Self-reported Xylazine Experiences: A Mixed-methods Study of Reddit Subscribers

Original research
par
Spadaro, Anthony et al

Date de publication

2023

Géographie

International

Langue de la ressource

English

Texte disponible en version intégrale

Oui

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Oui

Évalué par des pairs

Yes

L’objectif

Our objectives were to curate information about xylazine through social media from people who use drugs (PWUDs). Specifically, we sought to answer the following: (1) What are the demographics of Reddit subscribers reporting exposure to xylazine? (2) Is xylazine a desired additive? And (3) what adverse effects of xylazine are PWUDs experiencing?

Constatations/points à retenir

People on Reddit described xylazine as an unwanted adulterant in their opioid supply. The most common route of xylazine use was intranasal use (57%). Thirty-one of 59 (53%) reported experiencing xylazine withdrawal. Frequent adverse events reported were prolonged sedation (81%) and increased skin wounds (43%).

La conception ou méthodologie de recherche

Seventy-six posts were extracted via natural language processing (NLP) from 765,616 posts by 16,131 Reddit subscribers (January 2018 to August 2021). A survey was developed to gather additional information about the Reddit subscribers. This survey was posted on subreddits that were identified by NLP to contain xylazine-related discussions from March 2022 to October 2022.

Mots clés

About PWUD
Illegal drugs