The arrest and synthetic novel psychoactive drug relationship: Observations from a young adult population

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Abstract

Novel psychoactive drugs (NPDs), an emerging class of dangerous substances, generally mimic the actions of commonly abused substances such as marijuana, stimulants, hallucinogens, and opiates, but are formulated, marketed, and used either to sidestep legal restrictions or to avoid positive drug screens. Synthetic cannabinoids such as Spice and K2 along with synthetic stimulants often referred to as "bath salts" have recently entered U.S. markets. The current study explores the relationship between being arrested and using NPDs per self-report survey data obtained from 2,349 students at a large university in the Southeastern United States. Respondents indicated whether they had used synthetic psychoactive drugs, reported demographic characteristics, and whether they had been arrested for a number of offenses. Results from logistic regression and propensity score matching models indicate that those who have been arrested are also more likely to use NPDs.

Publication Title

Journal of Drug Issues

Volume

47

Issue

1

First Page

91

Last Page

103

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1177/0022042616678611

ISSN

00220426

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