I Trend - Internet tools for research in Europe on new drugs

Results

Monitoring user forums | Monitoring online shops | Online survey among NPS users | Monitoring of substance content | Selecting of the most popular NPS

Overall Key results.

The NPS phenomenon follows dynamics specific to each country but shows converging trends
Suppliers develop strategies to attract new users and to hide illegal retail
Numerous lessons learned from the difficulties encountered
European legislation is not conducive to facilitating monitoring of NPS content and substance sharing between laboratories, for scheduled or unscheduled substances
Collection of essential information for drafting top lists relies on political will and decision-making
Tools developed in the I-Trend Project proved their ability to provide both a national vision of the NPS phenomenon and a dynamic vision.
Useful knowledge for prevention: forums are a relevant way to reach a significant proportion of NPS users; and users are in need of harm reduction measures.

Read the synthesis for further details: I-Trend Project Overview: Internet tools for research in Europe on new drugs, 36 p.

Detailed results for each activity/workstream are presented below.

Please note that further information is also available in published papers or grey literature (posters and presentations). You can consult them in the dedicated 'Publications' section.

WS1. Monitoring user forums

WS1. Key results

Different kinds of forums exist, reflecting various underlying objectives and the different cultures from which they originate. The first type of forums, integrated into wider platforms, tend to target an audience with limited knowledge on NPS. Other forums are essentially split into two main categories, each including several sub-types: those which are part of a community approach (“the Dutch School") and those influenced by a more Anglo-Saxon culture, which display greater proximity, to varying degrees, with online supply stakeholders.
For a given country, forums are often characterised by a specific audience of NPS users even if a same country can host several types of forums. This is evidenced by specific history, rules, language and discussion content. It is therefore possible to link the changes in audience (related to a substance or an issue) with an internal renewal of member’s forums or with events emphasized by media. This provides information on groups that are particularly concerned by the spread of a substance or practice. Furthermore, it makes it possible to better target some groups of users when carrying out prevention programmes.
Quantitative and qualitative monitoring of NPS user forums enable a better understanding of the development of the NPS phenomenon.

Forums are usually considered as a suitable source for qualitative information, although they are almost never considered as source of quantitative information. However, the quantitative monitoring of forums give a good insights on what kind of information online readers and users are looking for. The discussion the most viewed are not systematically the most updated, and so far, they testified an interest coming from people who are not directly involved in the forum but who are looking for specific information.

Read the final WS1 report for further details: Workstream 1. Monitoring user forums, Final report, 71 p.

Handbook guide
For the monitoring of the online forums a dedicated tool has been developed: results can be presented with different levels of precision, from a molecule to a complete category, according to expected effects or cross-disciplinary subjects, such as pattern of use. This software can be adapted to other countries.

Read the I-TREND platform Handbook (23 p.) for further details.
If you wish to receive further information, please contact ofdt(at)ofdt.fr

WS2. Monitoring online shops

WS2. Key results

This study confirms the framework of the online NPS markets, displaying two archetypal shop models: “branded/commercial” shops, where substances are mainly offered with a more “commercial” trade name and “research chemical” shops, where substances are mainly displayed using their chemical names. Two other categories should be added: “herbal” shops where the sites primarily offer plant-related substances together with commercial products and a final category (“other”), grouping sites offering products related to sexual performance, health or general wellness. These categories aim to distinguish between supply intended for users with a high level of information and that targeting a more generic less-informed audience.
Since the beginning of the commercial NPS phenomenon, the market has become increasingly fragmented with different levels of visibility. In addition to public, private and underground spaces, sales also take place in the cracks, between light and shadow. Suppliers use two types of strategies: either to maximise their visibility on the Internet or to keep a discreet, targeted presence.
The NPS phenomenon does not follow the same pattern across different countries.

Read the final WS2 report for further details: Workstream 2. Monitoring online shops, Final report, 43 p.

Handbook guide
A dedicated tool has been developed to extract and process online data. Inspired by a previous tool created by the Psychonaut and Rednet projects, this software helps researchers to have a long-term view on market evolutions. On the base of key words, it collects a sample of online shops and tracks their evolution over time. That way, it is possible to observe how much the market changes, taking in consideration the same base of NPS names. Its main technical improvement is the reduced length of time required to run the snapshot, thus enabling repeated data collection. The tool ultimately allows dynamic monitoring of NPS online supply.
Read Workstream 2. Monitoring online shops, SASF (semi-automated shop finder) official guidelines, 16 p. for further details.

For more information on this software please contact: Vendula Belackova (vendulabelackova(at)gmail.com) or Martin Pazitny (martin_pazitny(at)hotmail.com).

