title: Mephedrone use among same-sex attracted young people in Sydney, Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) is a synthetic stimulant that has recently emerged as a recreational drug. There is currently no Australian data on prevalence and patterns of mephedrone use. This paper aims to explore patterns of mephedrone use among a large sample of same-sex attracted young people in Sydney, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was conducted with 572 same-sex attracted men (n= 318) and women (n = 254) aged 18 to 25 years, who lived or regularly spent time in Sydney. Data on mephedrone were collected as part of a larger study exploring sexuality and nightlife.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mephedrone had been used by 4.0% (n = 23) of respondents, 2.1% (n = 12) in the preceding 6 months, 1.4% (n = 8) in the preceding month. Typical routes of use were intranasal (n = 8) and ingestion (n = 6). No respondent reported ever injecting mephedrone. Three respondents reported polydrug use with mephedrone. The most common contexts of use were respondents' homes or friends' homes (n = 8) and gay bars and clubs (n = 7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper reports low levels of mephedrone use among a large sample of same-sex attracted young people. The proportion of respondents who had used mephedrone was much lower than reported in recent UK research. This may suggest that mephedrone has not infiltrated the Australian market to the same extent as in Europe. However, data from annual surveillance of drug users are required to better determine this.
authors: National Centre in HIV Social Research, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. toby.lea@unsw.edu.au
authors: Toby
authors: T
authors: Lea
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Reynolds
authors: John
authors: J
authors: De Wit
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000284:Administration, Oral; D001315:Australia; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003625:Data Collection; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008694:Methamphetamine; C548233:mephedrone