Hallucinogens on the Internet: A vast new source of underground drug information

Objective: The illicit use of hallucinogens is reemerging in the United Sta tes, especially among well-educated adults and teenagers. These same groups are also frequent users of the Internet. The authors sought to characteriz e the extent of information about hallucinogens available to Internet users . Method: Using standard Internet search techniques, the authors located 81 h allucinogen-related sites and categorized the information provided. Results: Internet sites offer thousands of pages of information-albeit of q uestionable accuracy-on how to obtain, synthesize, extract, identify, and i ngest hallucinogens. Much of this information has yet to appear in textbook s. By contrast, the authors found few U.S. government agency sites offering cautionary material about hallucinogen use. Conclusions: Using the Internet, potential hallucinogen users can bypass tr aditional channels of medical information and learn in great detail how to obtain and use numerous drugs with unknown hazards.