Global Drug Survey (GDS), established in 2012, is an independent research organisation based in London and the world’s largest drug survey. It is used an encrypted online platform to collect anonymous drug use data from across the world. The mission is to promote honest conversations about drug use and help people use drugs more safely regardless of the legal status of the drug. To date over 900,000 people have taken part in GDS research, and have published over 65 academic papers.
GDS is not a prevalence study. GDS data are from a non-probability sample and thus our findings are not representative of the wider population. The rates of drug use in this sample are significantly higher when compared to the general
population. The data can be used to describe use patterns and identify new drug trends. The majority of the participants tend to be young, experienced with the use of illicit drugs, and employed or in education. It is included questions
that are relevant to marginalised and vulnerable groups of people who use drugs, yet these groups are largely underrepresented online.
