Trends in hospital presentations following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist exposure before and after implementation of the 2016 UK Psychoactive Substances Act.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

The United Kingdom (UK) Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), implemented on the 26^th  May 2016, made the production, supply and sale of all non-exempted psychoactive substances illegal. The aim of this study was to measure trends in hospital presentations for severe toxicity following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist (SCRA) exposure before and after implementation of the PSA.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

Thirty-four hospitals across the UK participating in the Identification of Novel Psychoactive Substances (IONA) study.

Participants

A total of 627 (79.9% male) consenting individuals who presented to participating hospitals between July 2015 and December 2019 with severe acute toxicity and suspect

SUBMITTER: Craft S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9796520 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature