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30 c = USING INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS drugs from acquaintances and friends or the internet (Hungarian National Focal, 2015). Following the emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in the Hungarian drug market, these substances, which mainly belong to groups of synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones or amphetamine derivatives, have become as popular as established illicit drugs, in particular among young adults (EMCDDA, 2018; Paksi, 2017). According to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) the second most popular drug was synthetic cannabinoid among school age youth (Elekes, 2016). Phenomenon of novel psychoactive substance use is considered to be very serious by the professionals working in addiction field, but statistics show different facts. According to B. M. Erdős et al. (2018) further research (applying ethnographic methods) is reguired to discover the phenomenon. While there is an increasing body of research on the motivation and the effects associated with SC use (Arfken, Owens, Madeja, & DeAngelis, 2014; Barratt, Cakic, & Lenton, 2013; Bonar, Ashrafioun, & Ilgen, 2014; Castellanos, Singh, Thornton, Avila, & Moreno, 2011; Meshack et al., 2013), and many papers published clinical case reports on withdrawal symptoms (Nacca et al., 2013; Van Der Veer & Friday, 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2009), psychosis (Every-Palmer, 2011) and psychotic symptoms (Miller et al., 2010) following SC consumption, there is a considerable lack of qualitative research that examines users’ subjective experiences. At the time of the examination, there was only one available study that employed a qualitative method, Bilgrei (2016) analyzed discussions on experiences of SC use in posts of an online drug forum and interviews with forum participants, but little was known about the subjective interpretation of SC use by the people themselves who used SCs. Therefore, the second empirical study included in my book (Study 2)* had one primary goal: (1) to examine personal interpretations of experiences derived from the use of synthetic cannabinoids Identity work, more specifically the perception and transformation of the ‘addicted self” are important processes during recovery from psychoactive substance addiction (Larkin & Griffiths, 2002). A key to the transformation of the self is the realization of the addict that the so-called ,,damaged self” has to be restored by reawakening the old identity or establishing a new one (Biernacki, 1986). The addict transforms his or her ,,spoiled identity” (as described by Goffman (1963)), with the aim of constructing the ,,non-addict identity’, and the identity of recovery (J. McIntosh & McKeganey, 2001). According to J. McIntosh and McKeganey (2000), the alteration of experiences and the alteration of identity are parallel processes. Experiences of users 2: (Kassai, Pintér, Rácz, Böröndi, et al., 2017)
