Motivations for new psychoactive substance use among regular psychostimulant users in Australia.
Rachel Sutherland, Raimondo Bruno, Amy Peacock, Simon Lenton, Allison J Matthews, Caroline Salom, Paul Dietze, Kerryn Butler, Lucinda Burns, Monica J Barratt
International Journal of Drug Policy May 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.12.021 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey (observational) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 419 |
| Population | Regular psychostimulant users in Australia who reported lifetime new psychoactive substance use |
| Topics | DMT |
| Keywords | 2c-x Motivations Nbome New psychoactive substances Synthetic cannabinoids Synthetic cathinones |
| Key findings | Value for money was the most endorsed motivation for NPS use overall (median 5/10), but motivations varied by substance: availability was highest for synthetic cathinones (6/10), perceived legality and availability for synthetic cannabinoids (5/10 each), value for money for NBOMe (8/10) and 2C-family substances (5/10), and short effect duration for DMT (7/10). The authors argue cathinones and cannabinoids are largely motivated by opportunistic reasons, while NBOMe, 2C-family substances, and DMT are motivated by desirable substance qualities. |
Abstract
Examine the motivations for new psychoactive substance (NPS) use amongst a sample of regular psychostimulant users (RPU) in Australia, and determine whether motivations differ across substances. Data were obtained from 419 RPU interviewed for the 2014 Ecstasy and related Drugs Reporting System who reported lifetime NPS use. Based on the most recent NPS used, motivations for use were rated on an 11-point scale (0 'no influence'-10 'maximum influence'). For NPS overall, value for money was found to be the most highly endorsed motivation for use, scoring a median of five out of ten. However, there was substantial variation in motivations for use across substance types. Availability (i.e. no other drug was available to me at the time; 6/10) was the most highly endorsed motivation for the use of synthetic cathinones, which was significantly higher than reported for DMT. Perceived legality and availability were the most highly endorsed motivations for synthetic cannabinoids (5/10); perceived legality scored higher for synthetic cannabinoids than for all the other NPS, whilst in regards to availability synthetic cannabinoids scored significantly higher than DMT only. Value for money was the most highly endorsed motivation for NBOMe (8/10) and 2C-family substances (5/10); in regards to NBOMe this scored significantly higher than all other NPS. Short effect duration was the most highly endorsed motivation for DMT (7/10), which was significantly higher than for all other NPS. Synthetic cathinones and cannabinoids appear to be largely motivated by 'opportunistic' reasons (i.e. availability, legality), while NBOMe, 2C-family substances and DMT appear to be motivated by particular desirable qualities of a substance (i.e. value for money, short effect duration). Providing a nuanced understanding of why individuals use particular NPS improves our ability to understand the NPS phenomenon and to tailor harm reduction messages to the appropriate target groups.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on DMT, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Motives for Classical and Novel Psychoactive Substances Use in Psychedelic Polydrug Users Contemporary Drug Problems September 1, 2019
- Motives for the use of serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review. Drug and Alcohol Review September 1, 2022
- Why do people use new psychoactive substances? Development of a new measurement tool in six European countries. Journal of Psychopharmacology June 1, 2020
- I like the old stuff better than the new stuff? Subjective experiences of new psychoactive substances. International Journal of Drug Policy February 1, 2017
- Acute Effects of 2C-E in Humans: An Observational Study Frontiers in Pharmacology March 18, 2020
and 6 more in the library
Cites 8
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and 3 more in the library