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This paper aims to analyse the fundamental principles of the main international conventions against use of drug and to verify if it would be preferable to let European Member States adopt specific measures according to own needs at a national level.

The research uses a comparative approach by examining the different national legislations in respect of the discipline of the international conventions for finding analogies and differences between them.

The research has discovered a wide variation in the criteria for triggering a legislative response and in the penalties for non-compliance. Nevertheless, there seems to be a trend towards countries focusing on penalising supply rather than possession of these substances.

To maintain a common international level in fighting against the use and commerce of drug to enforce the effectiveness of national regulations.

The achievement of a high level of health protection, well-being and social cohesion to prevent and reduce drug use, dependence and drug-related damage to health and society.

To ensure a high level of security for the general public by taking action against drug production, cross-border trafficking in drugs and the diversion of chemical precursors used in drug production, as well as by intensifying preventive action against drug-related crime through effective cooperation, embedded in a joint approach.

This is a fast-moving area of law, which continues to evolve for the different new substances being introduced in international drug traffic, so different solutions to the problem can be found by national legislators who need to be coordinated at an international level.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there are ways in which the preventive strategies used to tackle volatile substance abuse (VSA) can be usefully applied to today’s new psychoactive substances (NPS).

In 2010-2013, with funding from the Big Lottery, Re-Solv, in partnership with St George’s, University of London, and educari, commissioned a re-analysis of both the mortality data relating to VSA and of the legislative and preventative measures taken that may have played a part in the steady downward trend in VSA mortality since. This paper is informed by Re-Solv’s research findings and the papers resulting from it, namely, Ives (2013) and Butland et al. (2013).

Efforts to reduce the harm from NPS could benefit from a re-examination of preventive approaches to VSA, which have resulted in a downward trend in mortality over the past two decades.

There is evidence from past prevention practice which could be relevant and applied to present day concerns about drugs and substances not previously available or used.

This is the first paper to explore how learning from VSA might be applied to NPS and the “legal highs” of today.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are increasingly being used in secure mental health settings. Within these settings, NPS use presents a range of challenges and staff currently lack adequate training to manage these challenges. The purpose of this paper is to explore nursing staffs’ perception of the challenges of working with patients who use NPS and to explore nursing staffs’ perception of their training needs in relation to NPS.

A cross-sectional qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight nursing staff from a medium secure unit (MSU).

A thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: “There Will Always Be Something”, “We Are Doing Our Best” and “If We Know More, We Can Do More”. The findings describe how nursing staff manage NPS use at present, and their perceptions of how training could improve their management of NPS use in the future.

The findings suggest that MSUs require a local policy for managing NPS use. The research implies that staff training programmes should recognise the existing methods staff use to manage NPS use. The findings also suggest that NPS interventions should target the whole peer group and not just the individual using NPS.

This paper contributes to the limited literature on NPS. The findings demonstrate the importance of developing evidence-based mechanisms for managing NPS use. Changes to practice are suggested, with the view of developing ways in which staff currently manage NPS use by complementing this with specific training on NPS.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has previously examined the use of psychoactive substances (PASs) at electronic dance music (EDM) events in Ukraine. Addressing this gap in the research literature, this study aims to: describe the recreational drug scene associated with Ukrainian EDM culture; identify clusters of EDM participants who use PAS, based on their drug use patterns; and assess the uptake of drug checking and investigate associations between drug checking and subsequent drug-related behaviour.

A series of cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2021 (N = 1,307) among EDM festival participants in Ukraine. The authors performed cluster analysis to identify distinct profiles of PAS users. Trends in drug checking were analysed based on cross-sectional surveys conducted at one recurring festival in 2018 (N = 99), 2019 (N = 195) and 2021 (N = 237).

The substances most often used at EDM events were 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (37%), amphetamine (16%), lysergic acid diethylamide (11%) and cocaine (9%). Between 2018 and 2021, the proportion of participants who reported to have ever tested their drugs has increased from 2% to 26% (p < 0.001). Unexpected or inconclusive test results led to a significantly lower chances of drug consumption (p = 0.003). The authors identified three distinct clusters of PAS users among the EDM festival attendees in Ukraine.

This study will inform the development of harm reduction interventions tailored to various subgroups of recreational PAS users taking into account gender-specific patterns of use suggested by the authors’ cluster analysis. Increased availability of drug checking is crucial to reduce the risks of drug-related harm associated with the consumption of mis-sold, mislabeled and/or adulterated substances.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and summarize the recent emergence of NPS onto the drug market. To show the international and national responses, legal and guidance. To indicate some of the challenges NPS present to jurisdictions. To indicate some of the challenges NPS present to treatment agencies. To outline what is known about prevalence and effects.

A narrative account of the substances becoming known and the response made by jurisdictions.

The use and effects of NPS are slowly becoming known and exchanged between jurisdictions and treatment agencies. The user group appears to differ from the “traditional” substance users groups with which agencies are familiar. The use of the internet is a characteristic of this new market and user group.

New substances are constantly being identified. Previous treatment approaches may not be fully relevant to NPS. The new area of cognition enhancement is being gradually realized.

