The International journal on drug policy
November 1, 2013
Marie Claire Van Hout, Tim Bingham
211 citations
The online drug marketplace Silk Road, operating anonymously on the Deep Web since 2011, attracts users primarily for reasons of curiosity, concerns about street drug quality and personal safety, product variety, anonymous transactions, and convenient delivery. Based on systematic online observations, monitoring of discussion threads over four months, and anonymous online interviews with 20 adult users, most participants were male, in professional employment or tertiary education, with drug use histories ranging from 18 months to 25 years. Favorite drugs included MDMA, 2C-B, mephedrone, nitrous oxide, ketamine, cannabis, and cocaine. Vendor selection relied on trust, transaction speed, stealth, and product quality. A minority reported customs seizures, and many described a displacement away from traditional street and closed drug markets toward Silk Road.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2021
Liridona Gashi, Sveinung Sandberg, Willy Pedersen
170 citations
Bad trips—frightening experiences of losing oneself or going crazy—are common among users of psychedelics. Based on interviews with 50 Norwegian users, most described such episodes but said they could be avoided by following rules based on tacit subcultural knowledge. This knowledge served as symbolic boundary work distinguishing insiders from outsiders. Some rejected the term bad trip entirely, arguing the experience reflected a lack of competence. Crucially, most participants said these unpleasant experiences had been beneficial, sometimes yielding deep existential and life-altering insights. Storytelling transforms bad trips into valuable experiences, serving as a coping mechanism that helps users make sense of frightening episodes and integrate them into their life stories, enabling continued psychedelic use.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2022
Brian S Barnett, Sloane E Parker, Jeremy Weleff
57 citations
Despite a global resurgence in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies for mental health and addiction—mostly funded privately—the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest public biomedical funder, has not directly supported any such trial. A search of NIH grants from 2006 to 2020 for trials involving MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT, ayahuasca, DMT, ibogaine, LSD, mescaline, peyote, or psilocybin found zero grants directly funding psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials. Possible reasons include concerns about risks, a federal law barring promotion of Schedule 1 drug legalization, and prioritization of other psychedelic research.
The International journal on drug policy
December 19, 2019
A. Roxburgh, J. Lappin
43 citations
Between 2001 and 2018, 392 MDMA-related deaths occurred in Australia, mostly among males in their mid-twenties. Two-thirds of deaths were caused by drug toxicity, with half involving multiple drugs and 14% caused by MDMA alone; the remaining third resulted from other causes, mainly motor vehicle accidents. Death rates rose from 2001 to 2007, fell from 2008 to 2010, then rose again from 2011 to 2016, mirroring international supply trends. Females who died were younger than males and had higher median MDMA blood concentrations (0.70 vs. 0.42 mg/L). Deaths from MDMA alone showed higher concentrations than those involving multiple drugs.
The International journal on drug policy
May 1, 2023
Joseph J Palamar, Austin Le, Charles M Cleland et al.
41 citations
Among people attending electronic dance music parties in New York City nightclubs and festivals, self-reported use of several drugs changed from 2017 to 2022. Past-year and past-month use of psilocybin mushrooms, ketamine, poppers, synthetic cathinones, and novel psychedelics increased, while past-year heroin use and past-month cocaine, novel stimulant, and nonmedical benzodiazepine use decreased. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds of using mushrooms, poppers, and 2C series drugs rose, whereas the odds of using cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamine, novel stimulants, and prescription opioids nonmedically fell. These trends in a sentinel population can inform public health surveillance.
The International journal on drug policy
March 1, 2016
C. Walsh
37 citations
Drug prohibition in the UK, particularly for psychedelics, violates the fundamental right to cognitive liberty protected by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The paper argues that existing challenges to prohibition based on therapeutic or religious exemptions are insufficient; instead, the right to control one's own consciousness should ground a complete end to psychedelic prohibitions. This legal argument is supported by classical liberal philosophy: the state should only criminalize actions that demonstrably risk harming others. The authors recommend that drug policy activism move beyond harm reduction toward benefit maximization and consider a regulatory "third way" distinct from criminal or medical control. However, given the UK's authoritarian turn, underground movements may be the only near-term guarantor of cognitive liberty.
