4 ms·

> US respondents reported the highest rate of use: in 2017, nearly 30% said they had used drugs for PCE 30%?! That seems incredibly high to me. > based on the

by hobls 8y ago

> US respondents reported the highest rate of use: in 2017, nearly 30% said they had used drugs for PCE 30%?! That seems incredibly high to me. > based on the Global Drug Survey — an annual, anonymous online questionnaire about drug use worldwide. Oh. So total junk. Got it.

toomanybeersies 8y ago
It's not junk, it's just that they've poorly clarified the numbers. The GDS is a trove of knowledge about drug use habits around the world, however everyone who takes the survey is a drug user. So 30% of people using illicit drugs in the USA are using them for performance enhancement. The other 70% are using them recreationally. The survey's findings need to be taken in further context though. The people who take the GDS tend to be higher educated and wealthier, due to the channels that the survey is shared on, and because it's an online survey you're probably not getting many homeless heroin addicts filling the survey. Probably the most interesting and reliable data to come from the survey is actually pricing.
- collyw 8y ago
  I would suspect that some people use drugs both recreational and for performance.
  - TomMarius 8y ago
    Yeah, that's very common among my friend group.
- vostok 8y ago
  > So 30% of people using illicit drugs in the USA are using them for performance enhancement. The other 70% are using them recreationally. Is it not possible for 30% to use them for performance enhancement and for 90% to use them for recreation? I am not familiar with the survey design.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    You're correct, I didn't interpret the numbers right either. I don't think the survey asked if they used them exclusively. I find it quite likely that most people using drugs for performance are probably also using them recreationally.
- hobls 8y ago
  Oh that's very frustrating -- the article linked does not discuss that the survey is of drug users, it just says "of people" which seemed to imply that 30% of the population was using drugs for this purpose, which seems plainly ridiculous. And then it's a self selecting, anonymous survey, which makes it quite unreliable. > In a survey of tens of thousands of people I would have much preferred "tens of thousands of self-reported drug users..."

by hobls 8y ago

toomanybeersies 8y ago

It's not junk, it's just that they've poorly clarified the numbers. The GDS is a trove of knowledge about drug use habits around the world, however everyone who takes the survey is a drug user. So 30% of people using illicit drugs in the USA are using them for performance enhancement. The other 70% are using them recreationally. The survey's findings need to be taken in further context though. The people who take the GDS tend to be higher educated and wealthier, due to the channels that the survey is shared on, and because it's an online survey you're probably not getting many homeless heroin addicts filling the survey. Probably the most interesting and reliable data to come from the survey is actually pricing.

collyw 8y ago
I would suspect that some people use drugs both recreational and for performance.
- TomMarius 8y ago
  Yeah, that's very common among my friend group.
vostok 8y ago
> So 30% of people using illicit drugs in the USA are using them for performance enhancement. The other 70% are using them recreationally. Is it not possible for 30% to use them for performance enhancement and for 90% to use them for recreation? I am not familiar with the survey design.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  You're correct, I didn't interpret the numbers right either. I don't think the survey asked if they used them exclusively. I find it quite likely that most people using drugs for performance are probably also using them recreationally.
hobls 8y ago
Oh that's very frustrating -- the article linked does not discuss that the survey is of drug users, it just says "of people" which seemed to imply that 30% of the population was using drugs for this purpose, which seems plainly ridiculous. And then it's a self selecting, anonymous survey, which makes it quite unreliable. > In a survey of tens of thousands of people I would have much preferred "tens of thousands of self-reported drug users..."