Abstract: With over 10 million visitors per year, Erowid.org’s reputation for providing reliable, non-judgmental information places it at a crossroads between the users of novel psychoactive drugs and public health efforts. In the last decade, the Erowid Experience Vaults have become a popular source of data about an increasing range of psychoactives. Advantages and disadvantages of these self-reports are discussed, with a focus on the challenges posed by the use of new stimulants, empathogens, cannabinoids, and psychedelics that are hard to control, insufficiently researched, and often of uncertain identity.
Keywords: nightlife; AOD use; psychoactive substances; conference proceedings; journal article