The International journal on drug policy
August 1, 2024
Stephanie Lake, Philippe Lucas
31 citations
A large international survey of 6,379 adult psychedelic users across 85 countries found that psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA were the most commonly used substances, with personal growth as the primary motive. Regional differences emerged: ibogaine use was less common in Europe/UK and Australia/NZ than in Canada/US; frequency of use was lower in Australia/NZ; therapeutic use was less common in Europe/UK and other regions; and microdosing was more prevalent in Canada/US. Infrequent use focused on life enhancement was typical, and respondents preferred legal access through quality-controlled sources. These patterns likely reflect regional regulations and traditions.
The International journal on drug policy
November 1, 2012
John Stogner, David N Khey, O Hayden Griffin et al.
31 citations
After a well-publicized suicide in 2006 and reports that Salvia divinorum was used as a 'legal high' and cannabis substitute, Florida classified the plant and its active ingredient, salvinorin A, as Schedule I substances on July 1, 2008. Three self-report studies collected from young adults before and after the policy's implementation, along with interviews of law enforcement personnel, examined the policy's relationship with usage rates. Lifetime prevalence of salvia use was largely unchanged, but rates of past year and past month use in Florida were significantly lower following the scheduling. Perceptions of peer use increased markedly, while law enforcement and laboratories rarely encountered salvia possession cases.
The International journal on drug policy
November 1, 2010
Sarah Riley, James Thompson, Christine Griffin
27 citations
During a period when psilocin-based magic mushrooms were legal in the UK (2002–2005), commercial sales revealed a substantial market for the drug. A critical discourse analysis of focus groups with 20 users (13 male, 7 female, mean age 25) identified two overarching discourses in their talk. One drew on neo-liberal rhetoric, portraying users as rational, risk-managing individuals engaged in calculated hedonism justified as personal freedom and consumer choice. The other, termed 'post-psychedelic', both celebrated and problematized a collective, spiritual 'hippy' identity. The analysis argues that neo-liberal rhetoric constrains people's ability to imagine collectivist or interconnected social worlds.
The International journal on drug policy
February 1, 2017
Allison Matthews, Rachel Sutherland, Amy Peacock et al.
23 citations
Frequent psychostimulant consumers in Australia rated stimulant-type new psychoactive substances (NPS), such as mephedrone and methylone, less favorably than ecstasy and cocaine in terms of pleasurable effects and likelihood of future use. DMT, a hallucinogenic tryptamine, showed a similar profile to LSD for pleasurable effects and future use likelihood, but its negative acute and comedown effects were rated lower. Hallucinogenic phenethylamines like 2C-B had a negative profile similar to LSD but were rated as less pleasurable and less likely to be used again. The potential for expanded use of stimulant-type NPS may be lower than for common stimulants, while DMT's potential may be higher relative to LSD due to fewer negative effects.
The International journal on drug policy
December 1, 2022
Maxim Tvorun-Dunn
20 citations
Psychedelics are being embraced by Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs who reinterpret them through mystical, anti-democratic, and individualist beliefs, contrary to the progressive or communitarian values historically associated with the New Left counterculture. These beliefs, supported by venture capital funding, shape legalization policy and commercialization, likely leading to a near-monopoly market and increased inequality in the United States, reflecting neoliberal and essentialist ideologies.
The International journal on drug policy
September 1, 2020
Michaela Barber, John Gardner, Michael Savic et al.
16 citations
Online forums like Reddit and Drugs Forum serve as key resources for people considering ibogaine therapy for addiction, where personal experiences and evidence-based information are both valued. Forum participants discuss treatment arrangements, risks, and harm reduction extensively. While many prefer clinic-based treatment due to safety concerns, financial and time constraints sometimes lead to lay-administration of ibogaine. Microdosing is frequently discussed. Therapeutic effects are primarily framed in terms of pharmacological mechanisms, but positive psychological changes from the psychedelic experience are also reported. The forums foster a sense of community where individuals are held accountable for treatment success, and neuroscientific explanations of addiction hold particular explanatory power for participants.
