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Case studies on stakeholder involvement in opioid substitution treatment undertaken in six European countries are an excellent example of the tradition of trans-disciplinary research. Fortunately, they seem to come away with the conclusion that, despite the difficulty of walking through mud, as one of the studies puts it, evidence based practices that promote the common good prevail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper presents the findings from an exploratory study on alcohol and other drugs (AOD) nurses' views on current career opportunities and challenges and on how their role has been affected by clinical and structural changes in service delivery. Methods: The paper is based on qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of twelve AOD nurses in the UK. A narrative approach to interviewing aimed to encourage emergence of new insights and suggest theories for future examination. Interview domains were informed by the research team's knowledge of AOD nursing and by themes from published literature. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded and a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Key themes emerging focused on the growth, advantages, and challenges of non-medical prescribing (NMP), and the impact on AOD nursing of changes in workforce structures and environments. The findings indicate considerable doubts about career opportunities for nurses in AOD services although NMP may offer some limited routes to career advancement. Conclusions: Some long-standing issues around the identity and professional status of AOD nurses persist and current clinical and structural changes have created a "liminal space" within which the nursing role and AOD nurse identityare disrupted and in transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we critically reflect on the constitution of the UK's alcohol problem in the government's "Safe, Social, Sensible" policy document, referring to findings from a 3-year ESRC funded study on young people, alcohol and identity. We suggest that discursive themes running throughout "Safe, Sensible, Social" include "shared responsibility" for implementing a "cultural change", "youth and binge drinking" and the need to promote "sensible" levels of alcohol consumption to individual drinkers. We argue that, in constituting the problem around these themes, the policy document risks diluting responsibility and obscuring the role of government, media and alcohol manufacturers. In addition, the way young drinkers are constituted carries a risk of isolating this group as both cause and effect of the alcohol problem, placing an unrealistic burden of responsibility on local communities and agencies and exacerbating the gap between policy assumptions and the lived reality of young drinkers within their cultural context. We conclude that alcohol policy requires a more substantive, clearly specified and evidence-based approach which acknowledges the complexities of drinking contexts and drinker motivations in the allocation of responsibility and formulation of policy. In particular, policy needs to address the role of legislation and licensing laws, and the branding and marketing activities of the drinks industry in the structure of UK alcohol consumption.

Globally cannabis regulations are rapidly changing. In recent years social and political pressure, not science, has driven this change. Experience from jurisdictions that have implemented regulatory change, although relatively new, should be used to inform future policy development for other jurisdictions, assisting in addressing the wicked problem that cannabis regulations present. This review aimed to elicit underlying themes from a broad range of literature exploring the effects of regulatory change relating to cannabis. To achieve this a meta-narrative theoretical approach using inductive constant comparative analysis was used to synthesize data until thematic saturation was reached. Following a systematic literature search, 92 papers were analyzed before thematic saturation was complete. Five super-ordinate themes emerged that observed the societal and health effects following legislative and regulatory change: Normalization; Economics; Gatekeeping; Community and Health. These themes, empirically derived through a formal qualitative approach, were considered regarding cultural contexts, providing an understanding of how cannabis regulation is changing the social landscape. Consideration of the themes during future research may provide a focus point for the discussion of legislation and policy, not only relating to cannabis, but also other broad-ranging areas such as social policy, welfare, education and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the relationship between treatment organization characteristics and client outcomes or drug-related harms in community opiate substitution therapy. In the absence of sufficient scientific evidence, the organizational configuration of addiction treatment services is often decided on an ad hoc and sometimes politically motivated basis as the evaluation of the impact of policies or practices on clients at the organizational level is limited. The objective of this multi-site cross-sectional study was to identify and understand how client characteristics and staff perceptions of organizational functioning related to client engagement in community-based opiate substitution therapy services in Ireland. This paper reports on a cross-sectional survey of clients (n = 262) and staff (n = 132) questionnaires across 12 discrete community-based prescribing service providers (organizations) in Ireland. Measures of client engagement in treatment were shown to be higher in organizations with more positive staff ratings of organizational functioning. In particular, in organizations where staff reported having greater job autonomy, clients reported better overall engagement. Specifically, greater staff autonomy in organizations related to greater levels of treatment participation (p = 0.034), treatment satisfaction (p < 0.001), and better rapport with staff (p < 0.001). Clients who were the longest in treatment expressed significantly poorer rapport with staff (p = 0.44) and were less likely to seek out support from peers (p = 0.023), while those in stable accommodation reported greater participation in treatment (p = 0.009). Levels of peer support were not related to organizational characteristics, but clients with lower levels of education (p = 0.002) and those in early treatment (p = 0.017) were more likely to seek support from peers. The findings establish the importance of assessing organizational and client attributes as part of an overall strategy for enhancing the quality of treatment. This paper provides valuable information for policymakers and provides an ample basis for further exploration of how treatment organizations work, and not just that they work. Policymakers and planners need to consider introducing specific interventions for clients or staff in the context of a 'whole systems' approach. From an organizational and planning perspective, this should involve further consideration of measures that relate to increasing staff's sense of autonomy. This paper provides further evidence that the success of policy-making or planning relating to treatment organizations can be successfully measured at the client and organizational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not all heroin users that enter the prison estate continue to use heroin or access opiate maintenance or detoxification treatment programmes. Some prisoners decide to self-detoxify. The literature on self-detoxification is thin and focuses on the decisions and practices of self-detoxification in community settings. Less attention has been given to the role of the body and the lived experience of self-detoxification in prison settings. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine the process of self-detoxification in prison, with a particular focus on the role of the body, embodiment and prisoner social relations. This paper draws on Drew Leder's (1990) absent body theoretical framework and the literature on prison masculinity to analyse qualitative interviews with recently released prisoners. It shows how the decision to self-detoxify can be understood as part of the masculine performance of keeping a low profile. Keeping a low profile helped the participants minimise the risks of victimisation. The self-detoxification techniques the participants used were underpinned by an awareness of the body as poisoned by heroin, suffering because of its presence, rather than its absence. This study has implications for prisoners' access to opiate maintenance and detoxification treatment programmes and harm reduction services upon release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the history of the development of taxonomies of psychoactive drug use, and discusses the conceptualization of three recent taxonomies: comparing their features, and considering their application in education, treatment, and harm reduction settings. Firstly, the Drugs Wheel was created in 2012, prompted by the emergence of New Psychoactive Substances and rapid developments in their legislative control. It was created in collaboration with health professionals and trainers in the drugs field, people who use drugs, and harm reduction non-government organizations, as a learning tool for NPS. Secondly, by contrast, the Drug Pyramid was an academic creation published in 2016 that aimed to conceptualize the multitude of NPS then being developed at a rate of two per week, as primarily an educational project. Finally, building from limitations identified in the previous two models, the Drugs Venn was created by the authors for the purpose of this paper and in consultation with staff at a drug checking service provider, with the intention of future application in delivery of drug checking consultations. Viewed together, each model addresses objections raised to its predecessor, and in doing so highlights the multi-dimensional nature of taxonomies, and their potential for generation of further hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National policy documents are important platforms for the prioritisation of social issues which is likely to spur research into the development of evidence-based practice guidelines that are effective and cost-efficient. In relation to the impact of substance abuse on the family, carefully designed policies that magnify support for the family can help lessen the burden of substance abuse on families. Using the Family Impact Lens (FIL) framework, this paper explored how family issues in relation to substance abuse are addressed within three South African policy and strategic documents: thePrevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse (PTSA) Act(2008), theNational drug master plan(NDMP; 2013–2017) and theWhite paper on families in South Africa(2012). In keeping with the framework of the FIL, we evaluated whether the policies (1) mention the effects of substance abuse on the family, (2) recognise the importance of the family in the relative’s rehabilitation and (3) address the needs of family members by providing policy directives to support families who are affected by substance abuse (affected family members (AFMs)). Although all three policies recognise that families are negatively impacted by a relative’s substance abuse, the policies are overly focussed on individual approaches to deal with substance abuse and fail to adequately address the support needs of AFMs. Research on the support needs of AFMs is warranted in addition to the evaluation or development of evidence-based strategies to support AFMs. Further implications and recommendations for policy-makers, researchers and practitioners are provided in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: There is little research around recovery pathways and how they cluster together by individual and situational factors according to time in recovery. Method: This paper uses a cluster analysis with data from the European Life in Recovery (LiR) survey to produce typologies of recovery pathways around stages of recovery: early (<1 year), sustained (1-5 years), and stable (>5 years). A secondary aim was to explore evidence of national variations among clusters. Results: Cluster analysis identified five typologies of persons in recovery, broadly reflecting the three stages. 'Early Recovery' participants had the highest barriers and lowest strengths in recovery and were most likely to reside in Spain, Portugal and Poland. 'Sustained with residual barriers' participants were characterized by high strengths in active addiction but most barriers in recovery and mainly resided in the Netherlands and Belgium. 'Stable With Lower Recovery Support' reported higher barriers and lowest strengths in active addiction and were mainly from the Balkan countries. 'Stable With Higher Recovery Support' participants experienced the most barriers in active addiction but also the most strengths in recovery and were largely from the UK. 'Mixed With Fewer Barriers' showed the least barriers in recovery and the highest strengths in active addiction and were also mainly from the UK. Implications: Structural and cultural factors (possibly including location) are essential in recovery journeys and that, while all recovery journeys are unique, are several clusters of characteristics can be identified as broadly consistent with the Betty Ford Institute stages approach of early, sustained and stable recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionsFamily plays an important role in helping or hindering a loved one’s alcohol recovery and this is particularly true in South Asian communities. In South Asian cultures women are seen as the keepers of the izzat (family honour), and to behave in ways that can jeopardise the izzat, such as drinking alcohol, can have a grave impact on women’s health and wellbeing. This paper explores the lived experiences of alcohol use and help-seeking among South Asian women in England with a particular focus on the role of the family.18 South Asian women with personal lived experience of alcohol dependency were interviewed using an in-depth, semi-structured interview approach.The findings focus on feelings of stigma and shame linked to izzat and family dishonour. The women shared personal accounts of controlling and restrictive upbringings that influenced their alcohol use. They talked about how their families reacted to their alcohol dependency with shame and a lack of understanding, and they explained how many of their families offered support when they realised that the women’s physical and mental health was at a point of crisis.Recommendations focus on educational outreach to families regarding alcohol use within South Asian communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper continues to develop 'drugs as instruments' framework by reviewing Science and Technology Studies (STS), critical drug studies and anthropology of pharmaceuticals literature that frames drugs as pharmacological technologies. By discussing especially human enhancement drugs (HEDs) this approach is situated in the new materialist turn in critical drug studies. All drugs, medical and nonmedical, are framed as pharmacological technologies and discussed as nonhuman actors. When discussing drugs as technologies the paper will focus generally on their 'social effects' which include extra-pharmacological variables. These extra-pharmacological variables include what the author refers to as politicogenic drug effects, meaning effects that derive from contemporary drug policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with an estimated 700,000 suicide deaths per year. The World Health Organization identifies reducing alcohol use as one component of comprehensive approaches to suicide prevention. This paper conducted a rapid review of the evidence on alcohol-related suicide prevention interventions. PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for articles related to alcohol, suicide, prevention, and policies, published between 1990 and 2020. 5293 articles were identified; after deduplication, 2567 studies were screened at the title and abstract level. 402 articles underwent full-text review. 