Nya psykoaktiva substanser i Sverige och Storbritannien: en analys av lagens avskräckande effekt

Sammanfattning: In recent years the emergence and increase of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has confounded countries worldwide. One of the main characteristics of NPS is its avoidance of legislation and the use of internet as a resource to discuss and trade the substances. These substances are considered a threat to the safety of individuals and the general public health. Due to these circumstances, different national legislative approaches has been developed to tackle the problem with NPS. In this dissertation we aim to present and examine the Swedish and British legal response to reduce the consumption and availability of NPS. We will also explain, from a theoretical point of view, how Friedman’s concept of internal and external legal cultures can help to understand when law is effective in decreasing the use and prevalence of NPS. To acquire a better understanding of the effects and effectiveness of the laws, we will perform quantitative and qualitative empirical research on a Swedish and a British drug forum on the internet. To further support our findings we will also include interviews with key informants. Our study could not scientifically prove a correlation between criminalization and a reduced motivation in using NPS. But, the result of our study indicates that law has an inhibiting effect regarding the interest of NPS. The result also indicates that users of NPS in Sweden tends to adapt to legislation in a higher degree, than the users from United Kingdom.