Robin van der Sanden: 2024 New Zealand Drugs Trends Survey author on the findings of the report

A report gives an insight into how we're using pharmaceutical and psychedelic drugs.  

The 2024 New Zealand Drugs Trends Survey of more than 10,000 people shows a quarter of recent psychedelics users took the drugs for their mental health and wellbeing. 

Author Dr Robin van der Sanden says there's growing awareness among the general public about their potential benefits. 

She says it's a global trend, fuelled by things like recent clinical trials of LSD for terminal cancer patients. 

van der Sanden told Andrew Dickens that there is a concern about health and safety, namely mixing the substances with alcohol, or the risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we've got a second lot of findings from a
massive university drug trends survey and they're a bit of
a worry. One in four survey responders report using pharmaceuticals
for recreational use over the past six months. Twenty four
percent report using MDMA and ketamine and other psychedelics for
therapeutic purposes. And from the team the massive University in
New Zealand Drugs research team, I'm joined by doctor Robin

(00:23):
van Dersand and hello Robin, Hi, how are you very good?
So to the pharmaceuticals, First, do we have an illegal
trade in pharmaceuticals and people are sort of selling tramadol
to each other?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Potentially a little bit but also potentially a bit more
boring than that that people are just you know, sharing
these drugs with one another when in need. But there
is definitely also a little bit of sale going on.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
So what should we be worried about with the pharmaceuticals.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
A big thing is sort of health and safety. I
think you know a lot of people who take these
drugs nor medically might not have gotten the advice of
their doctor. You know, they might also be mixing these
drugs together. For example, with alcohol, which is a big
risk in terms of overdose or poisoning or experiencing harmful effects.
And also we've got as people are buying these drugs

(01:12):
illegally via a drug dealer, then we've got this risk
of them buying counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yes, indeed, and meanwhile to the more traditional drugs, the
mtumaze et cetera. You're saying, and you've said in your report,
the world is in the midst of a psychedelic renaissance.
Now what do you mean by that?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, it sort of means that we've got a kind
of really renewed interest in psychedelics across different areas of
society and in the medical sector in terms of healthcare.
You know, there's a lot of research on the potential
benefits of psychedelics for a number of mental health benefits

(01:51):
and therapeutic purposes. You've got a lot of cultural coverage
of psychedelics, so it's quite a sort of zeitgeist more
broadly in the culture at them. So that's kind of
what I mean.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
By that, and one that we need to take great
care of. And I thank you Robin vanderstanding

Speaker 2 (02:06):
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