Novel Psychoactive Substances: Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Analysis of Literature

Abstract

Background: The research output within the discipline of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) has been evolving since the end of the last decade. The introduction of the concept of evidence-based Medicine led to a revolutionary growth of all fields of medical research. The enhancements of research quality were also paralleled by the development of tools for critical analysis of literature.

One Ultimate Journey? AKA the Huxley’s Method: Perspectives of (Ab)Users of Hallucinogens and Entheogens on Having Planned Pre-Mortem Psychedelic Trip

“…Entheogens can induce a state of serenity and a non-describable connection with the universe as subjectively mentioned by most psychedelic users (Al-Imam, 2017d;Al-Imam & AbdulMajeed, 2017a). Perhaps, it can be considered as a "transcended" state of consciousness on the exact opposite of states like extreme frustration, anger, aggression, and hostility, both physically and mentally ( Figure 1) (Dargan & Wood, 2012;Dargan & Wood, 2013;Al-Imam, 2017d).…”

“…Over the past two decades, the discipline of neurosciences interested in studying the emerging phenomenon of NPS has been growing at an exponential rate, paralleled only by the analogue pace of explosive growth within the discipline of information and communication technologies (ICT) and its appendageal electronic commerce (e-commerce) spectacle (Ginter, Shear, Spahn, Van Wie, & Weber, 2014;Turban, King, Lee, Liang, & Turban, 2015;Meek et al, 2016). Psychoactive substances and NPS could be physiologically categorised into neural activity stimulants, depressants, and a miscellaneous category for chemicals that do not fit into either category (Dargan & Wood, 2012;Dargan & Wood, 2013;Al-Imam & AbdulMajeed, 2017a). On the other hand, the chemical classification is more intricate and beyond the scope of this article (Dargan & Wood, 2012;Dargan & Wood, 2013;Al-Imam et al, 2017).…”

“…Many of which can lead to dependence, tolerance, in addition to withdrawal syndrome due to specific pharmacodynamic properties (Dargan & Wood, 2012;Dargan & Wood, 2013;Al-Imam, 2017a). Hence, they possess addictive effects that fall under the spectrum of substance use and misuse which is of prime importance from a medical and a forensic science perspective (Al-Imam, Simonato, & Corazza, 2016;Al-Imam, 2017b;Al-Imam, 2017c;Al-Imam et al, 2017;Al-Imam & AbdulMajeed, 2017a;Al-Khalisy & Al-Imam, 2017;Catalani et al, 2018). Over the past two decades, the discipline of neurosciences interested in studying the emerging phenomenon of NPS has been growing at an exponential rate, paralleled only by the analogue pace of explosive growth within the discipline of information and communication technologies (ICT) and its appendageal electronic commerce (e-commerce) spectacle (Ginter, Shear, Spahn, Van Wie, & Weber, 2014;Turban, King, Lee, Liang, & Turban, 2015;Meek et al, 2016).…”

“…Some stimulants, though maybe illegal, are considered cognitive enhancers. Others induce an "elevated state of consciousness" and may be considered "spirituality drugs" (Al-Imam, 2017a;Al-Imam, 2017c;Al-Imam & AbdulMajeed, 2017a). The latter are hallucinogenic substances commonly known as psychedelics and entheogens (Al-Imam, 2017c;Al-Imam & AbdulMajeed, 2017b).…”

Perception of acoustic frequencies in (Ab) users and non-users of psychedelics: a cross-sectional analytic study via the surface web

“…Psychedelics substances and entheogens are chemicals of hallucinogenic effects of high interest in the psychedelia-related culture (Dargan and Wood, 2013). Hallucinogens represent a unique category of psychoactive and novel psychoactive substances (NPS) (Al-Imam, 2017a;Al-Imam and Abdul Majeed, 2017). The diffusion of those chemicals on the web has been fostered by the electronic commerce phenomenon (e-commerce) existing on the surface web as well as the invisible strata of the internet, including the the deep web and the dark net illicit electronic marketplace (Ginter et al, 2014;Turban et al, 2015;Al-Imam, 2017a;Al-Imam et al, 2017b).…”