Examples of practical application
Download an example compiling supply information on 4 NPS: Workstream 2. Monitoring online shops, Report on 25I-NBOMe, AH-7921, methoxetamine and MDVP, 8 p.
These results have notably lead to the publication in 2017 of an article in Drugs: Education, prevention and policy: "Assessing the impact of laws controlling the online availability of 25I-NBOMe, AH-7921, MDPV and MXE – outcomes of a semi-automated e-shop monitoring".

Download through the Polish report, a national example about how data obtained via the monitoring of online shops can be valorised: Workstream 2. Monitoring online shops, Polish example, 8 p.

WS3. Online survey among NPS users

WS3. Key results

NPS users

NPS user profiles differ from one country to another: Polish users were mostly very young adults, still students (mean age 20.2) who predominantly used NPS with friends in the countryside; Czech and Dutch users were a little older (25.6 and 23.4) and more frequently used NPS in a recreational setting (clubs, parties, etc.), while French users were older on average and were more likely to use these substances at home. Dutch users were the most frequent Internet users in terms of purchases or information seeking. Hence, it is difficult to determine whether these differences are mainly related to disparities in the spread of the NPS phenomenon or diverse survey distribution strategies. These variations should be borne in mind when commenting on differences.
NPS users also consumed other psychoactive substances; however, this observation is much more apparent among French and Dutch NPS users than among Czech and Polish users. In addition to alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, NPS users also consume stimulants and hallucinogens, with the exception of Polish users for the latter.
Quantitative and qualitative monitoring of NPS user forums enable a better understanding of the development of the NPS phenomenon.

Contexts, motives and practices

In all countries, NPS use frequently took place among groups of friends (more than 3 out of 4 users followed this pattern). This context is an important protective factor against overdose, while, in contrast, more than 1 out of 10 users in each country took NPS alone at home, which is more dangerous.
In all countries except France, NPS were mostly used in a public context (clubs, parties, countryside, etc.). This situation accounted for up to 69% of last intake context for Czech users, but only 38% in France where NPS use mostly takes place at home.
Routes of administration of NPS were variable according to countries except for snorting, used by a significant number of respondents in all partner countries. This was the most popular method of use in the Czech Republic, in the Netherlands and, to a lesser extent, in France where ingestion was the most popular method, while in Poland smoking and snorting were used equally. Routes of administration were likely to vary depending on the chemical class and the form (powder, plants, etc.) of the substances.
Reasons to take NPS were also variable according to countries, due to cultural differences or to disparities in the populations reached by the survey: "to modify perceptions", "to get high" or "to bond with others" were important reasons for all partners, but not with a similar weight. "To modify perception" was, by far, the most important reason to use NPS in France and the Netherlands while it was "to bond with others, to socialise" in Poland and to “provide energy” (sexual performance not included) for Czech people.
In all countries involved in the study, around half of NPS users experienced unpleasant effects after the last intake. The most widely reported unpleasant effects varied according to countries, as did the number of different effects reported after last intake: the latter ranged from 2.9 for the Netherlands to 5.6 for Poland where NPS users are the youngest (3.5 for France and 4.4 for the Czech Republic). Very few users sought medical attention.

Mode of access

Most users did not purchase NPS in a shop (online or not) but on the informal market (illicit market or given for free): 3 out of 4 NPS users were, in this case, in eastern countries where 1 out of two users obtained NPS for free or bought them from a friend. In western countries nearly half of NPS users purchased online. The amount spent on the last purchase suggests that a proportion of respondents purchased for a group or for trafficking purposes. This indicates the important role of the “real market” in the spread of NPS.
Most of the respondents who had purchased during the last 12 months used RC shops (66% for French and Polish users, and up to 91% for Dutch). While Dutch users almost exclusively resorted to RC shops, situations were more balanced in France and Poland.
Reasons to choose an online shop to buy NPS were clearly related to experience sharing. The most chosen criteria were indeed "I followed the advice of other users", "I had a good experience with the shop already" and "It had a good profile on the pages where the clients shared their experience (i.e. SafeOrScam)"

Information seeking

The main source of information on NPS was clearly web forums for Dutch and French users (87% and 69%) who also turned to "friends/family/acquaintances" (51%, 40%). The situation was more balanced for Czech users (50% relied on web forums and 47% on "friends/family/acquaintances"). Polish users appeared to be in a very particular situation with less than 30% of users procuring some information by each of these methods while 29% claimed they did not have information and 25% that they did not need any information. This observation is perhaps linked with the fact that Polish users are very young. On the subject of the last intake, users stated that, by far, they lacked information related to health risks.

