This report has been compiled as part of a European research project entitled New Psychoactive Sub-stances: transnational project on different user groups, user characteristics, extent and patterns of use, market dynamics, and best practices in prevention. The NPS-transnational Project is funded by the Home programme of the European Commission.

There has been a rapid growth in the availability of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), labelled ‘legal highs’, ‘designer drugs’, ‘synthetic drugs’, ‘bath salts’, and ‘research chemicals’ over the last number of years (Simonato et al., 2013; ACMD, 2011; Zawilska & Andrzejczak, 2015). NPS have been described by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) as, ‘psychoactive drugs which are not prohibited by the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and which people in the UK are seeking for intoxicant use’ (ACMD, 2011). These substances have been persistently considered as legal alternatives to other illicit drugs of abuse (Deluca et al., 2012) although several of these products are packaged with warnings stating “not for human consumption”…….