Welcome to the future of drug use

Ever heard of dimethocaine, methoxetamine or JWH-18? They are ‘research chemicals’ similar to cocaine, ketamine and cannabis respectively. They were all first synthesized in the last few years and are being produced in large quantities in Chinese factories. They are quasi-legal and readily available over the internet. As a consequence, they are already widely taken. Like mephedrone before them, it probably won’t be long before they are banned. And, like mephedrone, no-one really knows if they are safe or not.

People haven’t been taking these new drugs for long enough for us to know. Scientific research is lagging far behind casual self-experimentation. Science can’t keep up. In 2010, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction, 40 completely new substances were taken by UK recreational drugs users. In the same year, 1,700 new medicines and drugs were licensed for the UK market. Many of these are psychoactive and some are liable to be abused. Psychopharmacologists and drugs professionals have a full-time job trying to keep up with the pace of change. So what chance does the weekend clubber have?

In my view, when it comes to new recreational drugs, casual users might well be better informed than the professionals. We experiment on ourselves and we see the effects on people we know well. We share information and develop our own jargon. We have a good idea what ‘monged’ means and we know how this differs from ‘spangled’. The internet ‘helps’ too. Sites like Bluelight, Erowid and urban75 seek to capture and spread this 21st century folk wisdom. And, Frankly, I’d recommend them as a more reliable source of knowledge than any government funded drugs ‘information’ service.