Editorial: new trends of substance abuse: looking for new psychotropic effects of chem sex drugs, cognitive enhancers, and new psychoactive substances

In the last few years, a wide range of pharmacologically active substances entered the legal and illegal market of abused compounds creating new challenges for health professionals dealing with users and their health threats (1–6). Among the increasing number of abused substances, we can include not only new psychoactive substances (NPS), but also chemsex drugs, and cognitive enhancers (7–10). Chemsex drugs are a group of psychoactive substances (e.g., cocaine, methamphetamine, synthetic cathinones, and synthetic cannabinoids and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, GHB, GBL) and non-psychoactive drugs (e.g., erectile dysfunction agents and alkyl nitrites) intentionally or non-intentionally used in the context of sexual intercourses, most commonly among gay and bisexual men (7, 8). The reported simultaneous use of more than one substance at a time has been reported to entail medical and psychiatric complications, such as psychosis, aggressive behavior, and suicidal ideation. Similarly, cognitive enhancers are used in medical practice as medication to treat specific cognition deficits in mental diseases, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, their non-medical use has been spreading worldwide due to their alleged capability to increase mental alertness and concentration, as well as to boost memory and energy levels. Although the psychostimulant effects of these substances are necessary to treat cognitive impairment, the psychiatric/psychotropic effects of their misuse, and the consequences for mental health, are poorly described (9, 10). Generally speaking, unlike what happened in the past century, every year a non-negligible number of new psychoactive substances appear in the illegal market. Their permanence both on the market and on web-based channels only depends on “consumers' satisfaction”: a balance between number and length of positive subjective effects vs. acute side effects (11). Whereas, both outcomes can be reported by the same users, e.g., in web forums, short- and long-term psychiatric effects cannot be specifically identified and described due to the speed at which such substances enter and leave traffic channels. This Research Topic seeks to provide updated studies, reviews, mini reviews, opinion papers, perspective articles, and case reports on psychiatric and psychotropic effects of chemsex drugs, cognitive enhancers, and more generally on new psychoactive substances. This collection aims to shed light on this incoming hazard to scientists and health professionals operating in the field of psychiatric damages caused by drug abuse.