Search

E-cigarettes, or vaping products, come with a variety of names and looks, but they all raise the same question: Are they safe to use? To get to the bottom of [...]

One person tells you marijuana is natural and healthy. Another says it is dangerous and should be avoided. But what does the research say? Over the past few decades, marijuana [...]

Human beings have used substances to alter their state of consciousness since the beginning of time. The most commonly used substance is alcohol; however, another class of substances has also [...]

As e-cigarette use increases, so do questions about their safety. For answers, we turned to three leading experts in addiction prevention. E-cigarettes. Vapes. E-hookahs. Mods. Tank systems. Juuls. Some mimic [...]

This paper investigates factors related to outpatient substance abuse (1) (SA) treatment program facility acceptance of Medicaid reimbursement during 2003-2006 in the United States. Results can help identify ways to [...], Objective. To examine factors associated with Medicaid acceptance for substance abuse (SA) services by outpatient SA treatment programs. Data Sources. Secondary analysis of 2003-2006 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services data combined with state Medicaid policy and usage measures and other publicly available data. Study Design. We used cross-sectional analyses, including state fixed effects, to assess relationships between SA treatment program Medicaid acceptance and (1) program-level factors, (2) county-level sociodemographics and treatment program density, and (3) state-level population characteristics, SA treatment-related factors, and Medicaid policy and usage. Data Extraction Methods. State Medicaid policy data were compiled based on reviews of state Medicaid-related statutes/regulations and Medicaid plans. Other data were publicly available. Principal Findings. Medicaid acceptance was significantly higher for programs: (a) that were publicly funded and in states with Medicaid policy allowing SA treatment coverage; (b) with accreditation/licensure and nonprofit/government ownership, as well as mental- and general-health focused programs; and (c) in counties with lower household income. Conclusions. SA treatment program Medicaid acceptance related to program-, county, and state-level factors. The data suggest the importance of state policy and licensure/accreditation requirements in increasing SA program Medicaid access. Key Words. Medicaid, access/demand/utilization of services, state health policies, substance abuse, alcohol/chemical dependency/tobacco

This article examines relationships between local drug policy (as represented by prosecutor-reported case outcomes for first-offender juvenile marijuana possession cases) and youth self-reported marijuana use, perceived risk, and disapproval. Interviews with prosecutors and surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students in the United States were conducted in 2000. Analyses include data from 97 prosecutors and students from 127 schools in 40 states. Results indicate significant relationships between local drug policy and youth marijuana use and attitudes. In general, more-severe dispositions are associated with less marijuana use, higher disapproval rates, and increased perceptions of great risk. Associations primarily appear to be specific to marijuana-related outcomes. Results are discussed within the framework of both deterrence and broader social norms regarding substance use. Keywords: marijuana; drug policy; prosecutor; prosecutorial discretion; juvenile

There is a need in the literature for research describing disposition severity differences between specific drug and alcohol law violations within the context of community characteristics. We conducted an exploratory study of prosecutor-reported juvenile disposition severity by both specific drug charge and community context using a national sample of prosecutors from communities surrounding schools participating in the nationally representative Monitoring the Future survey. Results indicated (a) strong within- and between-substance disposition severity variance as well as (b) evidence for differential effects of both prosecutor case load and community characteristics, including community income, ethnicity and region. Keywords: juvenile; drug; disposition severity

Although there is a vigorous national debate regarding effective drag policy, such policies are implemented at the local level. Using a national sample of prosecutors, we examine reported typical processing for first-time juvenile marijuana, cocaine, or crack possession/sales offenders. The relationship between drug offense charge and adjudication outcomes providing treatment versus a deterrence/punitive approach is explored. Findings indicate that marijnana offenses and possession offenses generally are more likely to result in access to treatment services for juveniles whereas cocaine/crack offenses and sales offenses generally are more likely to result in the application of punitive penalties such as transfer to criminal court. Keywords: drags: juvenile; treatment; policy

Many intravenous drug addicts may not be able to follow complicated procedures for disinfecting their hypodermic syringes after each use. Sharing used needles is a risk factor for HIV infection. A total of 450 intravenous drug addicts were taught to clean their syringes by completely filling the syringe with undiluted bleach twice and rinsing the syringe twice with water. Researchers had found that this procedure was effective in killing HIV in syringes containing infected blood. Six to 12 months later, the addicts were tested to see if they complied with this procedure. More than 90% of the addicts remembered the procedure but only one-third actually followed it. Only 43% filled the syringe completely with bleach, and only 36% filled it twice. Addicts should be encouraged to use clean syringes each time or to curtail their drug use.

