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College students transition from the parental home environment to the college environment. This study examined the transitioning role of parent/child relationships and religiosity in Christian college student heavy episodic drinking (HED). Analysis was conducted using data from a health-risk behavior survey administered on campus, n = 434. Believing the body is the temple of God was the only statistically significant variable in the logistic regression model, 78% less likely to engage in HED. These results show there is a transitioning role of parents during the college years with parents having less influence on HED than religious belief on a Christian college campus.

This study examined patterns of association between experiencing 12 traumatic life events, resilience, and substance use at a conservative church-affiliated university. The authors used data (N = 278) from a Health Risk and Protective Factors Study that was conducted during the 2012 spring semester. Initial bivariate analysis indicated several significant positive and negative associations between three of the traumatic life event variables and alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use within the past year and between two of the traumatic life event variables and alcohol use within the past 30 days. Preliminarily, resilience was only inversely associated with amphetamine use within the past year for men. When examined further using partial correlations to clarify these relationships while controlling for resilience, strong significant positive associations were found specifically between experiencing a disaster-type event and alcohol use within the past year and within the past 30 days for men only. Overall significant moderate positive associations were found between experiencing parental divorce and alcohol use within the past year, and between experiencing a disaster-type event and alcohol use within the past year and within the past 30 days. Use of two-way between-groups ANOVA found no significant interaction among these variables. Results may suggest that experiencing certain traumatic life events and male gender are more likely connected to alcohol use behaviors, whereas resilience may have multiple pathways for adaptive coping.

Religion is one of the major forces of control over sexuality, and many studies have observed an inverse relationship between religiosity and sexual permissiveness. The Religious Orientation Scale has been used to study the relationship between religious orientation and sexuality. It has been found that those with intrinsic views are more conservative in their sexual values while those who are extrinsic have more liberal views. The purpose of this study was to use the Religious Life Inventory, an instrument that also has a quest orientation, to evaluate the relationship between religious orientation and various premarital sexual activities and attitudes within a sample of conservative religious students. Inverse correlations were found for those with internal and external scores, while weak but positive correlations were found for those with quest scores. These findings suggest that those with a more open-minded position on religion may have the same open-minded position on sexuality. (Contains 2 tables.)

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. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article provides information on a decade of trends and prevalence of substance use at a Midwestern prohibitionist university. Trends were based on three data collection times, 1995, 2000, and 2005. This information was compared with results of a number of national surveys to identify trends in the data. Total averages for the prohibitionist sample were 42.6% for alcohol use; 18.2% for binge drinking; 35.4% for tobacco use; and 34.1% for marijuana use. With the exception of binge drinking, which remained stable, the gap between substance use rates for the prohibitionist university and the results of national surveys have widened slightly. (Contains 4 figures.)

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. (Contains 4 tables.)

Although there is a vigorous national debate regarding effective drug 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 marijuana 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. (Contains 4 tables.)

The history of United States drug policy is complex, ranging from laissez-faire to strict prohibition. In recent years, there has been little federal interest in drug policy reform and a continuing focus on a prohibitionist deterrence approach. During this period, state initiatives have been in the forefront of drug policy experimentation via ballot initiatives, legislative actions, or judicial and administrative policy decisions. The resulting state-level drug policy landscape includes continued prohibition as well as harm reduction, medicalization, and decriminalization. In addition, there has been considerable state-level policy focus on substance abuse treatment quality. With a new presidential administration, there is some indication that drug policy reform may be a national issue as part of the federal health reform agenda. The authors hope that the results of state policy experiments that provide evidence for the viability of harm reduction, quality treatment, and related approaches can be a viable part of the national policy discussion.

This study examined relationships between state policy requirements governing outpatient substance abuse treatment services and reported outpatient treatment program practices. State policies effective as of February 1, 2003, and February 1, 2004, were collected and analyzed via primary legal research; data were validated by state officials (88% response rate; > 90% validation rate). Treatment practice data were obtained from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services for the years 2003 and 2004. Multivariate analyses clustered by state were conducted, controlling for state, program, and state-aggregated client admission characteristics. Results indicated that treatment programs located in states with requirements for comprehensive substance abuse assessment, family counseling, substance abuse and infectious disease/sexually transmitted disease testing services, HIV/AIDS education, and aftercare services had significantly higher odds of offering such services (p values ranging from < .05 to < .001). This study presents new information regarding the potential role that state policy context may play in understanding treatment program practices. Keywords: Substance abuse treatment; State policy; Treatment practices; Treatment services; State regulation

This study examines the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use within a religiously affiliated, conservative Christian university to assess whether risk and protective factors for substance use, which have been found to function in general society, also apply within a unique context which prohibits use and has overall lower prevalence rates. Variables examined included perception of normative use, personal religious behaviors, and need for adult approval. Self-reported substance use was low, while perception of normative use was high. Perception of use was positively related to self-reported use while personal religiosity and need for adult approval were inversely related to use. These data suggest that these risk and protective factors apply not only within general populations, but also within a specific subcultural context, supporting the importance of these models in a religious college context in understanding substance use patterns, variables related to those patterns, and possible prevention programs.

