Initial results of a drug checking pilot program to detect fentanyl adulteration in a Canadian setting
North America has been experiencing an unprecedented illicit drug overdose crisis in recent years. In 2016, there were more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in the United States, reflecting an increase in the age-adjusted overdose death rate from 6.1 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 19.8 in 2016 (Hedegaard et al., 2017). In Canada, accidental opioid overdose deaths have also been increasing, and Western provinces have been particularly affected (Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses, 2018). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 24, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Kenneth W. Tupper, Karen McCrae, Ian Garber, Mark Lysyshyn, Evan Wood Tags: Short communication Source Type: research
Predictors of treatment initiation for alcohol use disorders in primary care
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are among the behavioral health disorders with the lowest rates of treatment utilization (Cohen et al., 2007). In the United States, 15.8 million individuals had a current need for treatment, yet in 2015 only 1.9 million (12%) received treatment for an alcohol problem (SAMHSA, 2016). The consequences of unmet need are great, and include increased morbidity and mortality, avoidable healthcare costs, and long-term harmful effects on families and communities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Kanny et al., 2015; Roerecke and Rehm, 2013; Sacks et al., 2015; Yoon and Yi, 2012). (Sour...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 24, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Katherine E. Watkins, Allison Ober, Colleen McCullough, Claude Setodji, Karen Lamp, Mimi Lind, Sarah B. Hunter, Karen Chan Osilla Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Trends in cannabis use disorder by cigarette smoking status in the United States, 2002 –2016
Cannabis is used by more than 147 million people around the world and is the most commonly used drug that is labeled “illicit” by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017). Cannabis is in a unique situation among drugs as legalization of Cannabis use for medicinal and recreational purposes is spreading across states in the United States (US; Maxwell and Mendelson, 2016) and other countries (Room et al., 2010). The use of Cannabis has been increasing in the US in recent years (Azofeifa et al., 2016; Hasin et al., 2015, 2017) and perceptions of risk of Cannabis use are decreasing (Azofeifa et al., 2016; Compton et al., 2...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Andrea H. Weinberger, Lauren R. Pacek, Melanie M. Wall, Michael J. Zvolensky, Jan Copeland, Sandro Galea, Shadi Nahvi, Scott J. Moeller, Deborah S. Hasin, Renee D. Goodwin Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
‘Hep C’s like the common cold’: Understanding barriers along the HCV care continuum among young people who inject drugs
HCV infections in the United States have increased significantly among young people during the past decade (Suryaprasad et al., 2014). Between 2002 and 2013, HCV infections in Massachusetts (MA) increased by 137% among those aged 15 –29, with more than 2,000 newly reported infections each year (MDPH, 2014). This increase has largely been attributable to injection drug use (MDPH, 2014). In recent years, new treatments have been developed for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that could potentially be life saving for people who injec t drugs (PWID); however, uptake has been less than optimal. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Margie R. Skeer, Keren Ladin, Lindsay E. Wilkins, David M. Landy, Thomas J. Stopka Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Prevalence of obesity for opioid- and stimulant-dependent participants in substance use treatment clinical trials
Drug abuse and obesity are two significant public health threats that affect millions of Americans. Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggest that among people aged 12 or older in 2014, 4.3 million were current, non-medical users of opioid pain medication, 0.4 million were current heroin users, 1.5 million were current cocaine users, and 1.6 million were non-medical users of stimulants (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2015). More Americans aged 25 –64 now die from drug overdose than from motor vehicle accidents (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2014). (Sou...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Lian Hu, Abigail Matthews, Dikla Shmueli-Blumberg, Therese Killeen, Betty Tai, Paul VanVeldhuisen Source Type: research
Trends in cannabis use disorder by cigarette smoking status in the United States, 2002 to 2016
Cannabis is used by more than 147 million people around the world and is the most commonly used drug that is labeled “illicit” by the World Health Organization (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017). Cannabis is in a unique situation among drugs as legalization of Cannabis use for medicinal and recreational purposes is spreading across states in the United States (US; Maxwell and Mendelson, 2016) and other co untries (Room et al., 2010). The use of Cannabis has been increasing in the US in recent years (Azofeifa et al., 2016; Hasin et al., 2015; Hasin et al., 2017) and perceptions of risk of Cannabis use are decreasin...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Andrea H. Weinberger, Lauren R. Pacek, Melanie M. Wall, Michael J. Zvolensky, Jan Copeland, Sandro Galea, Shadi Nahvi, Scott J. Moeller, Deborah S. Hasin, Renee D. Goodwin Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
HIV infection among MSM who inject methamphetamine in 8 US cities
Men who have sex with men (MSM) and who inject drugs are at high risk for HIV infection from both sexual and injection-related risk behaviors. MSM who inject methamphetamine (meth) may have additional risk relative to MSM who inject other drugs because of the psychological and physiological effects of meth on sexual behavior and HIV transmission risk. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant drug that can be snorted, smoked, and ingested, as well as injected (Shoptaw and Reback, 2007). Many MSM use meth to enhance sex and to remove feelings of shame and guilt associated with being gay as suggested by Reback (1997). (Source: Dr...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 20, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Lina Malena Carolina Nerlander, Brooke Hoots, Heather Bradley, Dita Broz, Anna Thorson, Gabriela Paz-Bailey, The NHBS Group Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Frequent experience of discrimination among people who inject drugs: Links with health and wellbeing
