Prevalence, reasons, and forms of use of legal highs by internet-based survey participants.

Abstract

Ocena rozpowszechnienia, powodów i form użycia tak zwanych "dopalaczy" przez uczestników ankiety internetowej Prevalence, reasons, and forms of use of legal highs by internet-based survey participants Maciej R. Mazurkiewicz, Michał G ł o g o w s k i , Dobrosława M r o w i ń s k a , Marcin Pakulski, Michał Maty j a s z c z y k , Przemysław K a r d a s I Zakład Medycyny Rodzinnej UM w Łodzi Kierownik: prof. dr hab. n. med. P. Kardas Summary Aim. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, causes and forms of the use of legal highs in Poland. Methods. The study was based on an original questionnaire and was carried out through the Internet before banning of the legal highs in Poland. Results. The study covered 3013 people, aged 24.7 + /-6.9, of which 9.3% admitted to use legal highs (6.5% of women, and 14.7% of men, P < 0.01). The highest percentage of legal highs users was in the age groups 19-25 years (10.6%). Most people taking legal highs did so less than 1 time per month (71.8%). The most common reasons for taking legal highs were curiosity (46.4%), the desire to have fun (26.8%), and to improve the well-being (10.7%). Legal highs were most often used during meetings with friends (68.9% of cases), and social events (52.1%). The majority of their users adopted other risky behaviors: 56.4% took them with alcohol, 86.4% tried narcotics at least once, and 13.9% decided to try narcotics after trying legal highs. Conclusions. 1. Among the respondents of the online survey 9.3% admitted to use legal highs. 2. A typical profile of a legal high user is a young man, using them out of curiosity, to improve the well-being or just for fun, usually in social situations. 3. Initiatives undertaken to reduce the use of legal highs have to consider the social context.

“Hot” and “Cold” Cognition in Users of Club Drugs/Novel Psychoactive Substances

“…Reasons for NPS/club drug use corresponded with those reported by previous studies ( 16 , 26 , 27 ), and mainly reflected curiosity, experience seeking and the desire to get high and/or intoxicated. However, some distinct motivational patterns of NPS use emerged by group.…”

“…We further hypothesized that our treatment-seeking NPS group would show broad "cold" (non-emotional) cognitive deficits compared with the other two groups, reflecting greater substance use severity and/or comorbid psychopathology typical of NPS/polydrug users in treatment (33,34). Lastly, we explored reasons for NPS/club drug use, hypothesizing that consistent with previous studies (16,26,27), curiosity and experience seeking would be the main motivations in both user groups.…”

“…“Psychonauts” are known to experiment with combinations of hallucinogenic drugs, often sharing detailed records of their experiences online ( 23 – 25 ). Although some NPS users are driven by drug-specific effects (e.g., hallucinogens for self-exploration/spiritual attainment and stimulants for social enhancement), online surveys have identified curiosity, pleasure, and enjoyment as the main motivations for use ( 16 , 26 , 27 ). Ease of access, affordability and low detectability in drug screening tests are also important motivators ( 17 , 28 ).…”

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“…Surveys so far suggest that some of the primary motivations for NPS use include curiosity (Mazurkiewicz et al , ) and pleasure and enjoyment (Soussan and Kjellgren, ), which are likely to be similar to motivations for taking traditional illicit drugs. However, it appears that for specific groups of people there are distinct attractions to using NPS as opposed to controlled drugs.…”

State of the art paper New diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders and novel treatment approaches – 2014 update

“…Moreover, offering alcohol dependent patients more than just one method of treatment may give them a better sense of control and can make them feel more responsible for the outcome. It is not to be disregarded in the therapeutic process [ 47 , 48 ]. Controlled drinking can also be easier for patients to accept [ 9 ].…”