Objectives. We examined local public health agencies' involvement in community illicit drug policy advocacy and provision related to youths to determine the extent to which public health agencies were involved in local drug policy activities and could potentially provide an infrastructure for policy alternatives. Methods. We conducted telephone interviews from 1999 to 2003 with 1793 US public health agencies in 804 communities surrounding schools participating in the Monitoring the Future study. Respondents reported public health agency planning, priorities, and involvement in alternative drug policy advocacy and prevention activities. We examined results for variance by site sociodemographic characteristics. Results. Most students lived where public health agencies provided resources for community- and school-based drug use prevention. More than one third resided where public health agencies advocated for drug policy alternatives and more than one quarter where public health agencies were involved in juvenile drug court programs. Such activities were significantly higher in urban communities, in the West, and in sites where the proportion of African Americans was above the national average. Conclusions. Although local public health agencies could increase participation levels in drug policy alternatives, current involvement suggests that agencies may provide a base for supporting the development of public health alternatives to deterrence-based drug policies. Such a base may be more likely in communities with the highest need for such policies and services. (Am J Public Health. 2008;98:270-277. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.112524)

For most of the past 25 years, the federal government and many states have adopted a tough, punitive approach to drug offenses. In recent years, changes in public perception and state budget shortfalls have spurred a policy reform movement across the political spectrum that advocates diverting low-level, nonviolent drug offenders into treatment rather than incarcerating them. In nine of the 24 states where ballot initiatives are permitted, citizens have attempted or have successfully placed initiatives on the ballot since 1996. In an additional 12 states, drug policy reformers have successfully passed legislation that allows for diversion. In this paper we briefly trace the history of the diversion-to-treatment policy reform movement, identify the successful diversion-related ballot initiatives and enacted laws from each state, and, using a qualitative content analysis approach, describe the nature and extent of those laws. Finally, we discuss the implications of these differences for state criminal justice policies.

This article compares the health care need and health care use of injection drug users, other chronic drug users, and nondrug users. Data from 1,330 non-Hispanic White, African American, and Hispanic/Latino men and women were analyzed to determine independent risk factors for two outcome variables: (a) need for health care treatment and (b) use of health care treatment. Ten independent demographic, health, and drug use variables were assessed in logistic regression models. Drug use (injection drug use or other chronic drug use), being female, having insurance, and perceived health status of very good/good or fair/poor were independently associated with increased need.for health care. Injection drug use and other chronic drug use decreased the likelihood of receiving health care treatment, whereas being female, having, insurance, and a perceived health status of fair/poor increased the likelihood of receiving health care., The organization and delivery of medical care are undergoing a major transformation in the United States. Today, only a minority of the people in this nation still receive their health [...]

This article assesses the impact of an HIV risk-reduction program on risky behaviors in a population of street cocaine users in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pre- and postintervention data were collected, and changes in the frequency of drug use, sexual risk behaviors, and other life-situation variables were examined. Participation in the program was associated with a significant decrease in the average number of days of cocaine use and a significant increase in employment and income. Significant increases in condom use were also documented. The data suggest that this population of street cocaine users was capable of understanding the severity of AIDS as well as learning and applying specific risk-reduction techniques to their behavior. The results further demonstrate the feasibility of conducting street research among an at-risk population of cocaine users in Brazil and in other countries in which there is little tradition of research with out-of-treatment drug users., PROJECT BACKGROUND Brazil ranks second only to the United States in number of reported cases of AIDS (World Health Organization, 1997). The epidemic is concentrated in the southeast region of [...]

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.

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.

Analyzes the major proposals for drug legalization and discusses the possible consequences of these efforts if successful. Argues that the legalization of drugs would be an extremely complex undertaking and that most calls for such action do not offer specific proposals. Points out research that supports arguments against legalization of drugs. (KO)

Briefly discusses historical and traditional evidence of substance abuse among American Indians. Reviews available epidemiological data on the extent and type of abuse and examines sociocultural explanations of Indian substance use patterns. Assesses current treatment intervention services directed toward Indian substance abusers. (Author/GC)

'Shooting galleries' are places where intravenous (IV) drug users can rent injection equipment. In addition to the equipment, the shooting galleries provide a location for the communal use of IV drugs. Frequently, needles are shared without being sterilized between users; this practice has been recognized as a significant factor in the spread of AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Needles from three shooting galleries in the Miami, Florida area were examined. Of 50 needles tested that appeared to contain blood residue, 20 percent tested positive for the HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1) antibody; of the 98 needles without visible blood, 5.1 percent tested positive for HIV-1. Overall, 10.1 percent of the 148 needles tested were positive for HIV-1 antibodies, confirming the epidemiologic evidence that the use of needles from shooting galleries can transmit HIV-1. The research also confirms that even if the needles appear clean, they may be contaminated. Typically any cleaning of the needles in shooting galleries is performed after use rather than prior to use, and much of the cleaning consists of simple rinsing, rather than bleaching or sterilization. This study illustrates the importance of educating users and gallery operators about proper cleaning techniques for needles and syringes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)