Welcome
Welcome to the first issue of the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project Newsletter. It is our intention for this newsletter to keep you up-to-date with developments of the project, as well as with novel compounds and drug trends identified as part of the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING web monitoring process. For additional information about the project please refer to the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING website, www.psychonautproject.eu, or you may email us directly at info@psychonautproject.eu.
Regards
Prof. Fabrizio Schifano
Scientific Coordinator
Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project
Overview of the Project
The Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project is a European Union funded project with the aim of developing a web scanning system to identify and categorise novel recreational drugs/psychoactive compounds, and new trends in drug use based on information available on the Internet. We aim both to implement regular monitoring of the web with respect to novel recreational drugs, and to set up a system that can formally liaise with the existing EMCDDA European EWS.
This is a multi-site research project involving 8 research centres in 7 European Countries. As a result we are able to formulate search engine queries and analyse drug related web content in 9 different languages, and will be able to pay particular attention to the qualitative analysis of drug-related slang used in each language (for further information about the project please click here).
A database of novel psychoactive compounds is being developed based on those provisionally identified online. In addition, technical folders are being produced for those substances for which some level of diffusion in the EU recreational consumers' community is confirmed (for further information about the technical folders please click here).
Project News
Spice
There are a variety of herbal smoking blends sold as legal cannabis substitutes in online and street front headshops throughout Europe. One such range of blends, sold under various trade names but commonly referred to as Spice, has received a high level of scientific and media interest over the past few months due to the identification of synthetic cannibinoids such as JWH-018, CP47,497, and others in the products (Auwarter et al., 2009; Cooper, 2009), the presence of which was not listed on any product packaging or in any official online product descriptions. Consequentially, Spice products have already been banned in Germany, Austria, France, and New Zealand in 2008/2009. The Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project has been monitoring websites and forums with respect to information about the sale, manufacture, and recreational use of Spice within the EU, as well as any new drug trends that may emerge from the recent legislative changes.
Dr Paolo Deluca, Project Manager Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project, attended a meeting in Lisbon in March 2009 with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and representatives of various EU member states on behalf of the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Group (see publications/presentations for further detail). A publication is also currently under submission. If you have any further information about Spice or Spice-related compounds please follow the links o the contributions form of the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING website. Alternatively, if you would like any further information about Spice or Spice-related compounds please contact us.
The 5th Italian National Conference on Drugs
In March 2009, Scientific Coordinator, Professor Fabrizio Schifano attended the 5th Italian National Conference on Drugs as part of a new collaborative partnership between the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project and the Italian National Early Warning System of the Dipartimento Politiche Antidroga (Department for Anti-Drug Policies).
The conference covered a range of issues related to drugs and drug circulation in Italy, including details and progress of the Italian National Early Warning System (N.E.W.S.).
For further information about this conference and N.E.W.S., please download the article Drugs @ Internet: Italian National Early Warning System (N.E.W.S.) as a window for monitoring drug trafficking and marketing on the web, prepared by Dr Giovanni Serpelloni, Chief of the Department for Antidrug Policies, Claudia Rimondo of the Addiction Deparment ULSS 20 Verona, and the N.E.W.S. Institutional Working Group by clicking here.
Salvia Divinorum
Salvia Divinorum is a potent hallucinogenic herb containing the psychotropic diterpene, Salvinorin A. Salvinorin A is a highly selective naturally-occurring agonist of the kappa opioid receptor. The consumption of Salvia Divinorum or Salvinorin A extract can produce vivid hallucinations, and the recreational use of this herbal compound has become increasingly popular. Videos of people consuming Salvia Divinorum or Salvinorin A extract are regularly viewed on and posted to the video sharing website Youtube. Whilst Salvia and/or Salvinorin A is already controlled in Europe, Japan, Australia, and the US, it is still widely available as a herb or extract through online headshops and other Internet vendors. Salvia Divinorum was first identified online by the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Group during the Psychonaut 2002 Project, and websites/forums have been monitored throughout the Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project. Prof. Fabrizio Schifano, Scientific Coordinator Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Project, was consulted for the purpose of an article by Philip Sherwell published in the UK Telegraph Newspaper in April 2009.
International Conference Ancona
The 1st International Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Conference is being organised to take place in Ancona in the Marche region of Italy on 18 September 2009 (8.30am - 4.30pm). The conference aims to address a broad range of issues associated with the role of the Internet in the recreational drug users' community, and to function as a valuable resource for health professionals and agencies.
To download a draft conference programme please click here (please note that some items are subject to change). If you are interested in attending the International Psychonaut WEB MAPPING Conference please contact us for further information.