Statistics reveal the relationship between use of drugs and criminal behavior, as those using drugs such as cocaine and marijuana are more prone to be engaged in crime. However, some researchers argue that the use of drugs does not directly contribute to crime, and that social conditions such as poverty and absence of control leads to crime and drug use.

The examination of clients and staff members perceptions of treatment environments is an area in which insufficient research has taken place. This study reports the results of an attempt to evaluate perceptions of treatment environments within the Comprehensive Drug Program of Dade County (Miami) Florida. The Moos Community Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES) was given in a self-administered form to a sample of 238 clients and fifty-five staff members in eight treatment programs. Analysis revealed that the perceptions of drug clients toward their treatment environments were generally more positive than those of clients in other types of medical and psychiatric treatment and that perceptions tended to vary directly with the extent and continuity of contact between clients and staff members. Finally, it is suggested that the evaluation of perceptions of treatment environments be made an essential aspect of treatment evaluation.

Significant numbers of intravenous drug users come into contact with the criminal justice system on a regular basis. This presents a number of significant implications for both case processing and the provision of services. The risk of HIV infection among IV drug-using offenders is higher than that of non-offending IV users, and as such, the potential for the spread of the virus in correctional settings needs to be addressed Although the courts have examined the issues of mass HIV screening of inmates and the segregation of HIV-infected prisoners, no definitive decisions with national implications have emerged.

The Focused Offender Disposition (FOD) Program was established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance in 1988 as one of many responses to the growing numbers of drug-involved offenders coming to the attention of the criminal justice system. The basic purpose of FOD was to develop and test a needs assessment classification system that courts could use for directing drug offenders into the most appropriate type of treatment program. A secondary purpose was to examine the efficacy of urine monitoring as an alternative to treatment. The centerpiece of FOD was the Offender Profile Index (OPI), an assessment instrument that yielded a numerical score that suggested four alternative interventions — long-term residential treatment, short-term residential treatment, outpatient treatment, and urine monitoring only. This article offers some preliminary findings on the project and offers suggestions for the implementation of similar efforts.

It is the purpose of this paper to examine the major research issues in the study of the relationship between crime and drugs and to examine the relevant research literature as it applies to those issues. Typologies are constructed for both criminal and drug using behavior and it is argued that the relationship between crime and drugs should be examined for each type of crime and each type of drug. A variety of issues regarding the nature of the relationship are discussed. These issues include the statistical association, causal priority, heroin use and increased, sustained and type of criminal activity, the direction of the causal effect and the ecology of crime and drugs. Finally, it is argued that a longitudinal design is necessary before the complexities of the nature of the crime-drug relationship can begin to be unraveled.

It is the purpose of this paper to examine the role of etiological research in the study of drug abuse, the problems in etiological research imposed by the nature of the phenomenon of drug abuse and the dominance of epidemiological studies, and to offer some suggestions for advancing research on the etiology of drug abuse. It is argued that the statistical rarity of drug abuse and the pressure to conduct epidemiological studies have resulted in the application of the methodology that does not meet the needs of etiological research. Suggestions are made that research on the initiation, continuation or cessation of drug abuse must develop a procedure for integrating conceptually and methodologically the variety of substances used simultaneously and sequentially. Further, it is suggested that research must integrate the power of survey methodology and statistical explanation with the understanding of the subject's perception and definition of the initiation and sustaining of use.

We studied HIV seropositivity among a targeted sample of migrant workers who used drugs, primarily crack cocaine, and their sexual partners in rural southern Florida from 1993 to 1995. We enrolled men and women who were born in the United States (n = 369) or in other countries (n = 174). Overall, 11.2% of the sample were HIV positive, including 18% of Blacks from the United States, and about 8% of non-Hispanic whites from the United States, Blacks from the Caribbean, and persons from Central or South America. No Hispanics from the United States or the Caribbean, but 3.4% of Hispanics from Mexico, were HIV positive. In logistic regression analyses, race/ethnicity, gender, and age were most highly associated with HIV seropositivity. Immigration status, current drug use, and current sexual activity were not related to HIV seropositivity. HIV prevention programs must help reduce heterosexual transmission of HIV associated with drug use both locally and where migrants travel and work.