Self-reported use of novel psychoactive substances in a US nationally representative survey: Prevalence, correlates, and a call for new survey methods to prevent underreporting

Abstract

Background In recent years, there has been an increase in emergence and use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) in the US and worldwide. However, there is little published epidemiological survey data estimating the prevalence of use in the US. Method Data on self-reported NPS use came from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (2009–2013), a national representative sample of non-institutionalized individuals in the US. Subjects were asked to provide names of (non-traditional) drugs they used that they were not specifically asked about. We examined lifetime prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of self-reported use of new and uncommon synthetic drugs (NPS) among subjects ages 12–34-years-old. Results 1.2% of subjects self-reported any use of the 57NPS we examined. Use of psychedelic tryptamines (primarily DMT) was most common, followed by psychedelic phenethylamines (e.g., 2C series) and synthetic cannabinoids. Prevalence of self-reported use of NPS increased from 2009–2013 and use was most common among males, whites, older subjects, those of lower income, and among those residing in cities. Lifetime use of various other illicit drugs (e.g., LSD, cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA) was highly prevalent among NPS users. Conclusion This the first study reporting on use of a variety of NPS in a nationally representative US sample; however, use appears to be underreported as other national data suggest higher rates of NPS (e.g., synthetic cannabinoid) use. Developing more adaptable survey tools and systematically assessing NPS use would allow researchers to ask about hundreds of NPS and improve reporting as new drugs continue to rapidly emerge.

Shifting characteristics of ecstasy users ages 12–34 in the United States, 2007–2014

“…The proportion of past-year use of marijuana, LSD, ketamine, and/or DMT/AMT/Foxy increased, with greatest relative increases in DMT/AMT/Foxy use (i.e., 314%) from 2007/08 to 2013/14. Another study found that eight out of ten individuals who reported DMT/AMT/Foxy use or other tryptamines in the NSDUH also reported lifetime ecstasy use (Palamar et al, 2015). This increase in use of tryptamines may be due to a recent increase in popularity of DMT (Winstock et al, 2014).…”

Biotransformation and detectability of the new psychoactive substances N,N-diallyltryptamine (DALT) derivatives 5-fluoro-DALT, 7-methyl-DALT, and 5,6-methylenedioxy-DALT in urine using GC-MS, LC-MSn, and LC-HR-MS/MS

“…Both classic tryptamine psychedelics such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) but also synthetic tryptamine-based "research chemicals" have been popular. [5,6]. N,N-Diallyltryptamine (DALT) derivatives represent an important group with 5-methoxy-DALT (5-MeO-DALT) being the most often reported example [7][8][9].…”

“…N,N-Diallyltryptamine (DALT) derivatives represent an important group with 5-methoxy-DALT (5-MeO-DALT) being the most often reported example [7][8][9]. As such drugs may become controlled the creation of new substances with similar chemical structures and effects is aimed at circumventing legislative restrictions [5], which leads to significant challenges for drug testing laboratories in the attempt to be kept up-to-date with analytical methods and reference data [10,11]. One prerequisite is the knowledge of the NPS metabolism particularly for urine drug testing.…”

Consumption Patterns of Nightlife Attendees in Munich: A Latent-Class Analysis

“…The use of these substances is vanishingly rare in general population studies (Champion, Teesson, & Newton, 2015;Martinotti et al, 2015;Palamar, Martins, Su, & Ompad, 2015) and thus knowledge of consumption patterns is scarce. According to the Flash Eurobarometer 401 (European Commission, 2014), nearly two-thirds of participants that had used a NPS within the past 12 months had used it in the context of parties.…”