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- Discriminative characteristics of marginalised novel psychoactive users: a transnational studyPublication . Felvinczi, Katalin; Benschop, Annemieke; Urbán, R.; Van Hout, Marie Claire; Dąbrowska, K.; Hearne, E.; Henriques, Susana; Kaló, Z.; Kamphausen, G.; Silva, Joana Paula; Wieczorek, Łukasz; Werse, Bernd; Bujalski, Michal; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Korf, D.New psychoactive substances (NPS) continue to be considered as a major public health concern in many European countries. The study was implemented within the framework of a transnational project of six European countries (Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal). Our aim here is to report on the distinct and differentiating characteristics of marginalised NPS users. Three subgroups of a total of 3023 adult NPS users (socially marginalised, night life, online community) were examined regarding their socio-demographic characteristics, substance use, and external motives towards NPS use. Poland and Hungary reported higher rates of NPS use in comparison to traditional controlled drugs. The external/contextual motives did not play a central role in the background of NPS use, the least important motives were alleged legality and non-detectability of these substances. Marginalised (defined as those accessing low threshold harm reduction services) users’ substance use patterns are different from the other two groups in terms of showing more intense and riskier drug use. The most important variables which contributed to be categorised as a marginalised NPS user were lower level education, being older, having an unfavourable labour market position and using drugs intravenously. Contextual motives did not play a decisive role in being categorised as a marginalised user when drug use pattern was controlled. These identified discriminative features of marginalised drug users should inform policy makers to develop and implement tailor-made interventions targeting this user group to successfully tackle the elevated public health concerns associated with NPS use.
- Sharing, group-buying, social supply, offline and online dealers: how users in a sample from six european countries procure New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)Publication . Werse, Bernd; Benschop, Annemieke; Kamphausen, Gerrit; Van Hout, Marie Claire; Henriques, Susana; Silva, Joana Paula; Dąbrowska, Katarzyna; Wieczorek, Łukasz; Bujalski, Michal; Felvinczi, Katalin; Korf, DirkGiven the multiple ways of regulations and market situations for new psychoactive substances (NPS), it is of interest how NPS users procure their drugs in different countries as well as in different user groups. Data comes from a face-to-face and online survey conducted in six EU countries, covering three groups of current (12-month) adult NPS users: (1) socially marginalized, (2) users in night life, and (3) users in online communities. While the supply situation differed considerably between countries, friends were the most prevalent source for buying, followed by online shops and private dealers. Marginalized users were more likely to buy from dealers, while online respondents showed the highest rates for buying online. While buying NPS from online or offline shops was relatively prevalent, we also found high rates for social supply and buying from dealers. A considerable part of this market may be classified as “social online supply,” with private suppliers procuring their drugs online. The market features among marginalized users resemble more those of illicit drug markets than those for other NPS users.