AIM To examine the prevalence and possible interconnections among the frequencies of consuming various psychoactive substances in Zagreb adolescents. Also, to assess risk factors associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. METHOD We applied an anonymous, multi-dimensional, self-reporting questionnaire on a representative sample of 2,404 elementary and high school students (tot...

There is a long history of psychoactive substances being regarded as dangerous and subsequently being banned or forbidden. Often the bans were introduced on substances new and unfamiliar to a society, which were viewed as more dangerous than substances which were well known and enculturated. With industrialisation and the globalisation brought by European empires, the growing availability of ps...

The regulation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has confounded governments throughout the western world. In 2014 the UK government convened an NPS Review Expert Panel to consider a range of approaches. Ultimately the Panel recommended that the government ban all new psychoactive drugs and allow only psychoactive substances specifically exempted, such as alcohol, tobacco and those allowed as...

The use of new psychoactive substances and the new patterns of drug use can have important public health and policy implications. Few countries have monitoring systems that are sensitive to this new phenomenon in the drug field, but methodological difficulties to detect them are considerable. Nonetheless, the importance of identifying potential new threats is widely recognized. The European Uni...

BACKGROUND Studies have found a high prevalence of both alcohol and other impairing psychoactive drugs in injured patient populations. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of potentially impairing psychoactive substances in all patients admitted to a hospital emergency department with injuries from accidents, assault or deliberate self harm. METHODS A total of 1272 patients over...

INTRODUCTION The role played by psychoactive substances in road safety has become object of increasing interest: these substances can reduce driving performance and increase accidents risk. Aims of the study are to establish the dimension of the problem and to describe the characteristics of people involved in accidents under psychoactive substance effects. METHODS Target population consists ...

Many novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have entered the recreational drug scene in recent years, yet the problems they cause are similar to those found with established drugs. This article will debate the psychobiological effects of these newer and more traditional substances. It will show how they disrupt the same core psychobiological functions, so damaging well-being in similar ways. Every...