety rather than focusing on just NPS or illicit drugs, which will enable us to truly understand the consequences of our response to the challenge of the NPS phenomenon.…”

“…26,27 The impact of these novel mechanisms of controlling substances is not yet fully understood, but, as demonstrated in this themed issue and data from other sources, there is the potential that the UK Psychoactive Substance Act has reduced the availability, use, and associated harms of NPS. 21,[27][28][29] Unforeseen consequences of the focus on how we deal with the challenges of the emergence of the large number of NPS is the potential increase in the availability and purity of classical illicit drugs, 1 which may lead to greater harms from these substances. [28][29][30] It is important that future studies in this field consider drug use in its entirety rather than focusing on just NPS or illicit drugs, which will enable us to truly understand the consequences of our response to the challenge of the NPS phenomenon.…”

“…However, this still required initial evidence of use and related harms, and so in 2016, the Psychoactive Substance Act came into law which effectively controlled the importation, distribution, and sale of any substance that had potential psychoactive activity . The impact of these novel mechanisms of controlling substances is not yet fully understood, but, as demonstrated in this themed issue and data from other sources, there is the potential that the UK Psychoactive Substance Act has reduced the availability, use, and associated harms of NPS …”