A study into New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) - formerly referred to as ‘legal highs’ - provides new evidence about why young people were attracted to the drugs. The research was carried out by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Queen’s and the findings recommend support using existing evidence-based interventions among young people and high risk populations. 

The research leveraged data from 2,039 young people who were part of the larger Belfast Youth Development Study (BYDS), which tracked a group of young people from ages 11, and examined in detail how they used alcohol and drugs as they grew up.

Some of the research findings include:

• Serious side effects associated with NPS usage were reported by those who had taken this class of drugs, including significant mental health problems and heart, liver, stomach and bladder issues
• NPS were always used within a poly drug use context (using more than one drug at the same time) in a range of ways and with alcohol, e.g. with mephedrone most snorted it, some made it into capsules and swallowed it and a small number injected it. Examples of drugs taken alongside it were cocaine, alcohol and some with other stimulants like MDMA
• In 10 per cent of NPS users surveyed, there was also evidence of moving from synthetic cannabinoids to heroin and vice versa - something that has not previously been reported.