Treatment agencies need to develop new approaches, both to treat the effects of NPS use and to attract NPS users, who do not identify as “drug users”.

A new user group appears to be emerging. Cognition enhancement is a feature of NPS composition and use/attraction.

An attempt to summarize existing understanding of NPS use and marketing and to predict future trends and needs.

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) – often known as “legal highs” – are a varied group of substances that are causing concern due to their possible effects on mental health. Particular concerns have been raised about synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists often known as “Spice”. The purpose of this paper is to identify the prevalence of NPS use and explore any association with acute psychological disturbance.

The authors reviewed the case notes for 153 admissions to a male acute inpatient ward. Prevalence of reported NPS use and admissions to psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) were recorded.

In total, 18.9 per cent of individuals admitted to acute inpatient care were reported to have used NPS. NPS users were almost ten times as likely as their non-NPS using peers to require care in PICU. This result was statistically significant (Fisher exact test: p<0.001). Although caution is required given the limitations of this study, the data and clinical experience suggest that synthetic cannabinoids may be the specific type of NPS that is being used by this group.

Mental health professionals can expect to care for people using NPS in acute inpatient environments, and so they need to understand the nature and effects of these substances. It is possible that NPS use may be associated with sustained acute psychological disturbance.

There have been few studies on the prevalence of NPS use in inpatient environments and none of them have published that explore the association with PICU admission. Despite the limitations of this study, it has significant value by identifying an urgent need for comprehensive research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse dynamics amongst members to better understand in what terms and to what extent marketplace forums can be seen as new forms of harm reduction.

This is a qualitative analysis focused on conversations about psychoactive substances on the forum community of AlphaBay Market. A sample consists of 100 online threads. The data, collected in July 2016, were analysed by applying the grounded theory approach with the support of Atlas.ti.

Conversations in the marketplace forum focus mostly on the purchase. Concerns and disputes are voiced in a significant proportion of them, and interactions are affected by a climate of distrust where stigmatisation processes can emerge between users of different drug categories. This casts a certain amount of doubt on the thesis that marketplace forums – like online forums – are new forms of harm reduction and peer-led communities.

The study focuses on only one marketplace forum. Other such forums should be analysed to corroborate its findings.

Harm reduction interventions in the online environment should take different form according to the forum type, and take the differences and boundaries that separate users of different substances into account.

Thanks to its infrequently used qualitative approach, the study provides a more thorough understanding of the relationships on marketplace forums.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of experience and knowledge of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) amongst psychiatrists, asking them to rank NPS against other psychoactive substances in terms of concern and the role they believe NPS play in the diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders.

An online survey was created and emailed to all 217 psychiatrists working for a large city Mental Health Trust.

In total, 108 of 217 psychiatrists responded to the survey. A majority of the respondents believed that their level of knowledge of NPS was inadequate and stated that they would like to receive more training. Half of them either named only one or no NPS that they had encountered within the last five years. There was a correlation between the experience of the respondent and the number of NPS that they could name.

Most of the respondents assessed their own knowledge of NPS as either poor or basic. Psychiatrists’ knowledge of NPS could be improved by having regular NPS-related training, by being sent regular updates on NPS and by including lectures in the Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists courses. Psychiatrists should also be encouraged to access online resources such as NEPTUNE and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

This is the first survey of the UK psychiatrists of their knowledge and experience of NPS.

The purpose of this paper is to consider how policy researchers should respond to recent developments in substance use and the governance of drug and alcohol policy in the UK.

The paper takes two elements from the 2010 UK Drug Strategy – supply and treatment – and considers a case study in each to briefly examine the potential role of local policymakers in shaping how substance use is experienced.

It is argued that the Coalition Government’s health reforms have given local commissioners greater autonomy over treatment policy than they had under the preceding Labour Government. Similarly, the regulation of new psychoactive substances in the UK has left local areas to determine their own approach to controlling supply through retail outlets.

Drawing on the broader academic literature on policymaking, this paper calls for ethnographic research into local policymaking related to substance use, which will help to illuminate how perceived policy problems are shaped by particular local systems and understandings of evidence.

While this paper is not unique in identifying the importance of locally based research, it identifies the particular relevance of this research agenda in the UK today. It seeks to inform and encourage research that can shape the development of local policymaking.

The market in licit recreational drugs is continuing to grow, both in the UK and elsewhere, and the internet has been acknowledged as a key factor in enabling this rapid expansion over the last few years. This is particularly true of the recent rise in popularity of the substance mephedrone (4‐methylmethcathinone) and related cathinones. Keeping up to date with these new drugs and emerging trends is a challenge for both professionals and users, particularly given the relative paucity of balanced and reliable information available and the potential for misinformation to be widely disseminated. This article examines the transmission of inaccurate information in relation to mephedrone and substituted cathinones, and discusses the implication of this for harm reduction and future research, by looking at the results of the European Commission funded Psychonaut Web Mapping project, which used online resources to detect emerging trends, monitor their diffusion, and develop a reasonably accurate profile of these new psychoactive compounds.