Patterns of Use, Acute Subjective Experiences, and Motivations for Using Synthetic Cathinones (“Bath Salts”) in Recreational Users

Abstract

Given the variety and potential toxicity of synthetic cathinones, clinicians and educators would benefit from information about patterns of and motivations for use, frequency of psychosocial consequences, and experience of acute subjective effects. We administered a comprehensive, web-based survey to 104 recreational users of synthetic cathinones. Sixty percent of respondents consumed synthetic cathinones once or more per month, usually snorting or swallowing these drugs, typically at home, usually with others, customarily during the evening and nighttime hours, and often in combination with another drug such as alcohol or marijuana. Acute subjective effects attributed to synthetic cathinones were similar to those of other psychostimulants, including increased energy, rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, euphoria, decreased appetite, open-mindedness, and increased sex drive. Reported reasons for using synthetic cathinones included its stimulating effects, curiosity, substitution for another drug, and being at a party/music event. Respondents had experienced an average of six negative consequences of using synthetic cathinones during the previous year (e.g., tolerance, neglecting responsibilities, personality change). In combination with previously published investigations, these findings increase our understanding of the reported rationales and outcomes of recreational use of synthetic cathinones.

Effects of D1 and D2 receptor antagonists on the discriminative stimulus effects of methylendioxypyrovalerone and mephedrone in male Sprague-Dawley rats trained to discriminate d-amphetamine

“…In 2011, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration added synthetic cathinones to the Schedule I list of controlled substances (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2011). Despite their illicit status, these substances are still abused recreationally (Ashrafioun et al, 2016) and new derivatives continue to be introduced to the illicit drug market.…”

Synthetic Cathinones—Prevalence and Motivations for Use

“…However, these patterns are an aggregation and cumulation of multiple and complex decisions by individual members of communities and societies. Reports from medical settings and poison information centres do not provide information about reasons for consumers starting use of these molecules (Ashrafioun et al, 2016).…”

“…The number of papers which have come closest to achieving this is very small, i.e. : Winstock et al (2011a); Cahart-Harris et al 2013; Johnson and Johnson (2014); and Ashrafioun et al (2016). The first paper demonstrated that a web-based survey recruiting from an existing survey (Mixmag) could be employed to study users' experiences, but only contained a limited number of questions exploring motivations for use of particular types of synthetic cathinones.…”

“…The fourth study listed above, set out to overcome the limitations of the previous three, using online recruitment through advertisements on specific websites; put a recruitment video in YouTube and purchased targeted advertsements on Facebook (Ashrafioun et al, 2016). The commonest reasons, in decreasing order for first trying synthetic cathinones were: curiosity, believing incorrectly that they were taking another substance; social pressure; having been offered 'bath salts'.…”

“…It is very challenging to accurately estimate the prevalence of specific NPS classes because most of the surveys conducted focus either on NPS as a whole or on specific NPS, although some progress has been made in recent years in improving survey instruments and tools (UNODC, 2017a). Other technical issues include: self-reporting surveys, such as the Global Drug Survey (Winstock et al, 2017) may not be representative of all users; there may be differences between respondents who @ 13 November 2017 4 have internet access and chose to participate compared to those who lack such access or desire to take part (Ashrafioun et al, 2016). General household surveys which will not capture people living alone, in institutional settings (hospitals, penal establishments, student accommodation, sheltered housing, etc.)…”