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The article discusses research by Arpit Parmar, Radhika Chakraborty, and Yatan P. S. Balhara, reported in the April 2024 issue of the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, focusing on the current status of harm reduction initiatives in India. Topics include the history of harm reduction in India, the Indian status of harm reduction compared to global standards, and the strategies of harm reduction services in the country, highlighting the need for improved support and funding for these services.

The article focuses on the dangers posed by unregulated psychotropic products like kratom, tianeptine, and phenibut, highlighting their availability in retail settings despite lacking FDA approval, which poses significant public health risks such as addiction and overdose. Topics include advocating for stricter regulation, enhancing public awareness, and promoting collaborative research efforts among healthcare organizations to address these hazards effectively.

In Washington v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court established that an administrative review conducted by prison staff was the minimum constitutionally appropriate due process for the administration of compulsory nonemergent antipsychotic medication. California's current process, Penal Code section 2602 (PC2602), uses a judicial review allowing for either emergent (medication beginning with application) or nonemergent routes. This article describes the history culminating with PC2602, beginning with the notion of civil death enacted in 1850, followed by the 1986 Keyhea injunction. Framed by problems that emerged, PC2602 was enacted in 2011, which is described from both legal-administrative and clinical perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article analyzes psychotropic overprescription and the law. Topics discussed include dangers posed by psychotropic medication, psychological treatment model, malpractice claims against psychiatrists, shortcomings of the Controlled Substances Act and the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promote Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, and potential legal and disciplinary solutions to psychotropic overprescription.

Background and aims: The United Kingdom (UK) Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), implemented on the 26th May 2016, made the production, supply and sale of all non‐exempted psychoactive substances illegal. The aim of this study was to measure trends in hospital presentations for severe toxicity following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist (SCRA) exposure before and after implementation of the PSA. Design: Observational study. Setting: Thirty‐four hospitals across the UK participating in the Identification of Novel Psychoactive Substances (IONA) study. Participants: A total of 627 (79.9% male) consenting individuals who presented to participating hospitals between July 2015 and December 2019 with severe acute toxicity and suspected novel psychoactive substances exposure. Measurements Toxicological analyses of patient samples were conducted using liquid‐chromatography tandem mass‐spectrometry. Time‐series analysis was conducted on the monthly number of patients with and without analytically confirmed SCRA exposure using Poisson segmented regression. Findings SCRAs were detected in 35.7% (n = 224) of patients. After adjusting for seasonality and the number of active sites, models showed no clear evidence of an upward or downward trend in the number of SCRA exposure cases in the period before (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.12; 95% CI, 0.99–1.26; P = 0.068) or after (IRR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94–1.01; P = 0.202) the implementation of the PSA. There was also no clear evidence of an upward or downward trend in non‐SCRA exposure cases before (IRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.98–1.27; P = 0.105) or after (IRR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.98–1.04; P = 0.478) implementation of the PSA. Conclusions: There is no clear evidence of an upward or downward trend in the number of patients presenting to UK hospitals with severe acute toxicity following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist exposure since the implementation of the Psychoactive Substances Act. [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]

Ireland passed the world's first blanket ban on new psychoactive substance in 2010. This article traces the historical processes culminating in the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act (2010) through a systematic review of Irish media articles published between 2000 and 2010 (N = 338). The review found that head shops were largely tolerated when they sold cannabis paraphernalia (2000–2008), possibly indicating the normalisation of cannabis in Ireland. Some mild condemnatory language emerges between 2008 and 2009 when head shops began selling some new psychoactive substances. The review suggests that the 2010 Act was partly a product of a moral panic, driven and managed by a range of moral entrepreneurs and, involving both peaceful and violent protests. Unlike some traditional moral panics, young people were not identified as folk devils but rather as under threat from a new drug distribution model (head shops) and new drugs (NPS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of cannabis products to help with sleep and various other medical conditions by the public has increased significantly in recent years. Withdrawal from cannabinoids can lead to sleep disturbance. Here, we describe a patient who developed significant insomnia leading to worsening anxiety, mood, and suicidal ideation in the setting of medical cannabis withdrawal, prompting presentation to the Emergency Department and inpatient admission. There is a limited evidence base for the use of cannabis products for sleep. We provide a comprehensive review evaluating the literature on the use of cannabis products on sleep, including an overview of cannabis and related psychoactive compounds, the current state of the law as it pertains to the prescribing and use of these substances, and potential side effects and drug interactions. We specifically discuss the impact of cannabis products on normal sleep and circadian sleep-wake rhythms, insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea, parasomnias, and restless legs syndrome. We also describe the effects of cannabis withdrawal on sleep and how this increases relapse to cannabis use. Most of the studies are observational but the few published randomized controlled trials are reviewed. Our comprehensive review of the effects of cannabis products on normal sleep and sleep disorders, relevant to primary care providers and other clinicians evaluating and treating patients who use these types of products, shows that cannabis products have minimal to no effects on sleep disorders and may have deleterious effects in some individuals. Further research examining the differential impact of the various types of cannabinoids that are currently available on each of these sleep disorders is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on medicolegal issues with reference to ndps and mhca in management and rehabilitation of persons with substance use disorders.

In recent years, new psychoactive substances (NPS) ("legal highs" or "designer drugs") are increasing worldwide. An increase in NPS is a cause for concern for drug-regulatory authorities and health-care professionals as it poses a threat to public health. Because of their novelty, these drugs go undetected by traditional detection methods, hampering adverse reaction assessment, and increasing challenges for laboratories and the regulatory system. This review aims to provide an update on the current state of NPS at the global level. The article addresses important issues and challenges in the clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories, which deals with testing for substances of abuse, the unclear legal status of NPS, and the limited knowledge of the public about their side effect. These issues and challenges would be important for health-care professionals, toxicologists, law enforcement authorities, and policymakers to take into account an effective response to control the use of NPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]