Abstract
BACKGROUND: Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a unique phenomenon of the 21st century. These substances are of critical consequences on public health and national economies. Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics and entheogens, represent one category of NPS. Numerous private groups do exist on the online drug fora and the online social platforms including Facebook. Psychedelic tripping or acid trip (using LSD) depicts one of the controversial life experiences; tripping can be indoor or in public.MATERIALS And METHODS: This study is observational and cross-sectional; it was based on an Internet Snapshot taken for a private group on Facebook; the group is dedicated for (ab)users of psychedelic substances. The snapshot was captured for a thread in relation to a critical question which was posted on the safety of day tripping using acid (LSD) in public places. Individual accounts of commenters (n=172) were analyzed in relation to demographics, length and themes of comments, and the attitude towards public tripping. This study is the first of its kind; it aims to conclude with an inference whether outdoor tripping is favourable by psychedelics users or not.RESULTS: A total of 137 psychedelic users’ comments were analyzed out of 172 (79.7%); males contributed more (n=111, 81%); the mean age was 32.14 years; most were Caucasian males from the US. (Ab)users were mainly geo-mapped into the US (85.4%), Canada (5.1%), and UK (3.7%). Those who had a positive attitude in relation to day tripping public places accounted for three-quarters (75.2%). Ethnicities and nationalities had no differential effect on a psychedelic user’s age nor his (her) enthusiasm for day tripping. However, (ab)users from the US were found to be more enthused. Further, there was a significant difference in relation to the attitude in between individuals with; positive attitude and negative attitude (p-value<0.001).CONCLUSION: Psychedelics (ab)users appeared to be in favour of having an acid trip in public; those were mainly geographically mapped into the developed countries, while the contribution of the developing countries was minimal. This study can be copied to populations of interest of different backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities in an aim to infer changes in trends and preferences of individual users across time and place.
Highlights
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a unique phenomenon of the 21st century
Psychedelicsusers appeared to be in favour of having an acid trip in public; those were mainly geographically mapped into the developed countries, while the contribution of the developing countries was minimal
Several media websites mentioned that famous artists and scientist took psychedelic substances during their life time, for instance, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) who is considered as the epitome renaissance man; it has been reported that psychedelic substances can elevate the consciousness and the cognitive functions of a human being; notable figures who experienced the use of psychedelics include Michael Angelo, Charles Darwin, and Sigmond Freud (Famousscientists.org, 2017; Shroomery.org, 2017)
Summary
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a unique phenomenon of the 21st century These substances are of critical consequences on public health and national economies. During the past two decades, designer drugs including psychedelics, represented a significant evolving threat to the public health and nations’ economy; the phenomenon and its electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been escalating at a logarithmic pace, paralleled only by the explosive collateral evolution within the discipline of information and communication technologies (Al-Imam et al, 2016; Al-Imam et al, 2017; Brew, 2016; Dargan & Wood, 2013). This study is an observational cross-sectional analysis; it represents a novel attempt to analyse a selected virtual populations on the renowned online social platform known as Facebook
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