iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

You can find the receipts below 👇 linktr.ee/kysnz 5/5

KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

At the same time, synthetic drugs such as MDMA and LSD consistently ranked among the least harmful, alongside naturally occurring drugs such as magic mushrooms. The evidence suggests that "synthetic" is not a measure of harm. Next time: what shapes synthetic drug-related harm. 4/5

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Across MCDA studies from NZ, Australia, the EU, and the UK, there was no clear divide between natural and synthetic drugs. Alcohol, a natural drug, consistently ranked among the most harmful overall, alongside synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoids. 3/5

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

One of the best ways researchers compare drug harms is through Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Multidisciplinary panels of experts assess drugs across a range of health and social harms before producing an overall harm ranking. 2/5

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Hi friends! It’s Mythbuster Monday! 🥳 🥳 🥳 Last time we explored how the stigma surrounding synthetic drugs gave them a reputation for being more dangerous than natural drugs. Today we're looking at whether synthetic drugs are actually more dangerous than natural drugs. 1/5

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

In the three years since this review was released, there have been a lot of developments with regards to nitazines. We have test strips which can detect nitazines, so you can get your drugs checked. 6/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

They predicted that nitazines will be a part of the illicit drug market into the future, which we can confirm, although the amount of nitazines in Aotearoa is much lower than American and European countries. 5/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Pergolizzi et al. were concerned about the growing prevalence of nitzines and their introduction into the drug supply, with consumers often not aware that what they were taking contained nitazines. 4/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Around 2019, nitazines were introduced into the street drug supply, and between then and 2023, when the article was written, has been implicated in over 200 deaths. The dose at which nitazines are toxic is very small, potentially even smaller than that of fentanyl. 3/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Nitazines are potent opioids which were developed in the 1950s by pharmaceutical chemists, and were largely forgotten about until the late 2010s. 2/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Hi friends, This week’s article is an article about a type of drug called nitazines, how they were initially developed, and their introduction into the illicit drug market. 1/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This meant their use became concentrated among marginalised communities, resulting in the stigma surrounding poverty, homelessness, and criminalisation becoming intertwined with perceptions of synthetic cannabinoids. Next: What the evidence says about synthetic drug harm. 4/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This helped create a moral panic, where exceptional events came to define an entire category of drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids became a popular alternative to cannabis in NZ because they were cheap, potent, and difficult to detect in drug tests. 3/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Media coverage overwhelmingly focused on stories of severe intoxication, psychosis, and unpredictable behaviour, while giving little attention to people whose experiences did not fit these sensationalised narratives. 2/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Hi friends! It’s Mythbuster Monday! 🥳 🥳 Last time we looked at what a synthetic drug was. This time we’re looking at synthetic stigma. During NZ's legal highs era, synthetic cannabinoids (such as Spice and K2) became the public face of synthetic drugs. 1/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

There are a lot of limitations in this study, which makes it hard to conclude anything concrete from it. Nevertheless, the authors encourage more trans-specific research and drug harm reduction, two things which we wholeheartedly support. 7/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The main takeaway of this study is that there hasn’t been enough research into transgender people’s use of drugs, as many articles reported conflicting results. 6/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

drug addiction can be dangerous and lead to further stigmatisation of both trans people, and people who use drugs. We agree but this article does word this in a way which contributes to stigma around substance use disorders that we’re not a fan of. 5/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

💛 This study found very little difference between trans and cis populations and substance use disorders. However, other studies have found increased prevalence of substance use disorders in trans individuals.. Cotaina et al. note that making generalisations about trans people and prevalence of 4/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Here’s what they found: 💛 In general, trans people were more likely to use drugs. The authors hypothesised that this could be as an emotional regulation strategy, or as a result of discrimination 3/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Cotaina et al. performed statistical analyses on 20 articles, which covered about 18, 000 trans people (and 2.3 million cis people). They analysed data quality, uncertainty, and publication bias. 2/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Hi friends! This week’s article is a review of recreational drug use in both transgender and cisgender populations. 1/8

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

However, this research gives us a good insight into drug trends across the ditch, which can be useful for predicting trends in NZ. The authors recommend expanding drug checking services in Australia to more rural areas, as drug checking is currently only available in major cities. 6/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There’s a couple of limitations to these results: it’s hard to tell how drugs got into wastewater, so the levels aren’t necessarily reflecting consumption. Usman et al. make some assumptions when doing their calculations for regional consumption, so results should be treated with caution. 5/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

