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. 2023 Aug 4;20(1):106.
doi: 10.1186/s12954-023-00837-3.

Consumer expectations, drug effects, price and purity of heroin and cocaine purchased at drug consumption rooms

Georges Dahm  1 , Karin Roschel  2 , Claude Marson  2 , Adèle Bourmaud  2 , Jennifer Macedo  3 , Mauro Lupo  3 , Lionel Fauchet  4 , Claudia Allar  4 , Raoul Schaaf  4 , Serge Schneider  2
Affiliations

Consumer expectations, drug effects, price and purity of heroin and cocaine purchased at drug consumption rooms

Georges Dahm et al. Harm Reduct J. .

Abstract

Background: Drug consumption rooms offer heroin and cocaine consumers a secure and hygienic environment including medical and social guidance. Despite the support and mentoring, only sparse information is available about how drug quality, drug prices and user expectations match at these locations. The present study reports analysis of these three parameters in two drug consumption rooms in Luxembourg.

Methods: Drug users were invited to participate in the project by handing in a few milligrams of the product they planned to consume for chemical analysis and filling out a short questionnaire about the price and their expectations. After consumption, they were asked to report the experienced effects. Drug quality was accessed using LC-Q-ToF and HPLC-UV, and a statistical analysis was carried out of the questionnaires that were correctly filled out.

Results: A total of 513 drug samples have been analyzed. Most consumers were looking for the relaxing/calming effects of heroin and the stimulating effects of cocaine, but they generally overestimated heroin potency and underestimated cocaine potency. No strong correlation based on Spearman's ρ between drug user estimations, drug prices and drug quality was found.

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to combine drug analysis with heroin and cocaine user feedback about expectation, drug prices and drug effects. The analytical results were of great interest for users and the staff working at the drug consumption rooms. They may be a strong supplementary communication tool for health care workers when discussing effects and risks of highly toxic substance consumption.

Keywords: Drug checking; Drug consumption room; Drug price; Drug quality; Harm reduction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Estimated versus measured heroin potency
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Estimated versus measured cocaine potency
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Price (€/g) of cocaine and heroin samples
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Drug price (€/g) versus drug quality (%)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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