Promoting innovation and excellence to face the rapid diffusion of novel psychoactive substances in the EU: the outcomes of the ReDNet project.

Objectives: The recent emergence of new psychoactive compounds (novel psychoactive substances (NPS)) has raised prominent challenges in the fields of drug policy, substance use research, public health and service provision. The Recreational Drugs European Network project, funded by the European Commission, was implemented to improve the information stream to young people and professionals about effects/risks of NPS by identifying online products and disseminating relevant information through technological tools.

Methods: Regular multilingual qualitative assessments of websites, drugs fora and other online resources were carried out using the Google search engine in eight languages from collaborating countries.