Opinions

On the one hand, in all countries, NPS users clearly think that NPS are not less harmful or less addictive than conventional drugs. On the other hand, regarding the following claims on NPS including “NPS are of better quality than conventional drugs” and “NPS are stronger than conventional drugs”, opinions are split between disagreements and the idea that this is true for some of them.

Read the final WS3 report for further details: Workstream 3. Online survey among NPS users, Final report, 44 p.

General methodology
Very few online surveys allow to compare national situations. This guideline on how the I-TREND survey has been conducted aims to define and insists on the definition of online survey, their varieties and limits.
Read Workstream 3. Online survey among NPS users, Methodological guidelines, 30 p. for further details
Readers should bear in mind that the sample of one online survey is not controlled. It can give the opportunity to highlight specific subgroups of users. But results cannot be extended to the general population.

National Reports
Results by country are also available. You can download:
Results from the Dutch online survey, 24 p.)
Results from the French online survey, 57 p.
Results from the Polish online survey, 101 p.

Please note that further information is also available in published papers or grey literature (posters and presentations). You can consult them in the dedicated 'Publications' section.

WS4. Monitoring of substance content

WS4. Key results

Users take risks by consuming NPS purchased online if they do not follow very strict harm reduction measures:
- Consumers do not always receive what they ordered: more than 20% of all NPS samples purchased did not contain the substance stated on the label.
- Major differences are observed in substance purity (less than 50% to nearly 100%, with an average of 80%). This means that a substance can be much stronger than another sample of the same substance previously tried. This also means that the product contains compounds other than those stated.
These characteristics (samples not containing the substances ordered and average purity level) clearly differ according to the country targeted by the shops (see WS2): shops targeting the UK offer substances which are mainly labelled correctly (92%) and with an average purity of up to 93%. Conversely, NPS from the Netherlands market do not contain the expected substances in approximately 45 out of 100 cases, while the average purity of substances purchased from shops targeting the Polish market barely reaches 56%.
In line with toxicological results, certain changes could be observed concerning delivery. For example, for France, in contrast to findings before the I-Trend Project, certain substances ordered via "commercial" shops and displayed online with attractive packaging and brand names were delivered in austere packaging with only the molecule name which typifies "RC shops". This is one of the elements suggesting connections exist between "commercial" shops and "RC shops". The impact of this change in packaging means that packages from commercial shops are less visible than before, hence more elusive to customs services. Conversely, one received package was extremely visible, wrapped in glossy colours as though a gift.

Read the final WS4 report for further details: Workstream 4. Monitoring of substance content, Final report, 28 p.

An article has also been published in 2017 in the "International Journal of Drug Policy" journal: "BRUNT T. et al. Online test purchased new psychoactive substances in 5 different European countries: A snapshot study of chemical composition and price".

Methodological issues
Legal issues set real limits in terms of pursuing this monitoring beyond the I-Trend Project.
- No safe solution has been found to order and pay for online samples: researchers had to purchase samples themselves as if for personal purposes with the risk of getting blacklisted by customs and having their personal credit card hacked. Pre-paid credit cards are not accepted by shops as well as dubious identity or address.
- Above all, the European legislation is not adapted to substance transfers performed on a regular basis between laboratories. European sample transmission under Council Decision 2001/419/JHA appeared to be an empty gift in that way that it was largely unknown and unused. Both online monitoring of substances sold and enhancing cross-border laboratory cooperation by exchanging reference standards require an adapted legal framework taking into account the specific requirements of research programmes.
- To analyse new substances, it seems that the best way to obtain reference standards is to have them created by toxicological laboratories from a pure sample of the molecule (purchased via the Internet or obtained from customs seizures).

WS5. Selecting of the most popular NPS

This activity/workstream reflects the main objective: to determine which substances are the most popular and to document them: 3-MMC, 3,4 DMMC, 4-FA, 4-HO-MET, 4-MEC, 5F-PB-22, 5-MeO-DALT, 6-APB, Alpha-PVP, AM-2201, AMT, Brephedrone, Ethcathinone, MDPBP, Methylone, MPA, MPPP, PBP, Pentedrone, UR-144. Identifying the most widely circulated and used substances took on a rather important role in the project as the first step for other activities, but also as an independent objective. Therefore results of this activity/workstream have been detailed at length in the section called "Popular NPS".

Read the final WS5 report for further details: Workstream 5. NPS Top lists and national technical folders, Final report, 27 p. and see all 29 national NPS Top lists in the “Popular NPS” section.

You can see a practical application of the methodology for selecting the most popular NPS and on how to set up a NPS Top List by downloading the French case illustration.

You can also see one example of an international technical folder on 5-MeO-DALT.