69 articles were ultimately included and underwent data extraction. Interventions were categorized as policy interventions, community-based interventions, and clinical interventions. While there is evidence that policy interventions targeting alcohol may be associated with lower suicide rates, more evidence using stronger study designs is needed. The evidence for community interventions was mixed and supported the need for further research on these types of interventions. Pharmaceutical and therapy-based clinical interventions also showed some promise, with more research needed. Overall, despite evidence of alcohol's role in suicide attempts and deaths, few interventions have been developed with the purpose of addressing alcohol-related suicide. More research is needed to identify effective interventions to prevent alcohol-related suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol marketing influences drinking practices, and this helps shape how gender identities are constructed. This paper presents research exploring how women who are sober manage and negotiate their non-drinking and sober identities in neo-liberal contexts that market alcohol products and consumption as a defining feature of feminine identities. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 15) and online content produced by sober women active in the positive sobriety community on the social media platform Instagram were analysed using thematic analysis. Women negotiated marketing messages within their everyday experiences of sobriety, with associations between drinking and motherhood, female friendship and empowerment, discussed as impacting their drinking, lived experience and sense of self. They negotiated such messages, and created alternative ways of 'doing femininity' as sober women, through distancing themselves from their previous drinking identities; rejecting, reworking and countering marketing that links alcohol use to femininity; and alternative consumption practices. Instagram allowed women to publicly critique and counter marketing messages in ways that unlinked alcohol use, but not consumption more generally, from femininity, in traditional and news ways. Marketing regulation should consider how those experiencing problematic alcohol use may be particularly vulnerable to marketing messages, in ways that are gendered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the United Kingdom experiencing a series of 'lockdowns' in 2020 and 2021 that disrupted leisure and socializing, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a 'critical juncture' which has facilitated alterations to – and reflections on – drinking practices. Drawing on online semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted between the first and second UK lockdowns, we highlight three stages in the development and maintenance of UK drinking practices using critical junctures as a theoretical framework. Firstly, we consider the antecedent conditions – such as dominant drinking cultures - that shape pre-pandemic drinking practices and form the backdrop against which changes to behaviors are made. Secondly, we explore the 'cleavage' or initial moment of disruption which gives rise to shifts in drinking practices and consider how this critical juncture stabilizes and is reproduced. Finally, we examine the possible 'legacy' of the critical juncture. The paper highlights implications for healthcare/policy including the importance of considering wider social context when seeking behavioral change. We also stress that alternative explanations – such as declining drinking rates and the growth of Temporary Abstinence Initiatives – must not be ignored when exploring people's shifting drinking behaviors, even during periods of unprecedented social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with substance use disorders require comprehensive treatment, including planned aftercare, for improved treatment outcomes. However, access to treatment and aftercare is limited globally, as in South Africa, under-girded by a paucity of empirical research on substance use aftercare and reintegration policies. When examining South African substance use aftercare and reintegration policies, the complex local and international contexts require scrutiny. The aim of this paper is to establish the aftercare content in South African policies and to explore how these local policies respond to the national and international context. The Policy Analysis Triangle proposed by Walt and Gilson, Beer's Viable Systems Model and Thematic Analysis guided the analysis of eight selected policies. The analysis demonstrated that South African policies have undergone changes over the past years: from having no aftercare content to a minimal allowance for aftercare in policies. Policies embrace an acute treatment approach similar to the healthcare delivery in South Africa. Therefore, an Integrated Recovery Management Model for recovery (aftercare) service provision is recommended which should be aligned to local policies and context with due cognizance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), and World Health Organization (WHO) chronic treatment approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to assess to what extent prohibitive drug policies hamper the management of drug problems from the perspective of young people who have experience with the criminal justice systems (CJS). Qualitative, in-depth interviews were carried out in six European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK) following a common interview guide to obtain comparative data on the life trajectories of drug experienced youth. Altogether 198 interviews with people aged 14–25 years were collected and analysed by national teams following a common coding book. Unintended consequences of drug policies for the individual and society were identified. Individual consequences included health consequences and traumatic experiences with law enforcement. Social consequences included those affecting social relations such as stigmatisation and those impacting on institutions, for example, focusing on drug use and neglecting other problems. This paper confirmed earlier research indicating unintended consequences of prohibitive drug policies but also added to the literature its cross-national perspective and use of young people narratives as a source of analyses. There are, however, policy measures available that may reduce the volume and range of unintended effects. Their implementation is crucial to reduce the array of unintended consequences of prohibitive drug policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common depictions of buying and selling illicit drugs online centre on how drug market actors engage in dark web drug cryptomarkets, but the supply of illicit drugs also takes place in 'plain site' on the surface web. Drawing on netnographic observations and qualitative interviews with hard-to-reach buyers and vendors (n = 20), this paper explores LeafedOut, a specific, popular surface web platform, that provides a conduit for local cannabis exchanges. We found that the platform enabled easy access and supply at the local level but increased some specific risks to those involved. Actors neutralised the perceived risks of drug supply over this surface web platform through the broader societal normalisation of cannabis use/supply, adopting encrypted messaging applications to cover 'digital traces', and developing various methods to establish trust with an exchange partner (e.g. review systems, sending selfies with drug paraphernalia, selectively choosing meet-up locations). This paper expands our understanding of the growing number of online illicit drug markets by shifting attention from dark web cryptomarkets to the much more widely accessed surface/clear web. Theoretical implications for the study of trust and risk in online illicit drug market exchanges are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionWhile debates on drug policy express a range of ethical viewpoints, many are underpinned by core ideas drawn from liberal philosophy. Much recent analysis on the moral principles underpinning drug policy debates focuses on differences between reformers and supporters of the status quo. Less attention has been given to divergences among advocates for drug policy reform, which often hinge on the interpretation and application of liberal principles.This paper examines three concepts from liberal philosophy in relation to drug policy debates: ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ freedom, rational autonomy, and social contract. The articulation of these ideas, and the extent to which they underpin different positions on policy reform, is explored with reference to three areas of advocacy: legal regulation; decriminalization; and harm reduction.Agreement on drug policy reforms does not necessarily imply shared views regarding concepts of freedom, rational autonomy, or social contract. Specific policy solutions may be supported by a range of ethical and political positions and can serve as points where divergent, and sometimes conflicting, philosophical perspectives converge.Drug policy advocacy expresses a range of underpinning moral, political, and philosophical perspectives. Recognizing commonalities and differences among these perspectives is important for coalition-building and strategic planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionIn the early twentieth century, ayahuasca gained popularity in northern Brazil, causing political tension due to moral hostility. However, over the course of the century, despite the proscription of DMT and the intensification of the ‘War on Drugs’, three phases of cumulative political gains eventually led to the full regulation of ayahuasca, in 2010. How was this achieved?This paper provides a comprehensive reassessment of the existing literature on ayahuasca in Brazil, utilizing social movement theory. Emphasis is placed on framing methods, or how movements strategically present their aims to particular audiences, in order to effect political change.First, ayahuasca churches constructed a religious frame that emphasized their Christian pedigree. Second, when harassment intensified, ayahuasca was reframed as a charitable endeavour. Finally, in the transition to democracy, the religions added a scientific frame, collaborating with the state to review scientific evidence and establish policy parameters for regulation.Framing ayahuasca as Christian and focusing on charity and science were neither straightforward nor unproblematic, but did allow ayahuasca groups to successfully avoid persecution, establish relationships with powerful actors, and eventually achieve full regulation. This case study provides unique insights into the role of social movements in successful drug policy reform, especially how movements can strategically adapt to and influence prevailing moral codes, resulting in concrete political victories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005 the UK Government's Foresight programme published a paper by Neil McKeganey and colleagues on "Sociology and Substance Use". The Foresight programme is led by the Government's Office of Science and Innovation with the aim of "producing challenging visions of the future to ensure effective strategies now". This commentary asks whether the analyses of substance use meet the objectives of the Foresight programme. On a range of issues it contends that the paper either fails to weigh the different strands of evidence or fails to analyse pertinent research. The section on policy focuses entirely on repressive measures as a response to the paper's apocalyptic vision of over 1 million problematic drug users in the UK. Given the paper's title it is surprising that there is no attempt to consider policies which may be more relevant to the psychological and social functions of substance use in modern society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how an alcohol industry-sponsored 'Nigerian Beer Symposium' (NBS) could endanger public health. The NBS, an annual one-day symposium, sponsored by Heineken-Nigerian Breweries, was recently introduced to create awareness of the 'health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption'. Amongst other resource persons, Heineken-Nigerian Breweries contracts professors, medical doctors, nutritionists, advertisers, and celebrities from Africa and Europe to discuss the health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption. While all of the speakers strategically focused on the health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption, a few, in passing, mentioned drinking in moderation. In particular, male speakers focused on how beer prevents cancer, reduces the incidence of kidney stones, enhances vitality and cardiovascular health, and facilitates longevity and cognition among the aged. The female speakers encouraged women to consume beer because it enhances vitality and improves skin/physical beauty. Overall, none of the speakers specifically mentioned the consequences of alcohol (mis)use. This paper argues that the NBS is strategically organised to encourage beer initiation and/or high consumption, which will increase the sponsor's profit. By providing biased information about the purported health and nutritional benefits of beer, the NBS will mislead the public, leading to more alcohol-related problems in Nigeria. Therefore, NBS should be regulated by implementing WHO-recommended alcohol policies in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This paper focuses on the reasons for the under-representation of British South Asians in substance use services. Based on a small-scale evaluation of a substance use service that delivers targeted outreach support within two predominantly Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in the north west of England, this paper contributes to the debate around how substance use services can best engage with young British Pakistani and Bangladeshi substance users. Methods: Semi-structured interviews (with six staff members, 18 young Pakistani and Bangladeshi service users, and 18 stakeholders and partner agencies), a detailed ethnographic observation of the service, and an analysis of routinely collected quantitative monitoring data. Findings: The paper highlights the importance of what Fountain terms low threshold/open access services. Alongside this, the paper argues that the building of trust and confidence in a substance use service is a key when it comes to engaging with young Pakistani and Bangladeshi substance users. Yet this necessary process takes time: something that is at odds with the current trend towards short-term funding regimes and 'quick wins'. Conclusions: The paper concludes by advocating the need for, not only a diverse range of engagement strategies, but also a longer term approach when it comes to developing and delivering substance use services aimed at successfully engaging with this particular group of substance users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery from substance use addiction is a socially mediated process, with the formation of pro-social networks and engagement in community resources acting as catalysts for growth and change. Gender is a key mediator in pathways into and out of substance use, however literature that considers gender dimensions within the recovery paradigm is limited. This paper presents a secondary analysis of two qualitative studies undertaken with nine women in recovery—recruited based on their engagement with community support services. Thematic analysis of the women's narratives elucidates the role of social mechanisms in the recovery processes of women who are accessing community support, in order to inform progressive policy change that better acknowledges, understands and enhances women's experience of recovery. Based on the emergent themes of trauma; intimate relationships; social networks; and identity, we consider practical implications for community based recovery support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the extent to which people drinking at harmful levels responded to minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland in the way they, family members and those providing services anticipated they would. It examines data taken from a larger evaluation of the impact of MUP on people who are drinking at harmful levels. Qualitative interview data, (utilizing interviews and focus groups, with individuals, treatment services, and family members) was generated prior to the implementation of MUP in Scotland to provide insights into anticipated responses and comparable data generated across an extended 19-month period post-implementation and provided insights into actual responses. Overall, the data showed consistency between anticipated and actual responses, with fewer differences observed. In line with anticipated responses, many drinkers switched from cheap, strong ciders to other alcohol products, notably vodka. They consistently responded