For the last few years the Guardian has been collaborating with the Global Drug Survey to find out about what drugs people take, how and why. If you have not already done it then you can take the survey here.
Last year 80,000 people from across the globe completed the survey on their drug usage, making it the largest research project of its kind. It gives us a wealth of information about how people were approaching the consumption of substances both legal and illegal.
We learnt last year that the UK was buying more drugs online. Just under 60% of respondents said they had heard of online drug marketplace Silk Road and 44% of those had accessed the site. We also found out that cannabis was the most popular drug for people to purchase on the site, which was closed down in October last year.
We discovered that among the people that took the survey, more were likely to have used MDMA (45.2%) than drunk a high-caffeine energy drink (44.7%) in the past year.
There was cause for concern when it came to one of the most prevalent drugs in the world - alcohol.
Of those classed as “probably dependent drinkers or at risk of becoming dependent”, 34.5% thought that their drinking was average or less than average compared to others.
The aim of this year’s survey is to to reach 120,000 people. It has been launched in partnership with media organisations in20 different countries and has been translated into 10 separate languages.
The study will, as always, look at prevalence, price, purity, value for money and the proportion of people seeking medical treatment but there are a few specific areas that will be explored this year including:
Performance enhancing drugs - weight loss agents and anabolic steroids
Cognitive enhancers - Ritalin, modafanil and atomoxetine use among students and working people
The dark net - now Silk Road has closed, how are people buying drugs online?
Nitrous oxide - the risks of neurological harm from this drug
E-cigarettes - whether these might be used for something other than nicotine
Why do people stop using different drugs - and when?
Completing the survey will help us cover a subject which is, for obvious reasons, often shrouded in secrecy. The researchers do not track or store IP addresses, browser types, or other identifying information. As always though, caution is suggested when sending information over the internet.
