Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, USA.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2013 Sep;32(5):545-9. doi: 10.1111/dar.12055. Epub 2013 May 29.
Until recently, synthetic cathinones marketed as 'bath salts' were legally sold at convenience stores and online in the USA. Media reports initiated concerns of a growing 'bath salt' epidemic. Despite media attention and the recent legal action banning synthetic cathinones, little is known about its prevalence or users.
A self-report survey was administered to 2349 students in 40 randomly selected courses at a large university in the Southeastern United States. The resulting sample was 51.6% female, 68.9% white, 24.4% black, 2.8% Hispanic and 4.0% other races, with a mean age of 20.06 years and median family income of $75 000-99 999.
Only 25 (1.07%) of the students reported using synthetic cathinones at least once. Synthetic cathinone use was found to be more common among men (1.68% vs. 0.50% of women, P = 0.005), Hispanics (4.7%) and Native Americans (4.3% vs. 0.89% of whites and 0.72% of blacks, P = 0.002), and student athletes (4.0% vs. 0.90% of non-athletes, P = 0.001), but in each of these groups, synthetic cathinones were used more rarely than marijuana (58.14%, P < 0.001), cocaine (9.08%, P < 0.001), Salvia divinorum (7.89%, P < 0.001), synthetic cannabinoids (14.28%, P < 0.001), methamphetamines (1.92%, P = 0.002), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA) (12.54%, P < 0.001) and several other drugs and pharmaceuticals.
'Bath salts' have received a great deal of media attention in the USA, yet the prevalence of synthetic cathinone use among our sample was extremely rare. We suggest that the media attention focusing on synthetic cathinone use as a growing epidemic may be largely misplaced.
直到最近，在美国，作为“浴盐”出售的合成卡西酮仍在便利店和网上合法销售。媒体报道引发了人们对日益严重的“浴盐”流行的担忧。尽管媒体对此高度关注，最近也采取了法律行动禁止合成卡西酮，但人们对其流行程度或使用者知之甚少。
在东南大学的 40 门随机课程中，对 2349 名学生进行了自我报告调查。结果样本中，女性占 51.6%，白人占 68.9%，黑人占 24.4%，西班牙裔占 2.8%，其他种族占 4.0%，平均年龄为 20.06 岁，家庭中位数收入为 75000-99999 美元。
只有 25 名（1.07%）学生报告至少使用过一次合成卡西酮。研究发现，男性（1.68%比女性 0.50%，P=0.005）、西班牙裔（4.7%）和美国原住民（4.3%比白人 0.89%和黑人 0.72%，P=0.002）以及运动员（4.0%比非运动员 0.90%，P=0.001）中合成卡西酮的使用更为常见，但在这些群体中，合成卡西酮的使用频率均低于大麻（58.14%，P<0.001）、可卡因（9.08%，P<0.001）、紫堇（7.89%，P<0.001）、合成大麻素（14.28%，P<0.001）、冰毒（1.92%，P=0.002）、3,4-亚甲二氧基-N-甲基苯丙胺（MDMA）（12.54%，P<0.001）和其他几种药物和药品。
“浴盐”在美国受到了大量媒体的关注，但我们样本中合成卡西酮的使用比例非常低。我们认为，媒体将合成卡西酮的使用作为一种日益严重的流行疾病进行报道可能是没有根据的。
