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3. ASSESSING THE EXPERIENCE OF USING SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS... m 47 According to their accounts, the impact of the drug on the user was also unpredictable. They did not experience this unpredictability about themselves in case of other drugs. »When I used mef (mephedrone) I got the same feeling as I had when I was young. I was in a good mood, I could talk to anyone, I was good with everyone, and I was just talking and talking...the bio (bio-weed) is dangerous I cannot realize myself, I don’t care about anything. This is illusory, it can change you, it can make you sick, anything can happen, you can go crazy, and you can do things that destroy your life.” (Jerob) SCs are described as being unpredictable due to the novel effects, which could be different in comparison to the previous SC experiences and experiences of using other drugs. Participants mentioned multiple unpredictable physical and psychological effects. Even after prolonged use, SCs could still evoke some unusual experiences, which are more intense and faster than in case of cannabis and other drugs. „Cannabis is usually... two and a half hours... the bio-weed has a forty-five-minute effect at most. This is a big difference. But it would be impossible to tolerate two and a half hours of this kind of effect that the bio-weed has. This experience is brutal”. (Szilveszter) Some participants’ perception of the drug was paranoid, and they used metaphors to express their uncertainty of unpredictable effects of the drug and their vulnerability against it. They often characterized it as a danger or compared it with a virus or an epidemic. »lhis is a kind of virus or epidemic, or I don’t know what... it can infect everyone and can take anyone to the bottom.” (Jerob) Rapid alteration of experiences from positive to negative SCs are described as being unpredictable, because at the beginning, they had some positive effects, of which participants mentioned relaxation and recreational aspects. But after a few consumptions, their experiences rapidly turned negative, and addiction appeared. Then the aim of consumption was no longer to reach the positive effects, but to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The participants continued the use of the drug in spite of negative experiences due to the rapid appearance of addiction and also because this drug was mostly available.
