Numerous individuals suffer from mental health issues including depression and anxiety, resulting in substantial societal burden. Data suggests individuals are choosing to self-medicate with Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS); however, this phenomenon is poorly understood. We aimed to investigate which NPS are being used to self-medicate, evaluate their perceived effectiveness and examine...
Abstract Currently, novel psychoactive substance (NPS) use presents a challenging issue for authorities. To effectively tackle the use of NPS, a deeper understanding of the motivations of those who use NPS is required. Evidence suggests that a subset of NPS users declare their use as ‘self-medicating’; however, there is a paucity of research in this area. The aim of this review is to provide an...
The proliferation of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) presents a challenge for global drug policy. The ease of online drug purchase and the emergence of the dark web have created new avenues for the growth of NPS. Despite the global nature of this issue, limited research has examined motivations of use. These include perceived safety or convenience, an interest in novel pharmacology and...