Inflexxion-Bluelight Harm Reduction Survey

Inflexxion has provided us with a summary of this study's results (see attached pdf).

View attachment inflexxion_results_26Nov12.pdf

Some interesting findings include that the most common reason that people visit Bluelight.ru is to learn how to use drugs more safely and how to help others use drugs more safely (78% and 58%, respectively). Forum posts from this group mostly pertained to questions about illegal drugs (65%) and questions about ways of using illegal drugs more safely (58%). Further, the majority (50%) of forum readers shared information from posts with others who were using illegal drugs or prescription pain medications. Most participants validate information read at Bluelight.ru with their own research (90%), or from acquaintances (36%) and health professionals (24%). Check out the pdf for more.

Once you've looked through the pdf, please comment below - anything you found surprising? anything you think should be a catalyst for future research? :)

We would like to thank Inflexxion for supporting Bluelight through this survey. We are currently in the process of publishing the full paper in a peer reviewed journal (authored by both Inflexxion and Bluelight). Looking forward to being able to show you that paper too!
 
It's really great to see the results of this survey - and such fantastic results too! I think this really shows that Bluelight is definitely doing its job as a harm reduction community, and I'm really delighted to hear that people are sharing what they've learned with others and using the information here to help out other drug users who might not necessarily use the site themselves.

I think it also highlights how many people may be turning to prescription painkillers and other prescription medication even if these drugs are more addictive or dangerous simply because of the lesser social and legal implications that these drugs carry.

Very interesting study, thanks Inflexxion for working with us on this! :)
 
Thanks JesusGreen. It is good to see so many people saying they use Bluelight to reduce harms from drug use, which is - of course - what we aim to do here. And also good to see that people aren't just trusting one source in their drugs research, as it is important to read different sources and assess their credibility before considering following any advice :):)
 
research says top three abused opioid preparations do not feature an anti-abuse mechanism. kind of thing that might affect the design and marketing of new brand name medications like zohydro.
 
Tronica said:
Once you've looked through the pdf, please comment below - anything you found surprising? anything you think should be a catalyst for future research? :)
Click to expand...

I am thoroughly impressed. I sort of thought there would be other sources of data (other forums, IRL, etc.), but the whole thing focused on us. It read more like an analysis of our community than an analysis of drug use trends. I like the idea of getting recognition of being a good forum, with smart members, and mention in a publication, but sort of feel 'objectified' in a way; being "dissected to see how we tick". That's seems kind of irrelevant though, the analysis rings true with what I feel is the essence of the site and the mentality of the majority of its members.

As for future research; maybe they should get off the opiate addiction track. Sure it's an important topic, but one that's been investigated and the mechanisms are generally well known.

My background tells me to ask for the track to shift towards psychedelics and the positive and negative effects they have had on users; even with infrequent use. Psychedelics aren't really a matter of public health as their level of use pales in comparison with other, more addictive classes.

With that understanding I would push for a shift towards investigating the effects of the numerous new (and not so new), research chemical stimulants being put on the market. The level of their use is relatively high compared to psychedelics, but unlike opiates their mechanisms of action and metabolism are not very well understood. A mapping of effects reported from users of these new drugs can guide investigation into a mechanism of action and give insight into its safety profile.

Gotta bring out the big guy :p , Shulgin had to find out if his materials were safe or not by consuming them himself before passing them off to others. If we can integrate effects reported from many users, we might be able to see a trend that might not otherwise be seen in a single individual. This type of information could result in cessation of consumption of an unacceptably toxic research chemical before effects are seen in other users.
It would be a very good representation and practice of harm reduction.
 
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