The International journal on drug policy
August 1, 2023
Tayler Holborn, Fabrizio Schifano, Paolo Deluca
15 citations
People are using novel psychoactive substances (NPS) to self-treat conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression, according to discussions on a Reddit community. Motivations include easier access, lower cost, legality, and dissatisfaction with conventional healthcare. Substances frequently mentioned include etizolam, clonazolam, diclazepam, flualprazolam, 2-FMA, 4F-MPH, 3-FPM, and 3-MeO-PCP. Users often chose NPS based on perceived "functionality," though outcomes varied, and clonazolam use was highlighted as particularly problematic. The findings suggest that improving healthcare providers' knowledge of NPS use, removing barriers to adult ADHD diagnosis, and rebuilding trust in addiction services could help address this challenge.
The International journal on drug policy
December 1, 2021
Maja Kohek, Constanza Sánchez Avilés, Oriol Romaní et al.
14 citations
Cannabis has a long history of medical, recreational, industrial, and spiritual uses. This paper reports on ethnographic fieldwork in rural Catalonia, where a phenomenological community regularly uses ancient psychoactive plants, including cannabis and ayahuasca, in ritual contexts. The rituals serve as effective harm reduction techniques, strengthening community bonds and generating beneficial effects for individuals and communities. Participants view these practices as spiritual or religious, and as forms of self-care and community-care, rather than involving dependence or addiction. The authors argue that international drug policies, which claim to be evidence-based, overlook the benefits of non-problematic drug use and could be improved by incorporating ethnographic findings on the spiritual and community dimensions of drug use.
The International journal on drug policy
November 1, 2021
Amy Peacock, Daisy Gibbs, Olivia Price et al.
12 citations
Over one-third of Australians who regularly use illegal stimulants reported testing their drugs' contents or purity, with 86% of those using a colorimetric reagent kit. Most testing occurred within 24 hours of planned use, and 24% tested for quantity. Among those testing a substance sold as MDMA, 87% detected MDMA. People who were younger, male, used new psychoactive substances, accessed community health services for drug reasons, sold drugs, or sought peer and online information were more likely to use drug checking. The findings suggest that in the absence of government-sanctioned services, people already engage in drug checking with suboptimal tools and without professional guidance.
The International journal on drug policy
May 1, 2010
Colin Wark, John F Galliher
12 citations
The 1968 U.S. federal prohibition of psilocybin was largely a product of the actions of Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, who transformed from Harvard professors into countercultural icons during the 'Harvard drug scandal.' They tested psilocybin on human subjects, attracting Harvard undergraduates and condemnation from faculty and administrators. Unlike most illegal drugs, psilocybin was never linked to a threatening minority group but to privileged youth. Leary and Alpert acted as moral entrepreneurs on holy missions for young and minority Americans. Their success in changing culture made psilocybin possession criminalized under federal law in 1968, demonstrating that crusaders can shift culture even when laws attempt to control their behavior.
The International journal on drug policy
February 1, 2022
Maja Sawicka, Irene Rafanell, Angus Bancroft
10 citations
A cryptomarket for illicit drugs that operates as a forum-based space, rejecting centralized technical solutions like escrow and encryption, instead relies on personal relationships between buyers and vendors to build trust. Through manual scraping of the forum from 2017 to 2020, the authors constructed a 'thick data' set and analyzed micro-interactional dynamics such as turn-taking, sanctioning, and norming processes. They found that digital communication fosters a distinct culture, termed a 'psychedelic assemblage,' which frames drug use and trading. Mutual monitoring and policing among community members normalize practices and create a shared lifeworld that ensures the market's operability.
The International journal on drug policy
September 1, 2019
Katie Anderson, Paula Reavey, Zoë Boden
10 citations
MDMA's pro-social effects, such as increased friendliness and empathy, are examined in the context of heterosexual romantic relationships. Through interviews and diaries with couples, the study finds that MDMA use is carefully bounded from daily life both temporally and corporeally, involving rituals that reenchant everyday spaces and selves. Couples also exclude others to preserve an emotionally intense space for themselves. The drug serves as a unique form of relationship 'work,' akin to a special date night that revitalizes connection. The authors suggest harm reduction efforts should address 'messy' emotional harms and engage with users' language of 'specialness' to limit negative impacts.
The International journal on drug policy
June 1, 2025
Joseph J. Palamar
7 citations
Ketamine use is rising sharply among nightclub attendees in New York City. From 2017 to 2024, lifetime use increased by 36.7% (from 16.6% to 22.7%), past-year use by 94.0% (from 7.4% to 14.3%), and past-month use by 118.1% (from 3.1% to 6.8%). The largest increases in past-month use occurred among people aged 26 or older (up 222.0%), females (up 216.6%), those with a college degree (up 161.0%), bisexual or other sexuality individuals (up 445.0%), and those who also used cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA, or LSD in the past month. Identifying as gay or lesbian and past-month cocaine use were strongly associated with higher odds of past-month ketamine use. The authors suggest that prevention and harm reduction efforts should be increased.