to the decrease in alcohol affordability by utilizing existing behavior such as managing finances and prioritizing spends on alcohol, including borrowing money, foregoing essentials, and using savings. There was less evidence of anticipated harmful consequences of MUP occurring, such as increased crime, switching to other drugs, or examples of acute withdrawal. Drinkers and those living and working with them, have a good command of how alcohol affordability is maintained or impacts on expenditure and other choices, and how they respond to any decrease in affordability including the introduction of minimum price policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) might lead to distressing withdrawal symptoms following cessation. This paper aims to share challenges in recruiting patients to a pilot intervention study with parallel substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and to explore barriers to participation among AAS forum members. Eligible AAS-dependent men were recruited to receive hormone therapy for 16 weeks, and exclusion reasons were registered. Audience engagement from social media advertisements was measured. Information about the study was posted in an AAS online forum, and discussion among forum members was thematically analyzed. Twelve of 81 potential participants were included, whereas ten completed the intervention. Participants were excluded due to residency outside the study area, illicit substance use or severe medical conditions. Challenges in recruitment were linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, funding and advertisements on social media. AAS forum members suggested modifications to the intervention, were skeptical to the SUD-patient requirement, feared prosecution or other negative outcomes and/or preferred to seek online advice on self-initiated testosterone replacement therapy or post cycle therapy. AAS-related online recommendations among peers, criminalized AAS use setting and obligatory SUD treatment might have affected recruitment. Based on lessons learned, recommendations for future similar studies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A high number of non-consensual sexual experiences happen in heavy drinking contexts, pointing to the importance of investigating how young people make meaning of their alcohol intoxicated sexual interactions. In analyzing that, researchers have used the concept of 'sexual agency', to describe how young people often draw on a neoliberal discourse, which emphasizes freedom, choice and individual responsibility to make meaning of their alcohol intoxicated sexual interactions. The aim of this paper is to argue for the applicability of a more situational understanding of sexual agency, such as Cahill's (2016), when investigating young people's alcohol intoxicated sexual experiences. Methods: 30 qualitative interviews were conducted with young Danes (aged 19-25) on their alcohol intoxicated sexual encounters. Results: A narrative analytical approach revealed that participants draw on three types of narratives on sexual encounters which emphasized: 1) The pleasurable experiences and a large degree of agency 2) The ambivalent experiences of agency and 3) The out-of-control sexual experiences. Conclusions: The results highlight the situational and varied nature of sexual agency in sexual encounters and that discourses on gender, sexuality and alcohol intoxication influence the participants' construction of agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates alcohol consumption within cultures of football fandom through the innovative combination of theories of the carnivalesque and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and capital. Focus groups (n = 79) were conducted with football supporters in England and Scotland. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) were also conducted with key organizational stakeholders. Research explored the importance and role of alcohol consumption for supporters when watching or attending matches.. Participants confirmed the cultural significance, perceived normalcy and historical links between football and alcohol consumption. Supporters highlighted the importance of the sociability, friendship, and social capital aspects of alcohol consumption. Participants believed football supporters are perceived differently in comparison with supporters of other sports, arguing that legislation surrounding alcohol consumption at other sports allowed supporters to enhance the carnivalesque by drinking alcohol, whereas football fans were more restricted. Participants agreed the habitus of excessive drinking and violence associated with football supporters led to a bad reputation, however, this view was outdated. Participants also recognized a growing drug culture in football. The findings draw attention to the alcohol-sport relationship and the contested relations, and diverging interests and influences, within the social field of football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of researchers are trying to provide explanations for continuity and change in drug policy in different contexts. Such research predominantly falls in the pluralist realm of public policy where various actors compete to have their policy proposals accepted. Using a critical framework called Policy Constellations (PC), developed by Stevens and Zampini, this paper attempts to explain reactions of the British Government to Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) between 2008 – 2016. Qualitative data comes from in-depth interviews with stakeholders (N = 15), including NGO workers, a former Home Secretary, drugs ministers, governmental advisors, a former senior police officer, former Deputy Drug Coordinator, and a former Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) member. Two 'constellations' competed in British NPS policy setting. The PC framework illustrates power imbalances between these competing stakeholders. Abstinence orientated actors (the conservative constellation) enjoyed strategic advantages and media power which allowed them to create a favourable policy setting. These advantages were not enjoyed by the liberal constellation who struggled to access the policy setting and influence policy developments. The prohibitive nature of the policy used to counter NPS can be explained with the domination of actors whose values align with the conservative constellation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabis was recently legalized for adult use in Canada and many American states. In this context, there is a pressing need for educational resources – aimed at youth and their parents/caregivers – to reduce potential harm. However, little is known about the current state of such resources. This paper presents findings of an environmental scan, mapping and critically analyzing the present landscape of cannabis resources for parents/caregivers. We systematically searched the grey literature identifying English-language resources. Search terms included: youth, young people, child, adolescen*, teen*, train*, tool*, talk, engage*, educat*, involve*, family, parent, adult, caregiver, cannabis, marijuana, pot, weed, prevent*, and harm. Overall, 60 resources met the inclusion criteria. Most were developed in the United States (n = 37) and Canada (n = 19), with three from Australia and one from the United Kingdom. Of these, 42 (70%) were categorized as abstinence-based, 14 (23%) harm-reduction oriented, and 4 (7%) had an unclear approach. Few (10/59) consulted youth in their development and none explicitly included parent/caregiver input. Results can inform the development of new, more appropriate and accessible family-oriented resources – priority in a legalized context where cannabis conversations are shifting away from stigma and abstinence, towards pragmatic approaches with harm reduction goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014 methadone as part of Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) was introduced in Kenyan public health facilities as part of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention and treatment. This paper explores the transition experiences for people moving from the use of heroin to MAT. The paper reports on a qualitative study conducted in an urban setting in Kenya in 2015. Findings show that transitioning from