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Although college enrollment and completion rates have increased over the past 30 years, access to higher education has not been uniform across racial groups. In addition to racial gaps, differences in tertiary education outcomes exist by gender. Gender gaps in college enrollment are larger in the Latinx community than in other racial or ethnic groups. In this paper, we use the October Current Population Survey (CPS) supplements for the years 1984–1992 and state and federal drug laws to measure the impact of the passage of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act on the likelihood of college enrollment for young Latino men. Following the passage of the federal law, some states changed their drug laws around marijuana and cocaine possession and distribution. We use this variation in state law in order to explore whether states that have more lenient marijuana and cocaine laws also have a higher likelihood of college enrollment. We find that there was a four percentage point decline in both the likelihood of high school completion and that of college enrollment for Latinx men after the passage of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Findings have implications for modifications to state drug laws and addressing the ways in which these laws impact educational attainment for students underrepresented in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Regulatory assessment of anthroposophic medicinal products (AMPs) can be challenging due to their specific features. Objective: The aim of this paper is therefore to provide adequate scientific information on AMPs for regulatory purposes. Methods: A literature review was executed with database searches in PubMed, Cinahl, Merkurstab, Anthromedics, and https://iaap-pharma.org/. Search terms were: anthroposophic medicinal products, anthroposophic medicines, anthroposophic pharmacy. There was no language restriction; searches were executed from onset until June 11, 2020. In addition, experts were invited to suggest relevant literature. Results: Eighty-seven of 660 identified publications were included. The system of anthroposophic medicine (AM) with its conceptual background and various aspects of AMPs was described: definition, pharmaceutical properties, an example of AMP development, use in clinical practice, similarities with and differences to conventional medicinal products, societal aspects, scientific and regulatory assessment. Conclusion: AMPs are part of the integrative whole medical system of AM. AMPs are manufactured according to Good Manufacturing Practice and national drug regulations and have an excellent safety status; the limited available evidence suggests clinical benefits. Current drug regulation of AMPs in the EU and most European countries does not take the special properties of AMPs into account. Future research should focus on appropriate methodologies for the evaluation of effects of AMPs as part of the AM whole medical system, the scientific quality of its non-atomistic holistic ontological position, and the integration of AM and conventional medicine in clinical practice. Future policies should focus on appropriate ways of addressing regulatory challenges to AMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global momentum for drug law reform is building. But how might such reform be achieved? Many argue that human rights offer a possible normative framework for guiding such reform. There has been very little research on whether human rights processes can actually achieve such aims, however. This paper responds to this knowledge gap. It explores how one human rights mechanism—the "parliamentary rights scrutiny process"—deals with alcohol and other drugs. We consider how four Australian parliaments scrutinized proposed new laws that would deal with alcohol and other drugs for their human rights "compatibility." We find that laws that would limit the rights of people who use alcohol and other drugs were routinely seen as justifiable on the basis that alcohol and other drugs were inherently "unsafe." Crucially, safety was conceptualized in a gender-neutral way, without regard to the potential role of gender, including specific masculinities, in the production of phenomena such as family violence and sexual violence and other public safety problems. Instead, such problems were regularly constituted as consequences, simply, of alcohol or other drug consumption. In making this argument, we build on the pioneering work of David Moore and colleagues (e.g., 2020). Their work asks important questions about how the causes of violence are constituted across different settings, including research and policy. Drawing on ideas from scholars such as Carol Bacchi and John Law, they identify "gendering practices" and "collateral realities" in research and policy on violence, in which the role of men and masculinities are routinely obscured, displaced or rendered invisible. We find similar problems underway within human rights law. In highlighting these gendering practices and collateral realities, we aim to draw attention to the limitations of some human rights processes and the need for more work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tests the impact of deterrence and normative variables in the estimation of drug use among both detected drug users and university students. Consistent with perceptual deterrence research, we expect: (a) a stronger effect of normative variables on estimation of drug use compared to deterrence variables and (b) that