The International journal on drug policy
April 1, 2023
George Henry Robert Simpson, Caroline Chatwin, Elke van Hellemont
4 citations
Naturally occurring magic mushroom sites in the UK are open, accessible, and lack invested ownership, purposeful cultivation, or law enforcement disruption. Over three years of ethnographic observation at five rural Kent sites and interviews with ten key informants, seasonal pickers were sociable and cooperative, without territoriality or violent dispute resolution. These findings challenge the dominant narrative that Class-A drug markets are uniformly violent, profit-driven, and hierarchical, and that producers and suppliers are morally corrupt and organized. Understanding this variety can inform more nuanced policing and policy strategies.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2026
Christina Chwyl, Adrianne R Wilson-Poe, Kim A Hoffman et al.
3 citations
Experts in psychedelic care and harm reduction identified five key areas for improving standards of care: strengthening provider accountability and credibility, advancing culturally responsive and inclusive practices, emphasizing community-based support and integration, ensuring safety through preparation and screening, and navigating legal and informational gray areas. The findings highlight the need for clearer guidelines, robust safety protocols, and accessible support systems to optimize outcomes across diverse populations and settings.
The International journal on drug policy
November 1, 2025
Mauricio Sepúlveda Galeas, Ernesto Escobar, Sebastían Ubiergo Scheel et al.
3 citations
Tuci (or 'pink cocaine') is not a counterfeit of 2C-B nor defined by ketamine, as common institutional and media claims assert. Drawing on Foucauldian poststructuralism, neomaterialisms, and decolonial studies, the authors argue that Tuci is a monstrous substance: it has no original or stable composition but is produced through material and discursive assemblages. It acts on and produces the body as an effect of these assemblages, defined by its affective operativity, contextual modulation, and performative adoption in liminal youth niches. The article calls for an epistemological shift toward a drug politics that recognizes mutability, relationality, and the power of the unclassifiable.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2026
Guy Simon, Nir Tadmor, Demian Halperin
2 citations
Psychedelics can produce lasting changes in attitudes and behavior, with outcomes shaped by both the drug and the context of use ('set and setting'). As these substances move from traditional settings into clinical environments, a tension arises between authenticity and standardization. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's concept of 'aura,' this article examines what may be lost or gained when psychedelic experiences are reproduced in institutional settings. It explores how set and setting contribute to authenticity, analyzes the implications of medicalization, and considers the roles of ritual and commodification. The authors propose ways to integrate traditional context with clinical approaches to preserve psychedelics' transformative potential.
The International journal on drug policy
February 1, 2025
Jason Hughes, Joshua Stuart-Bennett, Michael Dunning et al.
2 citations
People who microdose psychedelics often follow a multi-stage journey that involves becoming aware of the practice, researching and reframing risks, securing a reliable supply, experimenting with doses and schedules, stabilizing a routine that feels right for them, and eventually expanding their sense of connection to themselves and others. Based on interviews with 23 current, prospective, or past microdosers, the research identifies these phases as non-linear and varied across individuals. The process requires considerable effort to manage stigma, maintain supply, and document effects. This phased model offers a way to understand drug-use patterns that do not fit conventional addiction-focused frameworks.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2024
Leigh Coney, Amy Peacock, Aili Malm et al.
2 citations
People who buy MDMA, cocaine, or LSD from cryptomarkets are more likely to have no drug-using social network and to report adverse events requiring medical treatment. Among over 23,000 respondents from more than 70 countries in the 2018 Global Drug Survey, adverse events were low overall (5.2%). After controlling for age, gender, and frequency of use, recent cryptomarket use was associated with a higher likelihood of having no drug-using network for each drug. It was also linked to increased odds of adverse events for cocaine (adjusted odds ratio 1.70) and LSD (adjusted odds ratio 1.58). For those with a network larger than one person, cryptomarket use was still associated with more adverse LSD events. The findings suggest cryptomarket use may increase drug-related harm, but the complex mechanisms require further study.