Injecting drug use is the most stigmatised among all routes of illicit drug administration (Ahern et al., 2007), as it is seen as the ultimate breach of social conventions in contemporary society (Treloar et al., 2013; Manderson, 1995). Stigma, as a sign of low moral status (Goffman, 1986), is followed by discrimination (Sartorius, 2006), which is defined as actions from a dominant group or group member that aim to harm other individuals that are part of less dominant groups (Huddy et al., 2013). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 19, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Camila Couto e Cruz, Caroline L. Salom, Paul Dietze, Simon Lenton, Lucinda Burns, Rosa Alati Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Negative experiences of pain and withdrawal create barriers to abscess care for people who inject heroin. A mixed methods analysis
In the United States, the number of people who inject heroin (PWIH) has been increasing over the past decade (National Survey of Drug Use and Health, 2016). Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are a common and potentially life-threatening condition associated with injection drug use (Binswanger et al., 2000; Ciccarone et al., 2016; Summers et al., 2017). SSTIs also pose a substantial burden on health systems and are often the most expensive cause of hospitalization among PWID (Stein and Sobota, 2001; Takahashi et al., 2010; Tookes et al., 2015). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 19, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Phillip J. Summers, Julia L. Hellman, Madison R. MacLean, Vaughan W. Rees, Michael S. Wilkes Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Goal-driven attentional capture by appetitive and aversive smoking-related cues in nicotine-dependent smokers
Attentional theories of Pavlovian associative learning suggest that drug-related cues, including smoking-related cues, command the focus of selective attention (Mackintosh, 1975; Pearce and Hall, 1980). Several studies have provided evidence that smoking-related cues attract attention. For instance, smokers but not non-smokers show slower detection latencies for targets that appear in a different location from a smoking image compared to a control image (e.g., Mogg et al., 2003; Field et al., 2004; 2008; Ehrman et al. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 19, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Chris R.H. Brown, Sophie Forster, Theodora Duka Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
A novel mHealth application for improving HIV and Hepatitis C knowledge in individuals with opioid use disorder: A pilot study
Rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) have reached epidemic proportions in the US (Birnbaum et al., 2011; Clausen et al., 2009; Rudd et al., 2016). Of particular concern is the disproportionate prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) among individuals with OUD. Untreated OUD has been associated with unprecedented recent outbreaks of HIV and HCV (CDC, 2015, 2016; Dunn et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2011). Infectious disease risks among individuals with OUD and other substance use disorders stems from engaging in risky drug use and sexual behaviors (e.g., sharing injection equipment, having unprotecte...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 19, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Taylor A. Ochalek, Sarah H. Heil, Stephen T. Higgins, Gary J. Badger, Stacey C. Sigmon Tags: Short communication Source Type: research
Ultrasound findings of liver damage in a series of patients consecutively admitted for treatment of alcohol use disorder
Liver disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world (Jewell and Sheron, 2010), mainly due to chronic viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and non-alcoholic liver disease (Setiawan et al., 2016). Both in the U.S and some European countries, there has been an increase in liver-related mortality due to end-stage liver disease, mostly because of the impact of alcohol consumption (Jinjuvadia et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2014). Liver injury related to alcohol consumption is a growing cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide (Friedmann, 2013; Rehm et al., 2013). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 19, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Daniel Fuster, Xavier Garcia-Calvo, Paola Zuluaga, Inmaculada Rivas, Arantza Sanvisens, Jordi Tor, Robert Muga Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
Parent-based interventions on adolescent alcohol use outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Adolescent alcohol use is prevalent and has serious consequences. Globally, 34.1% of 15- to 19-year-old adolescents are current drinkers with 11.7% of adolescents being binge drinkers (World Health Organization, WHO, 2014). In the United States, 63.2% of high school students reported ever using alcohol, and 17.2% of high school students have drunk alcohol before 13 years old (Kann et al., 2016). Excessive alcohol use is associated with a broad array of health risk behaviors (e.g., smoking cigarettes, using illicit drugs, risky sexual behaviors, drunk driving, and attempting suicide) and causes over 4,300 deaths each year a...
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 17, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Ai Bo, Audrey Hang Hai, James Jaccard Source Type: research
Re-evaluation of the KMSK scales, rapid dimensional measures of self-exposure to specific drugs: Gender-specific features
Recent trends in substance use disorder (SUD) research is giving greater emphasis to dimensional bio-behavioral measures, in addition to categorical diagnoses (Beseler and Hasin, 2010; Keyes et al., 2011; Kwako et al., 2018). Dimensional variables are those for which a measurement can be made along with some form of a continuum (e.g., severity, amount of use, or another clinical measure). Such dimensional measures can be useful for the design of prevention efforts, disease characterization, and for genetic association studies (Crystal et al., 2012; Sloan et al., 2017). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 15, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Eduardo R. Butelman, Carina Y. Chen, Rebecca S. Fry, Rachel Kimani, Orna Levran, J ürg Ott, Joel Correa da Rosa, Mary Jeanne Kreek Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) evaluation study: Did parity differentially affect substance use disorder and mental health benefits offered by behavioral healthcare carve-out and carve-in plans?
In addition to addressing historical inequities between medical/surgical and specialty mental health (MH) benefits, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was the first national parity law to require parity for substance use disorder (SUD) benefits (Ettner et al., 2016). This landmark piece of legislation required commercial large-group insurance plans covering behavioral health (BH, i.e., MH and/or SUD) to do so on the same terms as medical/surgical coverage. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - July 15, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Sarah A. Friedman, Francisca Azocar, Haiyong Xu, Susan L. Ettner Tags: Full length article Source Type: research