any deterrent effect would be restricted to detected drug users. In Portugal, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with detected drug users (N = 147) and with a sample of university students (N = 247). The main results show that normative variables outperform deterrent variables as predictors of intention to use drugs. Descriptive norms have a greater influence on the estimation of drug use in both groups, and proximal social norms have robust effects among university students. Core elements of the deterrence model are not related to the intention to use drugs. Personal certainty of being caught has even an unexpected positive correlation with this intention. A small deterrent effect is limited to the general certainty variable and only among more law-abiding people. The overall findings are consistent with a normative perspective on law compliance and highlight the importance of including all different normative and deterrent variables in models estimating drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drug use is a major public health issue in India. Significant changes in the approach toward drug use have happened in the last few decades. Despite this, no systematic attempt has been made to document the same in the scientific literature. This narrative review attempts to discuss the major drug laws, policies, and national programs of the Government of India (GoI). Methods: A thorough search was conducted to look for policies, programs, acts, and notifications related to substance use/drug use on various websites of different ministries of the GoI. Acts, programs, and policies addressing substance use were identified. Results: Various drug laws, programs, and acts from the GoI provide a multipronged approach to curbing the procurement of drug use along with its prevention and cure. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) is the nodal ministry for drug demand reduction. The enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 and Policy 2012 and the implementation of India's Drug De-Addiction Program (DDAP) are important landmarks in this journey. Conclusion: The GoI initiatives for reducing the mental health burden in this country in general and substance use disorders (SUDs), in particular, are immense. The acts/statutes/laws/notifications are all interlinked. Stakeholders in mental health, public health, and policy-making need to upgrade themselves with the relevant statutes to curb the menace of drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Punitive drug laws have had a differentiated and violent impact on women. State-driven stigma, criminalization, and abuse act as major barriers between women who use drugs and critical services, driving disproportionate health and safety harms. At the same time, women involved in illegal drug activities suffer the brunt of disproportionate drug laws, which exacerbate poverty and intersecting forms of discrimination, and have increased dramatically the global number of women behind bars. Although UN fora and women's rights organizations have paid little attention to their situation, affected women have mobilized to affirm their rights and vindicate their experiences, including at CSW65. From grassroots campaigns to organizations of formerly incarcerated women or peer-led harm reduction programs, women have stepped in to provide the support that States have failed to deliver. Decriminalization, reforms of draconian drug laws, gender-sensitive harm reduction services, and peer-led initiatives are essential to tackle violence against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, San Francisco (SF) implemented the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, a harm reduction–based pre-booking diversion system for people who violate drug laws and/or are engaged in sex work. LEAD is set apart from existing diversion programs, as it uses police as point of entry. Prior LEAD studies indicate some success in reducing recidivism and improving life outcomes. However, less is known about program implementation, including barriers and facilitators. Relying on policy documents, interviews, and focus groups, this study describes the LEAD SF's development, operations, adaptations, and challenges. It also identifies the unique context of LEAD SF that led to implementation barriers and facilitators. Results show that SF experienced success in collaboration, relationship building, and client connections to services but experienced challenges in securing and maintaining police officer buy-in and keeping clear and open lines of communication regarding LEAD goals, objectives, policies, and procedures. This led to the termination of LEAD SF in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can brands adopt institutional work towards establishing themselves in a highly contested market? Defining contested markets as fields in which the plural logics of the market are in tension with each other and/or with societal level logics, our research explores the institutional work of one pioneer brand – MedMen – in the legal cannabis market in the United States. Analysis of MedMen's marketing communication campaigns and corporate press releases between 2018 and 2020 reveal vesting, mimicry, and constructing consumer identities as the main types of institutional work the brand has adopted. Our findings inform extant research on market dynamics by documenting the types of institutional work brands can strategically adopt to establish themselves in contested markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]