💛 Wastewater testing indicated that people took more drugs around New Year’s day, especially in rural areas. 💛 The proportion of MDMA, cocaine and ketamine that were as presumed, with no additional psychoactives, increased from 2022-2024 4/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

💛 Around 15-20% of samples presented to drug checkers contained New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). 💛 The most commonly detected NPS were bromazolam (a benzodiazepine) and 2-fluoroxo-2-oxo-PCE (a ketamine analogue) 3/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

💛 Methamphetamine was the most prevalent drug in wastewater samples, but not often brought in to drug checking 2/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Hi friends, This week’s article is about the drug trends in Australia between 2022-25. Usman et al. analysed wastewater samples from around Australia, as well as results from drug checkers (CANtest and CheQpoint), to see what kinds of drugs people were taking. Here’s what they found: 1/7

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

After reports of harm and the closure of New Zealand's legal highs market, synthetic became synonymous with danger. Next week: The origins of synthetic stigma. 4/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In fact, around 61% of marketed medicines have a synthetic origin, while only 10% are unaltered natural products. For many NZers, however, the word synthetic immediately brings to mind "legal highs" like Spice, K2, BZP party pills, and cathinones. 3/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Natural drugs, such as morphine and cannabis, come from naturally occurring sources. Semi-synthetic drugs, like heroin, begin as natural substances but are chemically modified. Synthetic drugs, including MDMA, methamphetamine, and paracetamol, are produced entirely through chemical synthesis. 2/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hi friends! It’s Mythbuster Monday 🥳🥳 This month, we're unpacking the myth that 'synthetic' drugs are inherently more dangerous than 'natural' drugs. Natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic describe how a drug is made. 1/4

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

💛 People considered edibles as a route of administration less risky than smoking, however, this is not necessarily correct. Edibles tend to have a higher risk of taking too much than smoking does, and the delayed onset of edibles risks people taking more and then having a bad time. 5/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

💛 The most common route of administration was smoking or vaping dried cannabis flower, followed by edibles 4/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

💛 In the past year, half of participants used cannabis recreationally and 12% used it only medicinally (the rest used weed for both purposes, or didn’t know) 💛 People who hadn’t taken cannabis, on average, rated any type of weed consumption as higher risk than people who had taken cannabis 3/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

They examined why people used weed, how risky they thought it was, and route of administration, as well as age, gender, ethnicity and education level. Here’s what they found: 2/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hi friends! 💛 This week’s article examines attitudes toward cannabis in the UK. Wadsworth et al. analysed results from the International Cannabis Policy study, which included 3444 UK residents, 1590 of which had taken cannabis in the past year. 1/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day, a global day of remembrance for those we've lost. Preventing accidental overdose is one of the reasons why we started. With evidence-based info, people make safer choices. Read our new writeup at the link below 💛 knowyourstuff.nz/internationa...

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

We delivered our biggest year of drug checking yet! 💛 4,119 samples tested 💛 189 events across Aotearoa 💛 5,000+ clients supported knowyourstuff.nz/report/knowy...

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The authors conclude that an increase in stigma and lack of support for harm reduction services directly impacts the lives of people who use drugs and harm reduction workers. This is a very sad read, and our heart goes out to harm reduction practitioners in San Fran who are struggling 💛💛💛 6/6

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

💛Harm reduction programmes were operating on very limited budgets, leading to staff burnout and making it more difficult to provide services such as medical care and meals. 💛Political support in the US has also waned for harm reduction services, which further increases stigma. 5/n

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

💛The current American political climate polarised people’s beliefs, meaning that those against harm reduction had more extreme reactions to it. There was also rampant misinformation on social media about the effectiveness of harm reduction services. 4/n

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

💛Harm reduction services found it difficult to set up new centres due to complaints from their neighbours, despite the fact that having safe places for people who take drugs makes communities safer as a whole 3/n

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

This week’s article is about how stigma can make it harder to implement harm reduction. Akiba et al. interviewed 27 staff from ten different harm reduction services around San Francisco. Here’s what they found: 2/n

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KnowYourStuffNZ @knowyourstuffnz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Hi friends! It's Peer Review Friday 🎉🎉🎉 Today we're looking at The role of stigma in impeding implementation of harm reduction services in San Francisco by Akiba et al. Published in SSM-Qualitative Research in Health, December 2025. 1/n www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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