“Trip-Sitting” in the Black Hole: A Netnographic Study of Dissociation and Indigenous Harm Reduction

ABSTRACT

An array of dissociative novel psychoactive substances, including “methoxetamine,” “3-MeO-PCP,” and “methoxphenidine,” have emerged as substitutes for the illicit substance “ketamine.” A netographic research methodology aimed to describe online, dissociative novel psychoactive substance users’ perceptions of risk, informed knowledge around use, and indigenous harm-reduction practices as advocated within online drug fora, so as to provide credible information which can be used to inform public online health education and drug prevention. Systematic Internet searches were performed using the terms “synthetic dissociative,” “methoxetamine,” “methoxphenidine,” “diphenidine,” “3-MeO-PCP,” “4-MeO-PCP,” “2-MDP,” and “dissociative research chemical” in combination with “forum.” Following screening of 3,476 forum threads with removal of duplicates and exclusion criteria, 90 user trip reports and 115 fora threads from seven drug fora websites were analyzed by conducting content analysis. Five themes emerged with 43 categories. The findings illustrated how forum activity within the cyber drug user community disseminated and exchanged “communal folk pharmacology” relating to the use of dissociative novel psychoactive substances. Further research and consistent monitoring of Internet drug fora are advised to explore variations in harm-reduction tactics throughout dissociative NPS populations, and to consider how existing harm-reduction initiatives are influencing these hard-to-reach groups.

KEYWORDS:

• Dissociative novel psychoactive substances
• indigenous harm reduction
• Internet
• netnography

Notes

1. Holing: reaching a state of “m-hole.”

2. M-hole: to have used too much of the drug and lost sense of time and space, balance, verbal and motor skills.