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From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health

JOSIE DUNN, Fabrizio Schifano Orcid Logo, Ed Dudley, Davide Arillotta Orcid Logo, Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo

Brain Sciences, Volume: 15, Issue: 2, Start page: 172

Swansea University Authors: JOSIE DUNN, Ed Dudley, Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/brainsci15020172

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The misuse of veterinary drugs is a growing concern, with increasing evidence of their presence in illicit drug markets and their use as alternatives to traditional substances. Methods: This study explores Reddit discussions on the misuse of veterinary drugs on Reddit, focusin...

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Published in: Brain Sciences
ISSN: 2076-3425
Published: MDPI AG 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68826
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The most discussed themes included motivations for misuse, followed by public experiences and perceptions, as well as adverse effects. Conclusions: The dual-method approach of combining manual interpretation with AI analysis allowed for a comprehensive understanding of social media discussions. This research highlights the importance of monitoring online platforms for early indicators of emerging drug trends, offering valuable insights to inform public health policies and intervention strategies. Impact Statement: This research highlights the growing public health risk posed by veterinary drug misuse, underscoring the need for enhanced monitoring, regulatory frameworks, and education to address their diversion into illicit markets. 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spelling 2025-02-19T12:02:27.5667585 v2 68826 2025-02-07 From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health 8f5a87c617b03551d21ea17a4f2083b4 JOSIE DUNN JOSIE DUNN true false c7d05f992a817cd3b9a5f946bd909b71 Ed Dudley Ed Dudley true false b49270b9a0d580cf4f31f9a1b6c93f87 0000-0001-8255-0660 Amira Guirguis Amira Guirguis true false 2025-02-07 Background/Objectives: The misuse of veterinary drugs is a growing concern, with increasing evidence of their presence in illicit drug markets and their use as alternatives to traditional substances. Methods: This study explores Reddit discussions on the misuse of veterinary drugs on Reddit, focusing on xylazine, carfentanil, medetomidine, pentobarbital, phenylbutazone, and acepromazine. Reddit was utilised for its abundant real-time data on users’ thoughts and experiences with substance misuse. Through a combination of manual and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven thematic analysis, we examined posts and comments to explore patterns of misuse. Results: The themes analysed included adverse effects, polysubstance misuse, routes of administration, motivations for misuse, and methods of obtaining these drugs. Our findings revealed that xylazine, medetomidine, carfentanil, and pentobarbital exhibit significant potential for misuse, while phenylbutazone and acepromazine are not widely misused. Despite this, phenylbutazone and acepromazine have been identified as adulterants in the illicit drug supply in the United States. The most discussed themes included motivations for misuse, followed by public experiences and perceptions, as well as adverse effects. Conclusions: The dual-method approach of combining manual interpretation with AI analysis allowed for a comprehensive understanding of social media discussions. This research highlights the importance of monitoring online platforms for early indicators of emerging drug trends, offering valuable insights to inform public health policies and intervention strategies. Impact Statement: This research highlights the growing public health risk posed by veterinary drug misuse, underscoring the need for enhanced monitoring, regulatory frameworks, and education to address their diversion into illicit markets. By leveraging social media as an early detection tool for emerging drug trends, our findings can inform targeted interventions. Journal Article Brain Sciences 15 2 172 MDPI AG 2076-3425 veterinary drugs; animal drugs; substance use; misuse; social media; netnography 10 2 2025 2025-02-10 10.3390/brainsci15020172 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Other This research received no external funding. 2025-02-19T12:02:27.5667585 2025-02-07T07:57:03.7687856 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy JOSIE DUNN 1 Fabrizio Schifano 0000-0002-4178-5401 2 Ed Dudley 3 Davide Arillotta 0000-0002-8843-0595 4 Amira Guirguis 0000-0001-8255-0660 5 68826__33643__2696b0553eb74e8299459c19e290f197.pdf 68826.VOR.pdf 2025-02-19T11:59:01.8153005 Output 793974 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
spellingShingle From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
JOSIE DUNN
Ed Dudley
Amira Guirguis
title_short From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
title_full From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
title_fullStr From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
title_full_unstemmed From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
title_sort From Veterinary Medicine to Illicit Drug Supply: Utilising Social Media to Explore the Rising Emergence of Veterinary Medicines in Human Health
author_id_str_mv 8f5a87c617b03551d21ea17a4f2083b4
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author_id_fullname_str_mv 8f5a87c617b03551d21ea17a4f2083b4_***_JOSIE DUNN
c7d05f992a817cd3b9a5f946bd909b71_***_Ed Dudley
b49270b9a0d580cf4f31f9a1b6c93f87_***_Amira Guirguis
author JOSIE DUNN
Ed Dudley
Amira Guirguis
author2 JOSIE DUNN
Fabrizio Schifano
Ed Dudley
Davide Arillotta
Amira Guirguis
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container_title Brain Sciences
container_volume 15
container_issue 2
container_start_page 172
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2076-3425
doi_str_mv 10.3390/brainsci15020172
publisher MDPI AG
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy
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description Background/Objectives: The misuse of veterinary drugs is a growing concern, with increasing evidence of their presence in illicit drug markets and their use as alternatives to traditional substances. Methods: This study explores Reddit discussions on the misuse of veterinary drugs on Reddit, focusing on xylazine, carfentanil, medetomidine, pentobarbital, phenylbutazone, and acepromazine. Reddit was utilised for its abundant real-time data on users’ thoughts and experiences with substance misuse. Through a combination of manual and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven thematic analysis, we examined posts and comments to explore patterns of misuse. Results: The themes analysed included adverse effects, polysubstance misuse, routes of administration, motivations for misuse, and methods of obtaining these drugs. Our findings revealed that xylazine, medetomidine, carfentanil, and pentobarbital exhibit significant potential for misuse, while phenylbutazone and acepromazine are not widely misused. Despite this, phenylbutazone and acepromazine have been identified as adulterants in the illicit drug supply in the United States. The most discussed themes included motivations for misuse, followed by public experiences and perceptions, as well as adverse effects. Conclusions: The dual-method approach of combining manual interpretation with AI analysis allowed for a comprehensive understanding of social media discussions. This research highlights the importance of monitoring online platforms for early indicators of emerging drug trends, offering valuable insights to inform public health policies and intervention strategies. Impact Statement: This research highlights the growing public health risk posed by veterinary drug misuse, underscoring the need for enhanced monitoring, regulatory frameworks, and education to address their diversion into illicit markets. By leveraging social media as an early detection tool for emerging drug trends, our findings can inform targeted interventions.
published_date 2025-02-10T05:53:31Z
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