the use of heroin to methadone can both be a liberating and disempowering experience. While study participants were reportedly pleased with the life changes brought about by methadone, they struggled with negotiating the transition from an 'old life' of heroin use to methadone. Tensions were navigating the 'new life' on methadone and the 'old life' on heroin. These tensions generate new forms of social exclusion, as well as feelings of uncertainty and ambivalence. A particular effect of this challenging transition is how new forms of risk and vulnerability for HIV are created even whilst others are attended to. MAT programs need to attend to the dynamics described to address the risk of HIV posed by a 'new life' and the broader tensions involved in transitioning from the use of heroin to methadone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a 6-month study of New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) use in Manchester, UK. Drawing on interviews with 53 NPS users and 31 stakeholders, the paper documents a notable shift in the drug using landscape. It highlights how the homeless community-traditionally associated with alcohol dependency and problematic intravenous heroin and/or crack cocaine use are now switching to smoking synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, while men who have sex with men (MSM) and engage in chemsex-who have traditionally been strongly associated with the recreational use of ecstasy and other stimulants are now developing problematic intravenous drug using habits. The paper goes on to discuss the implications of this shift for existing models of treatment service delivery. In particular, it outlines the necessity for treatment services to develop innovative engagement strategies, alongside clearer referral pathways and improved service integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past number of decades there has been an increasing amount of literature and media attention concerning the use of cognitive enhancing drugs (CEDs), particularly by higher education students. This increased interest in the use of CEDs by contemporary higher education students, has seemingly coincided with the spread of neoliberalism, principally in the West, into every sphere of the social environment, including higher education. Accordingly, along with the trend in wider enhancement drug use, the use of CEDs by higher education students and the apparent significance of neoliberalism to this drug trend, requires innovative theoretical developments in the area of drugs and drug use. Certainly, the use of CEDs by higher education students does not neatly fit within dominant, established drug use theories, often developed in accordance with medical perspectives, which frequently individualise, pathologize and stigmatise, via the subsequent positioning of drug users within dichotomic binaries, such as, the prevailing recreational or problematic, dichotomic binary. Therefore, this paper draws on the author's qualitative research, to establish an innovative, 'Functional Response Framework' for augmenting understandings of CED use by students in higher education. In addition, a Functional Response Framework can make a significant contribution to advancing theoretical understandings of drug use, more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social research on alcohol and sexual encounters has tended to be siloed into several different research endeavors, each addressing separate aspects of wanted and unwanted sexual encounters. While sociologists have focused on the patterns of social interaction, status competition, and emotional hierarchies of sexual encounters, they have left the role of alcohol intoxication largely unexamined. Conversely, the two dominant approaches to sexual encounters within alcohol research, the theories of alcohol myopia and alcohol expectancy, while focusing on alcohol have tended to take little account of the socio-relational dynamics and gendered meanings involved in those encounters. Our aim in this theoretical paper is to begin to bring together some of the concepts from these different research strands in examining how the social processes of intoxication potentially impact heteronormative sexual scripts and hence notions of femininity and masculinity among cisgender, heterosexual women and men. Our discussion is focused on the concepts of ritual and scripts; power, status, and hierarchies; and socio-spatial contexts, which are central to an understanding of the gendered and embodied social practices that take place within intoxicated sexual events; the emotional nature of the socio-spatial contexts within which they occur; and the socio-structural conditions that frame these events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a stigma-vulnerability nexus as a critical incursion into understandings of and responses to drug-related social problems. Considering stigma and vulnerability as sites of ostensibly empathetic interventions that aim to mitigate the impact of illicit substances, it proposes that the two concepts are best deployed when located within the political economy of drug harms. Doing so foregrounds the material inequalities resulting from existing socio-economic arrangements and highlights the limitations of them being politically mobilised in purely cultural-interactional ways, which can serve to overlook structural conditions and justify harmful political choices. As a theoretical perspective, the stigma-vulnerability nexus is therefore concerned with the macro-structural factors that shape both concepts and how they intersect. To demonstrate its value as an analytic tool, it is first applied to the framing of 'County Lines' dealing, where senior gang members are stigmatised, but the wider drivers of vulnerability among the young people they exploit are overlooked. Secondly, the nexus is applied to the case of new psychoactive substances. Here, the perceived vulnerability of young people is used to justify responses that ultimately lead to amplified harms being displaced onto structurally disadvantaged populations such as the homeless and prison inmates, compounding their economic vulnerability and class stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women receiving treatment for opioid use disorder have low levels of contraception use and high rates of unintended pregnancies, abortion and children being adopted or fostered. This paper aims to understand the relationship between contraceptive choice and power amongst women receiving Opioid Replacement Therapy (ORT). During 2016/17, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 40 women (aged 22–49 years) receiving ORT in the South of England. Data relating to the latent concept of power were inductively coded and analysed via Iterative Categorisation. Power manifested itself through six interconnected 'fields': i. 'information about fertility and contraception'; ii. 'access to contraception'; iii. 'relationships with professionals and services'; iv. 'relationships with male partners'; v. 'relationships with sex work clients'; and vi. 'life priorities and preferences'. Each field comprised examples of women's powerlessness and empowerment. Even when women appeared to have limited power or control, they sometimes managed to assert themselves. Power in relation to contraceptive choice is multi-faceted and multi-directional, operating at both individual and structural levels. Informed decision-making depends on the provision of clear, non-judgemental information and advice alongside easy access to contraceptive options. Additional strategies to empower women to make contraceptive choices and prevent unplanned pregnancies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A popular notion refers to laughter as “the best medicine,” and a stream of psychological research encourages treatment providers to use humour as a therapeutic tool. However, remarkably few studies have investigated client perspectives on professionals' use of humour in everyday practice. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork in two Danish drug treatment institutions for young people, this paper begins to fill this gap in the existing research. Analyzing the use of humour in naturally occurring, informal situations wherein professionals joke, use irony and tell funny stories, this paper suggests that the use of humour by professionals – despite their allegedly good intentions – may at times be problematic, even offensive for clients. Furthermore, as the young people who turn to drug treatment are socially vulnerable and dependent on the professionals, the paper illuminates how they find their opportunities for objecting to the professionals' use of humour limited. The paper concludes that professionals should handle humour with care, rather than viewing it as a benign, risk-free addition to treatment, and that future research must tackle the methodological challenges of exploring client perspectives with respect to how professionals use humour in institutional settings characterized by asymmetrical power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contribution analysis (CA) is being increasingly favoured as a policy evaluation tool. This includes application to evaluate alcohol and drug policies. This paper reflects on one such example and begins by providing a brief overview of CA as an evaluative research method. It then describes the way in which CA was applied to evaluate alcohol and drug policy in Wales, one of the constituent countries of the UK. This paper reports on two issues. First, how the theory of CA was translated into practice. Second, the key learning points for us as evaluators that arose out of the utilisation of this method. The article highlights that our use of CA enabled a rich exploration of programmes within their contextual setting, and had a range of limitations and considerable challenges associated with identifying and explaining causalities. Within these methodological discussions, we also illustrate how the policy was more successful in elements closer to its nomenclature framing; i.e. harm reduction, than it was to other incorporated aims. The analysis presented in this paper will be useful across a range of jurisdictions where the need to evaluate drug and alcohol policy and practice initiatives may arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depot buprenorphine can potentially address many limitations of other forms of opioid replacement therapy (ORT). This paper builds upon the concept of the 'informed patient' to explore individuals' decisions to initiate injectable depot buprenorphine. Data derive from a qualitative study of 26 people with opioid use disorder who were recruited from drug treatment services in England and Wales and interviewed within 72 hours of starting injectable depot buprenorphine treatment. Interviews were conducted by telephone, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed via Iterative Categorization. Participants' decisions to initiate treatment were underpinned by receiving sufficient information to trust depot buprenorphine; current treatment not meeting their personal needs or goals; frequently uncritical perceptions of depot buprenorphine; and restricted access to depot buprenorphine making recipients feel grateful. Overall, participants said they had enough information and knowledge to decide they wanted depot buprenorphine. However, dissatisfaction with current ORT, desire for better treatment, and depot buprenorphine's limited availability seemed to hinder informed decision-making. Whilst pharmaceutical products cannot solve the complex life problems often associated with opioid use disorder, we need to increase access to all ORT forms so that patients do not feel they have to rush into any medication without adequate preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social smoking is increasingly prevalent among young Americans and often takes place in nightlife social settings. Yet, few smoking interventions are embedded in these settings. This paper focuses on space, embodiment, and practice to explore young adults' experiences of COMMUNE, a bar-based anti-tobacco intervention for 'Hipster' young adults; a group with shared aesthetics and interests, and high smoking rates. We conducted in-depth interviews (n = 21) with young adults involved with COMMUNE (event organizers, artists/brand ambassadors, event attendees) and observed two COMMUNE events. We analyzed the data thematically and identified three prominent affective registers: (1) 'Fun and flow'—Messaging did not disrupt essential elements of nightlife assemblages; (2) 'Openness and receptivity'—Playful bar settings encouraged openness and receptivity, allowing event attendees to learn about COMMUNE without feeling taught or patronized; and (3) 'Belonging and purpose'—Events focused on an external adversary (Big Tobacco) rather than individual smoking behavior and offered a role in supporting community. This anti-tobacco intervention leveraged the capacity-enhancing elements of nightlife settings where social smoking often takes place and emphasized access to a desired experience rather than the loss of smoking. More playful, capacity-enhancing approaches can engage with smoking and other health-related behaviors. Young adult social smoking is often practiced in nightlife settings Few smoking interventions are embedded in nightlife settings We explored young adults' experiences of a bar-based, anti-tobacco intervention Fun, flow, openness, receptivity, belonging, and purpose were prominent Smoking interventions can offer playful, capacity-enhancing experiences [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The prevalence of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) is recognized to be increasing in the Western world. The aim of this article is to review the evidence concerning interventions in ARBD. Design and methods: Systematic review. Findings: About 469 papers were identified of which 49 were suitable for inclusion. About 20 concerned neuropsychological interventions; 5 detailed psychosocial interventions; and 24 focussed on pharmacological interventions. The findings suggest that a range of cognitive rehabilitation strategies can facilitate new learning and improve memory functioning, while psychosocial interventions and supported accommodation can improve mental and physical health. Conclusions: This review demonstrates the need for a comprehensive approach to ARBD rehabilitation and indicates that the management of this condition has not been investigated in a holistic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development and implementation of a National Workforce Development Statement (2010) for the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) workforce in Scotland, workforce development has become a growing interest for related professionals and sectors over the past 6 years. The Workforce Development Programme (WDP) at Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) receives core funding from the Scottish Government Drugs Policy Unit (DPU) and has a remit to provide workforce development support for the AOD workforce at both a national and local level. This paper discusses the history of workforce development and provides a number of samples of our work in the area of workforce development in Scotland. The paper also discusses the challenges for workforce development within the AOD field in Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cannabis liberalization is a fascinating case study in moral-legal re-negotiation. From broad international examples of decriminalization to specific local legalization models, numerous criminological questions are emerging. This paper describes three significant challenges for cannabis liberalization. These include persistent inequalities associated with policing cannabis, the invisibility of coercive care and control within diversion, and the hazards associated with illusory policy reform. We present Cannabis Criminology as a multidisciplinary effort to understand the prohibition, decriminalization, legalization, and nascent regulation of cannabis in ways that acknowledge but transcend law-based paradigms. Consistent with criminology's multiple and sometimes contradictory dimensions, we outline five thematic areas that can inform the study of cannabis. These include law, society, and social control, police and policing cannabis, race, ethnicity and intrusion, the economics of cannabis use, and cannabis and criminal behavior. Finally, we conclude that privileging the views of people who use cannabis can provoke more inclusive, participatory, and otherwise imaginative efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many