Independent travel and recreational drug abuse

The author discusses the links between independent travel abroad and the opportunity for recreational drug use and the issues raised. Certain destinations attract visitors sometimes because of the drug-related image of certain places such as clubbers' paradise Ibiza, which afford easy access to drugs and experimentation with new substances. This in turn will lead to increased drug use risks because of the lack of local knowledge of facilities such as needle exchange centres and because of the user's lack of awareness of how a different climate will affect her/his reaction to certain drugs. The author proposes that harm reduction should be promoted more strongly to those intending to travel.