Being the change: charting Greg de Hoedt ’s cannabis journey
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 126-136, June 2018. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document a leading UK cannabis activist ’s efforts to bring about policy change and to convey his human story as a medical consumer. The paper contends that it is not enough to present evidence-based policies to effect change in drug policy, it is also vital to tell human stories, which people can relate to, in order to develop narrativ es which speak to people’s values. Design/methodology/approach An in depth, unstructured interview was conducted between Dr Melissa Bone and Cannabis Activist, Greg de Hoedt in...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - May 2, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Poems and pancakes for alcohol harm reduction
Drugs and Alcohol Today, Ahead of Print. Purpose Programmes to promote alcohol awareness and harm reduction in the general population often take an atomised approach, encouraging individual drinkers to understand their unit intake and adjust it accordingly. Although many public health practitioners harbour doubts about the value of this approach, few clear alternatives have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to provide such an alternative. Design/methodology/approach Alcohol Concern ’s Communities Together project was rooted in the idea that drinking patterns can only be understood in their social context. It was an...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - April 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Policy analysis and implications of establishing the Caribbean Cannabis Economy (CCE): lessons from Jamaica
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 99-107, June 2018. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of legislative amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act in 2015 and the establishment of a Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) in Jamaica as the first Caribbean country to decriminalize cannabis and attempt to establish a medical cannabis industry. The research also attempts to understand the perception of key industry players and interest groups to the existing regulatory framework in Jamaica. Design/methodology/approach The research reviews local and global trends, the developments in cannabis leg...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - April 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Poems and pancakes for alcohol harm reduction
Drugs and Alcohol Today, Ahead of Print. Purpose Programmes to promote alcohol awareness and harm reduction in the general population often take an atomised approach, encouraging individual drinkers to understand their unit intake and adjust it accordingly. Although many public health practitioners harbour doubts about the value of this approach, few clear alternatives have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to provide such an alternative. Design/methodology/approach Alcohol Concern ’s Communities Together project was rooted in the idea that drinking patterns can only be understood in their social context. It was an...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - April 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Policy analysis and implications of establishing the Caribbean Cannabis Economy (CCE): lessons from Jamaica
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 99-107, June 2018. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of legislative amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act in 2015 and the establishment of a Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) in Jamaica as the first Caribbean country to decriminalize cannabis and attempt to establish a medical cannabis industry. The research also attempts to understand the perception of key industry players and interest groups to the existing regulatory framework in Jamaica. Design/methodology/approach The research reviews local and global trends, the developments in cannabis leg...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - April 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The Belgian Cannabis Social Club landscape
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 18, Issue 2, Page 80-89, June 2018. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map the presence of the Cannabis Social Club (CSC) model in Belgium since its emergence in the country and to analyze the inter-organizational relations among CSCs and between the CSCs and other supportive actors engaged in the wider cannabis movement. Design/methodology/approach This analysis draws on qualitative interviews (n=42) with directors of seven currently active and one former Belgian CSC(s), as well as with organizations or individuals reportedly collaborating with the Belgian CSCs. That data are compleme...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - April 24, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Exploring problem use, discrimination, ethnic identity and social networks
This article intends to lay the groundwork for future research that should focus more on longitudinally studying the intertwined relation between problem use, discrimination, ethnic identity and especially social instead of solely ethnic networks, their complex nature as well as their relation to recovery processes among persons with a migration background. (Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today)
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Homelessness among clients of Sydney ’s supervised injecting facility
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 258-268, December 2017. Purpose The Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) opened in Sydney, Australia, in May 2001. Homelessness among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Australia has been increasing, and establishing how supervised injecting facilities (SIFs) might best support clients into housing is an important goal. The purpose of this paper is to update knowledge regarding the accommodation status of MSIC clients, thereby supporting a better understanding of the complex needs of these clients. Design/methodology/approach Client accommodation status at M...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Thailand ’s national alcohol survey as a policy monitoring tool
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 250-257, December 2017. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess to what extent the Smoking and Alcohol Drinking Behavior Survey (SADBeS), the national alcohol survey, could be used in monitoring goals and cost-effective measures suggested by the National Alcohol Strategy (NAS) issued by public health authorities in 2010. Design/methodology/approach The NAS was reviewed. Strategies, measures, and corresponding indicators were extracted. Questionnaire items used in the 2014 SADBeS were assessed in comparison with those indicators. Findings Four primary indicators ind...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Prevalence of somatisation as a determinant of burnout amongst staff working in drug and alcohol services
This study is also novel in a way that it reveals correlations between a variety of specific stress-related physical symptoms and the three components of burnout. (Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today)
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
What stops people on long-term opioid substitution from completing treatment?
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 232-241, December 2017. Purpose Opioid substitution treatment is effective in reducing harm for the person and society. However, the introduction of the recovery agenda has changed treatment philosophy. Associated targets such as successful treatment completions have introduced new expectations from treatment providers and service users. The purpose of this paper is to provide a service user-centred evaluation of underlying reasons that might prevent them from considering completion of treatment. Design/methodology/approach Ten service users who were stable on opioid subst...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Why did cannabis treatment presentations rise in England from 2004-2005 to 2013-2014?
Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 218-231, December 2017. Purpose Cannabis treatment entries rose significantly from 2004/2005 to 2013/2014, but there has been limited investigation into why this increase has occurred. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the plausibility of different explanations within the English context and identifies gaps in the literature. Design/methodology/approach Explanations have been categorised under: misreporting, increased probability of entering treatment and increased incidence of cannabis use disorder (CUD). The explanations are evaluated through published literature,...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The UK drugs strategy 2017: contexts and analysis
This study is a close-reading of the text with commentary on specific content and reference to wider contexts. Findings The strategy makes use of evidence in its sections on treatment. Much evidence, including that of the UK ACMD, is dismissed or ignored. The issue of funding in times of austerity is not considered in the strategy. The range and complexity of drug use and users are not fully considered. Research limitations/implications The strategy can be seen as an idealised ambition with little basis in reality without funding to support its aims. Social implications There is no consideration of the impact of macro-e...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - November 29, 2017 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
