[Salvia divinorum--representation of a new drug in the Internet].
H Siemann, M Specka, F Schifano, P Deluca, N Scherbaum
Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)) May 1, 2006 DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-926549 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA search of German websites found Salvia divinorum offered for sale on 29% of the first 100 sites, while cannabis and LSD were not marketed on any sites. Official or institutional sites were rare for Salvia (12%) compared to cannabis (21%) and LSD (38%). A drug-friendly attitude appeared on 64% of Salvia sites, 58% for cannabis, and 24% for LSD. The low availability of official information on Salvia divinorum relative to drug-friendly or drug-trading sites suggests new drug consumption trends can be tracked on the Internet before they appear in official literature.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Web content analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 300 |
| Population | First 100 German websites for each search term (Salvia divinorum, cannabis, LSD) |
| Topics | Cannabis LSD Salvia divinorum |
| Keywords | Online portrayals Drug-friendly attitude |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key finding | Salvia divinorum was offered for sale on 29% of websites, while cannabis and LSD were not marketed on any sites, and official information was scarce for Salvia compared to the other drugs. |
Abstract
The German pages of the Internet were searched for the presence of the hallucinogenic herbal drug Salvia divinorum, which is not dealt with in current addiction medicine or psychiatric text books. The investigation is part of the EU sponsored project "Psychonaut" as preparatory work for the development of an Internet-based early warning system. The first 100 websites of the search using "Salvia divinorum" were compared with the search results for "cannabis" and "LSD". The following aspects of the sites were especially analyzed: the originator, marketing of drugs, and the attitude towards drug use. Salvia was offered for sale on approximately a third of the sites (29%); cannabis and LSD were not marketed on any sites. Official websites such as those from governmental organizations or universities were seldom found when searching for "Salvia divinorum", and then only under the last hits. The percentage of institutional sites (e. g. public organizations) were 12% with Salvia, 21% with cannabis, and 38% with LSD. A drug-friendly attitude was found at 64 % of the sites with regard to Salvia, 58% for cannabis, and 24% for LSD. The drug help system must be aware of that the Internet is a source of drug-related information, and of drug trade. As this investigation shows, sites often have a drug-friendly attitude. The low availability of official information on Salvia divinorum (also outside the Internet) relative to the presence of drug-friendly or drug trading sites is an indication that new trends of drug consumption can be tracked in the Internet before they will be found in official literature.