legislations and cultures undergo liberalization regarding cannabis use, and users in Poland make constant references to, and are part of, a burgeoning global cannabis culture. Still they have to relate to conservative drug discourses and legal frameworks. This paper explores this discrepancy between users' experience on the micro level and the macro context in which they live. The aim is to explore the boundary making processes cannabis users engage in to detach themselves from punitive legislation and conservative social reactions. The concept of social worlds is used to theorize and better understand their situation. The boundaries between the users' social worlds are analyzed with regard to conservative legal and social contexts, other progressive legislations and cultures, and the allegedly regressive Polish society. The study integrates qualitative data from three national studies of cannabis users and their environments. The boundary making around the users' social worlds is used to maintain the safety and comfort of use, to get a sense of control over it, and it helps users continue their consumption of cannabis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabis 'formula stories' are disproportionately conceptualized from the gaze of a few mostly high-income Anglo-American nations that not only shape their own narratives and policies of cannabis but are also influential abroad. Lack of research in other mostly non-English-speaking countries has translated into a gap in knowledge about what cannabis formula stories are adopted, and how stigma is conceptualized by cannabis users. Using semi-structured interviews with cannabis users, this paper gives the first insight into how cannabis stigma is constructed in the post-Soviet European Riga, Latvia. Analysis corroborates previous findings of the delegitimization strategies that cannabis users adopt to resist stigma. However, people who stigmatize cannabis use are constructed as Soviet-born and agency-stripped Homo Sovieticus, who perceives all cannabis users as physically discriminable 'potheads.' To avoid sanctions, cannabis users, as members of the generation that does possess agency, avoid appearing as potheads. Thus, the knowledge and considered evasion of symbols that adhere to societal discriminatory ideas about 'pothead' cannabis users represent users' 'secret knowledge' and their functional relationship with a cannabis-disdaining society. The study demonstrates how exaggerated stories shift user attention away from reflections about consumption patterns and toward a concern for the critical capacity of exaggerated cannabis story disseminators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic cannabinoids (also referred to as 'Spice' and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs)) have become part of the global drug landscape. The rise of new psychoactive substances (NPS) presents unique challenges for policy makers and those who seek to reduce drug-related harms. Synthetic cannabinoids are often noted as having intense effects due to their interactions with receptors in the brain. In recent years, they have become popular amongst disadvantaged groups who suffer from multiple health and other social harms. The association of synthetic cannabinoids with groups such as those who are homeless, has led to the intensification of stigma around this particular drug. This conceptual paper seeks to explore shifting intoxications in relation to synthetic cannabinoids, including a discussion of debates about stigma and the co-production of knowledge about drugs and their users. The legislative responses to NPS and synthetic cannabinoids will also be examined focusing on the notion of 'success' and global legislation. Recent NPS legislation is positioned as part of the co-production of synthetic cannabinoid users and their construction as abject and disorderly. As such, it becomes part of the assemblage of synthetic cannabinoids and creates an environment that produces risks and harms for specific marginalised groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To systematically develop and test stimuli for inclusion within the revised Alcohol Expectancy Task (rAET)-a pictographic assessment of alcohol-related beliefs.Using a UK adult sample of regular social drinkers, this paper documents the (1) selection (2)development and (3)testing of stimuli, along with (4)initial validation of the rAET. A hierarchy of common alcoholic beverages was established, along with a consensus regarding beverage presentation format.A professional artist iteratively developed pictographs of characters exhibiting different emotions in everyday scenarios and specialised photography of beverages was undertaken. Accurate identification/recognition of these stimuli was then established using a response box, whereby participants indicated which word (from eight) matched the onscreen images presented.Finally, developed stimuli were included within the rAET. Informing stimuli development and selection, wine, beer and vodka were the most common alcoholic beverages that participants reported consuming, with a preference for photographic representations.Inverse efficiency scores (based on accuracy and reaction time) suggested some variability in the recognition of certain beverage types and emotional stimuli, highlighting which stimuli may be best for inclusion in the rAET. Confirmatory factorial analyses of rAET responses suggests it has good construct validity. Maximising the transparency of stimuli selection, development and assessment provides a solid basis for systematic and valid scenario-based assessments of alcohol-related beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) are commonly used for their anabolic effects and the potentially detrimental consequences are well documented. Most studies focus on the motivations of increased muscle development and report increased libido as a secondary motivation. This paper aims to explore users' reports of libido as a motivator for starting and restarting AAS use. This mixed-methods study comprised questionnaires with 133 adult male AAS users (with 38% selecting increased libido as motivation for using), and 23 semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample. Thematic analysis identified four interlinked themes: increased libido as a motivation for starting/re-starting AAS; increased libido/sexual performance as a beneficial effect; mixed experiences with physicians regarding libido changes and hypogonadism and reduced sexual functioning and fertility after AAS cessation. Increased libido was identified as a benefit by 90% but motivations for use changed over time. Reasons for AAS use included mitigating the effects of aging particularly linked to the concept of virility. AAS as self-medication for low testosterone needs further investigation as does the idea of hegemonic masculinity as a reinforcing driver for AAS use. This study highlights the need to consider how AAS users' views of medical support impact self-medication choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Victoria, Australia, considerations of live music have become central to debates on how to best regulate the late-night economy. This paper examines the origins of this consideration and the reasons it has become a key matter in policy discussion about late-night licensing regulation. Using a media analysis of 110 Victorian newspaper articles (2003–2016), this paper demonstrates how the newspaper media has exerted significant power in producing a live music discourse. The live music discourse was firmly established by 2010, driven by the Tote Hotel's closure (referenced in 52 articles). The number of live music stakeholders engaged in the debate (80 quoted) far outweighed those from the government (26 quoted), impacting the overall presentation of the regulations along with the value of live music to the state. Gaps in media coverage, and the political context in which these matters were being debated aided advocates in facilitating subsequent regulatory change in favour of live-music venues. Consequently, it is argued that the media reporting contributed to a policy environment where perceptions of a threat to live music venues have become a barrier to restricting hours of sale in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]