[Methods to quit smoking-a quantitative online survey on facilitators and barriers (RauS-study)].

Background: Smoking is still the largest preventable health risk in Germany, which is why a higher success rate in smoking cessation would benefit both public and individual health. In order to achieve this, a better understanding of the smoking cessation methods used and the factors that facilitate and prevent smoking cessation is required. The RauS study therefore aimed to investigate which methods have been used in attempts to stop smoking, how successful these methods have been, and which factors have been perceived as helping or hindering smoking cessation.

Why do people use new psychoactive substances? Development of a new measurement tool in six European countries.

Introduction: New psychoactive substances (NPS) pose a public health threat. Many studies have tried to identify the reasons of NPS use; however, none of them have so far used any standardised measures. The aim of this study was (i) to develop and cross-culturally validate the New Psychoactive Substance Use Motives Measure (NPSMM) and (ii) to compare motives of NPS use across countries and user types.

Digital figurations in the online trade of illicit drugs: A qualitative content analysis of darknet forums.

Introduction: This article analyses the factors of trust, logistics, and conflict on darknet markets (DNMs) and forums that are dedicated to selling illicit drugs. The analysis is conducted by utilising Elias (1978) theoretical concept of 'figuration,' which refers to the communicative constellations that eventuate between actors.

Methods: A qualitative content analysis was applied to a sample collected from darknet forums related to darknet markets, independent forums with trade sections, and separate vendor shops.

The burgeoning recognition and accommodation of the social supply of drugs in international criminal justice systems: An eleven-nation comparative overview.

Background: It is now commonly accepted that there exists a form of drug supply, that involves the non-commercial supply of drugs to friends and acquaintances for little or no profit, which is qualitatively different from profit motivated 'drug dealing proper'. 'Social supply', as it has become known, has a strong conceptual footprint in the United Kingdom, shaped by empirical research, policy discussion and its accommodation in legal frameworks. Though scholarship has emerged in a number of contexts outside the UK, the extent to which social supply has developed as an internationally recognised concept in criminal justice contexts is still unclear.

Health and Social Problems Associated with Recent Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use Amongst Marginalised, Nightlife and Online Users in Six European Countries.

Continued diversification and use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) across Europe remains a public health challenge. The study describes health and social consequences of recent NPS use as reported in a survey of marginalised, nightlife and online NPS users in the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Ireland, Germany and Poland ( = 3023). Some respondents were unable to categorise NPS they had used.

The transparency paradox. Building trust, resolving disputes and optimising logistics on conventional and online drugs markets.

Background: In recent years, marketplaces in the darknet emerged where vendors and customers can exchange illicit drugs and other goods on digital platforms by using hidden internet services. The main thesis of this paper is that in an online environment, different practices for building trust and reputation emerge that stabilise market processes.

Methods: Qualitative and quantitative data from a recent German project on conventional (offline) small-scale drug dealing as well as qualitative case studies on four online vendors operating on Agora market are used to explore alternative practices for building trust and reputation.

Legal issues for German-speaking cannabis growers. Results from an online survey.

Background: Cannabis prohibition can generally be regarded as the main driver for home growing of marijuana. In this paper, I discuss the impact of drug prohibition on cannabis cultivators from the three German-speaking countries: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In particular, this refers to the questions; how illicitness influences motivations for growing; which precautionary measures are taken against the risk of discovery; how penal consequences differ in the three countries and how these aspects are linked to each other.

Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries.

Background: This article aims to provide an overview of: demographic characteristics; experiences with growing cannabis; methods and scale of growing operations; reasons for growing; personal use of cannabis and other drugs; participation in cannabis and other drug markets; contacts with the criminal justice system for respondents to an online survey about cannabis cultivation drawn from eleven countries (N=6530). Important similarities and differences between the national samples recruited will be discussed.

Methods: This paper utilizes data from the online web survey of predominantly 'small-scale' cannabis cultivators in eleven countries conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium (GCCRC).

Lessons from conducting trans-national Internet-mediated participatory research with hidden populations of cannabis cultivators.

Background: Internet-mediated research methods are increasingly used to access hidden populations. The International Cannabis Cultivation Questionnaire (ICCQ) is an online survey designed to facilitate international comparisons into the relatively under-researched but increasingly significant phenomenon of domestic cannabis cultivation. The Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium has used the ICCQ to survey over 6000 cannabis cultivators across 11 countries.

Growing medicine: small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes in six different countries.

Background: The production and consumption of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions is of increasing importance internationally; however, research on different aspects of the phenomenon is still scarce. In this article, we report findings from a cross-cultural study of small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. This kind of comparative study has not been done previously.