A survey of adult recreational drug use via the World Wide Web - The DRUGNET study

DRUGNET was a cross-sectional survey of adult recreational drug users (i.e. , not abusers) via the World Wide Web of the Internet. The purpose of this survey was to provide a unique, broad description of nondeviant adult recre ational drug users. The survey instrument had four divisions: demographic a nd lifestyle indices, drug use history, legal history and attitudes about d rug issues, and the General Well-being Schedule (GWBS). Responses were rece ived from 1,473 self-identified drug users. Of these, 567 completed only th e first section, leaving 906 respondents who completed the entire survey. T he typical respondent was a White male who was well educated, employed full -time, a participant in recreational and community activities, and who desc ribed his physical health status as good. Their mental health, as measured by the GWBS, was similar to the general adult U.S. population. Their drug-t aking behavior appeared to be well-controlled, at mild to moderate levels i n both frequency of use and degree of intoxication. These findings have maj or implications for drug policy and indicate the need for further research on the majority of drug users, who may be expected to resemble this sample more than they do clinical populations of drug abusers.