The world's largest survey of drug users is the annual Global Drug Survey, answered by 130,000 users of drugs — legal and illegal — in 44 countries around the globe.
Results fresh out. Here are five details that stuck out.
#1. Scottish drinkers put drinks AWAY
The kilt-wearing lads are the most likely to need emergency medical treatment following a wee dram. Fully, 4 percent of Scotch drinkers surveyed stumbled their way to an ER, an urgent care, or a Rite-Aid with bandaids following a binge drinking session. That's double their Southern neighbors, the English. The Germans and the French held their liquor the best; only .8 percent needed care. Which — holy shit! — that still seems like a lot.
#2. Scots also sniff more cocaine in one session than anyone
One more reason you can't understand what they're saying.
#3. The dark net ain't going away
Interpol went all Untouchables on the dark net last year, knocking out two of the biggest websites for illegal drugs — AlphaBay and Hansa. But the dark net still works, and its popularity is rising. Its use is highest in countries far from trade routes. In Finland, 45 percent of survey takers used an online plug; in Norway, it was 30 percent. (In America it's 18 percent.) The most common substances bought off the dark net were MDMA (molly, ecstasy), cannabis and LSD, followed by novel drugs such as 2c-B, DOM, DXM and a lot of other acronyms we haven't hardly heard of, either.
#4. The first one's free — then you have to pay
Losing your drug virginity is usually free. Seventy-one percent of people didn't pay for their first line of cocaine, 66 percent didn't pay for their first LSD trip, and 50 percent were comped for their first roll on MDMA. Someone somewhere probably wants to party with you.
#5. Microdosing is a macro trend
A bite-sized taste of certain drugs, usually LSD, can help you concentrate, play and even kick ass. Over 30 percent of survey takers microdosed last year. Most just cut up a square of LSD with a pair of scissors. But 16 percent got their stuff dosed out tiny, either by the person they bought it from or by a friend. This is a business opportunity.
* The Global Drug Survey is an independent research organization based in Australia. Because the survey is anonymous, the data is thought to be more revealing than some in-person surveys done by doctors. And because it's self-funded, it doesn't have to be anti-drug. But because it attracts a younger, more educated drug-using population, it might not give a full picture of average people.
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