1 person has hearted this
I Heart This
Got Something to Say
Log in to comment on these articles or sign up to Between the Lines to post your own articles and get all of the BTL content.
Featured Article
Will the internet filter block drug info sites?
It’s certainly a political, moral and ethical hot potato; the government plans to introduce internet censorship over the next 12 months. What...
Doing drugs in different ways
Shelving, smoking, shooting, snorting, swallowing, and many other words that don’t begin with ‘s.’ There are nearly as many different ways to...
To legalise, or not to legalise... that is the...
How many times have you heard people say: ‘drugs are illegal, therefore drugs must be bad, so don’t do drugs.’ Between The Lines weighs in on...
Dogs being trained to detect GHB
The Daily Telegraph report that Victorian police are conducting an Australian-first trial training sniffer dogs to detect GHB.
What's your head got to do with it: drugs &...
The mental health and drug discussion for many years has mirrored that of the mystery of the chicken and the egg. “Am I feeling this way because...
Celebrity rehab: cliche or concerning?
Rehab is all the rage, and all the big names are in on the act. Britney’s done it. Lindsay’s done it. And a whole lot of other celebrities we...
Harm-free alcohol on the way?
The Times Online report that a UK drug expert is developing a drink that he claims will give a similar kick to spirits but without the harmful...
Victorian opposition pledge to ban the bong
The Victorian Liberal party has stated that they will ban the sale of bongs and any other marijuana smoking implements if they are elected in the...
The misconception on Australian cocaine use
News.com.au reports, sensationally of course, that cocaine is 'rife among young Australians' at the moment, and it’s their 'party drug of...
Car crash victims face blood tests
According to a recent article in The Age, for the past six months Victoria Police has been asking doctors and nurses in emergency departments to...
Call to pulp harm minimisation pamphlet
NSW's state opposition are calling for a pamphlet that provides young people with information on harm minimisation when taking drugs to be pulped.
Is this the end of the 'war on drugs'?
After 40 years of defeat and failure, America's "war on drugs" is being buried in the same fashion as it was born - amid bloodshed, confusion,...
Concern for UK steroid injectors
Over 2,300 steroid using bodybuilders have signed up with a needle syringe in Barnsley, UK, after the exchange was set up by health authorities to...
A look at Mephedrone /4-MMC
With a moral panic officially begun, Between The Lines asks the question: what exactly is mephedrone or 4-MMC?
Cocaine basics
Find out all the basics about cocaine in this feature, including what it is, how it works, and how it affects your mental and physical health.
Reefer Madness; the cult classic
How does an educational movie funded by a church group become a cult classic?
The link between wealth and drugs
No doubt the link between poverty and drug use has had its fair share of media attention. After all, when you think of a junkie do you picture a...
The risks in mixing energy drinks and alcohol
These days it seems that caffeine-rich energy drinks and alcohol are the new vodka and tonic. It’s no big deal, right?
A look at drug testing on our roads
According to Professor Olaf Drummer of Monash University, there has been an increase in illicit drugs detected in dead drivers.
Mephedrone basics
Find out all the basics about mephedrone in this feature, including what it is, how it works, and how it affects your mental and physical health.
Poor sleep blamed for drug use
If you believe latest research you can forget everything you've heard about how drug use is the result of a complex mix of social and biological...
Legal highs to hit festivals 'big time'
There was an article in the Sunday Age a little while back that discussed the topic of legal drugs. It's a long article, but is definitely worth...
Is drug testing in schools ever justified?
Drug testing in schools is a controversial matter. Those against the tests argue that drug testing is an invasion of privacy and ineffective....
Who do some have a predilection to addiction?
Why do some who use drugs go on to develop an addiction, while others avoid the nasty side altogether?
Why do people take drugs?
I have encountered several engaging debates about the role of drugs in the lives of individuals and society. Such debates open up questions about...
Smart drugs = unfair advantage?
A recent episode of the US version of '60 Minutes' investigated the use of prescription drugs in US colleges - particularly meds for ADHD (e.g....
Know the Signs; spot any of your mates here?
I came across the website knowthesigns.com recently, having stumbled across a video of someone drunkenly dancing at a wedding. The video is a promo...
Does ecstasy use lead to sperm damage?
Research recently conducted by the University of Barcelona has studied the effects of ecstasy on the reproductive behaviour and system of male rats.
Researching drugs on the internet
Most research suggests that the internet has become an important source of information about drugs, but putting all effort into online resources...
Do sportspeople influence how much you drink?
It seems like every second week there’s a sports star or celebrity making in the media for making a spectacle of themselves on alcohol. So, what...
We want you to have your say
Right now Between The Lines is preparing a submission for the Australian Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy consultation and we want to get YOUR...
Researching drugs on the internet
Most research suggests that the internet has become an important source of information about drugs, but putting all effort into online resources may miss the mark.
Australian [1-3] and international [4-9] research suggests that – while drug-using peers were usually the most important and accessible source of drug information – websites were consistently nominated as important drug information sources. Where specified, user-oriented websites were preferred to those run by government or government-sponsored organisations [e.g., 4, 5]. Stetina et al. [6] conducted a large international online survey of recreational drug users, and found that the internet was the most often used information source for answering drug-related questions, followed by friends and acquaintances.
The importance of the internet for obtaining drug-related information has also been established through qualitative studies [3, 7, 10]. For example, Barker et al. [7] report that “many people reported reading testimonials and seeking information on the web before ingesting GHB for the first time” (p. 122) and Duff et al. [10] comment that “the internet is transforming the way many young people approach the issue of drug information and how young people directly access this information” (p. 70).
However, in contrast to the bulk of these studies, almost half (45%) of a sample of ecstasy users recruited from dance events in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide in 2006/07 (n = 347) reported never accessing the internet for information about ecstasy and related drugs [11]. Results from the annual Australian regular ecstasy user surveys show that friends were consistently the most important source of information about the content of ecstasy pills (72% in 2007), followed by dealers (48%) and websites (39%) [12-14]. A similar trend was observed in a study of ecstasy sellers in San Francisco, for whom information about content and purity of pills from the internet was not deemed as important or as trustworthy as the same information accessed through peers via existing social networks [15, 16].
There is little doubt that, for some people, the internet has transformed the way drug information is accessed and shared. The evidence also suggests that the internet is not the preferred information source for a significant number of people who are interested in learning about drugs, and to focus all attention upon online drug information is likely to miss this group. Online information and communication networks (such as this site) are clearly important, but we also need to continue to enhance peer education efforts right where the action is happening (eg. at clubs and festivals).
Do you research drugs? If so, where do you prefer to learn about them? And what sort of (peer) education do you think other people want?
Monica Barratt is completing her PhD thesis at the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University of Technology. She also works as a research fellow at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre. Opinions expressed in tronica’s blog posts are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of her affiliated institutions. If you’re after the reference list for articles referenced in this story please email marianne [at] betweentheline.net.au.
To post a comment, you need to be logged in.
If you've already registered login now, otherwise create a new account now.
Facebook member?
You can use your Facebook account to sign up and log in to inthemix.