Cole Jon C, Goudie Andrew J, Field Matt, Loverseed Anne-Claire, Charlton Sarah, Sumnall Harry R
School of Psychology, Liverpool University, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Apr 1;94(1-3):183-90. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.11.014. Epub 2008 Jan 16.
Previous research has indicated that non-dependent polydrug users are willing to pay more money to buy good quality drugs as their income increased. This study sought to examine whether altering the perceived quality of controlled drugs would affect drug purchases if the monetary price remained fixed. A random sample of 80 polydrug users were recruited. All participants were administered an anonymous questionnaire consisting of the Drug Abuse Screening Test for Adolescents (DAST-A), the Severity of Dependence Scale for cannabis (SDS), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and questions about their drug use. Participants then completed a simulation of controlled drug purchases where the price of alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy remained the same but their perceived quality changed (i.e. unit price increased as the perceived quality decreased). The demand for alcohol was quality inelastic and alcohol quality had no effects on the purchase of any other controlled drug. Demand for cannabis was quality elastic and alcohol substituted for cannabis as its unit price increased. Demand for cocaine was quality elastic and alcohol, cannabis, and ecstasy substituted for cocaine as its unit price increased. Demand for ecstasy was quality elastic and alcohol and cocaine both substituted for ecstasy as its unit price increased. These results suggest that perceived quality influences the demand for controlled drugs and that monitoring the perceived quality of controlled drugs may provide a warning of potential public health problems in the near future.
先前的研究表明，非依赖型多药使用者愿意随着收入增加支付更多的钱来购买高质量的毒品。本研究旨在探讨如果货币价格保持不变，改变对管制药物的感知质量是否会影响药物购买。招募了80名多药使用者的随机样本。所有参与者都接受了一份匿名问卷，问卷包括青少年药物滥用筛查测试（DAST-A）、大麻依赖严重程度量表（SDS）、酒精使用障碍识别测试（AUDIT）、医院焦虑和抑郁量表（HADS）以及关于他们药物使用的问题。参与者随后完成了一次管制药物购买模拟，其中酒精、苯丙胺、大麻、可卡因和摇头丸的价格保持不变，但它们的感知质量发生了变化（即随着感知质量下降，单价增加）。对酒精的需求在质量上缺乏弹性，酒精质量对任何其他管制药物的购买没有影响。对大麻的需求在质量上具有弹性，随着其单价增加，酒精替代了大麻。对可卡因的需求在质量上具有弹性，随着其单价增加，酒精、大麻和摇头丸都替代了可卡因。对摇头丸的需求在质量上具有弹性，随着其单价增加，酒精和可卡因都替代了摇头丸。这些结果表明，感知质量会影响对管制药物的需求，并且监测管制药物的感知质量可能会在不久的将来为潜在的公共卫生问题提供预警。
