International Journal of Drug Policy This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Caring and curing: Considering the effects of hepatitis C pharmaceuticalisation in relation to non-clinical treatment outcomes
The development of simplified and effective hepatitis C (HCV) pharmaceuticals enables treatment scale up among the most marginalised. This potentiates a promise of viral elimination at the population level but also individual level clinical and non-clinical benefits. Reports of transformative non-clinical outcomes, such as changes in self-worth and substance use, are primarily associated with arduous interferon-based treatments that necessitate intensive care relationships. We consider the implications of simplified treatment provision in the era of direct acting antivirals (DAAs) for the realisation of non-clinical benefi...
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 6, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Magdalena Harris, Tim Rhodes Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research

Effectiveness evaluation of the school-based drug prevention program #Tamojunto in Brazil: 21-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial
A school-based randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2014/2015 with students in 7th and 8th grades in 72 public schools in 6 Brazilian cities. A total of 5028 students were linked (75, 7%) in at least one of the two waves of follow-up (9 months and 21 months later). The principal research question was whether this 12-lesson program delays the initiation of alcohol, tobacco, inhalants and binge drinking among early adolescents when compared to usual care, that is, no prevention program in Brazilian schools, after 21 months of follow up. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 3, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Zila M. Sanchez, Juliana Y. Valente, Adriana Sanudo, Ana Paula D. Pereira, Daniela Ribeiro Schneider, Solange Andreoni Tags: Research paper Source Type: research

Health-related work productivity loss is low for patients in a methadone maintenance program in Vietnam
The objectives of this study were to explore health-related work productivity loss between urban and rural MMT patients and to identify associated factors. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 2, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Bach Xuan Tran, Long Hoang Nguyen, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Carl A. Latkin Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research

Should sterile needle and syringe wastage be included within individual-level needle and syringe coverage measures?
Population-level measurement of needle and syringe (hereafter “syringe/s”) coverage amongst people who inject drugs (PWID), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the total number of syringes distributed, divided by an estimate of the PWID population (WHO, 2012), has many limitations (O’Keefe, Scott et al., 2017; Sharma, Burrows,& Bluthenthal, 2007). For example, the measure (and other similar measures) rely on estimates of PWID population size, which are notoriously uncertain, and population-level measures cannot account for heterogeneity in drug use and service access between individuals (O ’Keefe, McC...
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 2, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: O ’Keefe Daniel, Aitken Campbell, Dietze Paul Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research

RETRACTED: The impact of medically supervised injection centres on drug-related harms: A meta-analysis
This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 2, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Tom May, Trevor Bennett, Katy Holloway Source Type: research

Awareness and access to naloxone necessary but not sufficient: Examining gaps in the naloxone cascade
Despite promising findings of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs, overdose continues to be a major cause of mortality. The “cascade of care” is a tool for identifying steps involved in achieving optimal health outcomes. We applied the cascade concept to identify gaps in naloxone use. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 1, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Karin Tobin, Catie Clyde, Melissa Davey-Rothwell, Carl Latkin Tags: Short Report Source Type: research

Editorial Board
(Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - August 1, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research

Perceived harms and harm reduction strategies among people who drink non-beverage alcohol: Community-based qualitative research in Vancouver, Canada
There has been increasing interest in harm reduction initiatives for street-involved people who drink alcohol, including non-beverage alcohol such as mouthwash and hand sanitizer. Limited evidence exists to guide these initiatives, and a particular gap is in research that prioritizes the experiences and perspectives of drinkers themselves. This research was conducted to explore the harms of what participants termed “illicit drinking” as perceived by people who engage in it, to characterize the steps this population takes to reduce harms, and to identify additional interventions that may be of benefit. (Source: Internat...
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 30, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Alexis Crabtree, Nicole Latham, Rob Morgan, Bernadette Pauly, Victoria Bungay, Jane A. Buxton Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research

‘Good enough’ parenting: Negotiating standards and stigma
Policy concern with families has led to the framing of ‘good parenting’ as a skill set that parents must acquire while ‘poor parenting’ is linked to a raft of social problems, including child maltreatment. A range of professionals are responsible for monitoring parents for evidence of ‘poor parenting’, and for reporting those parents to stat utory child protection authorities. Little is known about how parents in vulnerable circumstances negotiate these dual pressures of ‘good parenting’ and surveillance. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 28, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: kylie valentine, Ciara Smyth, Jamee Newland Source Type: research

Factors associated with lost to follow-up after hepatitis C treatment delivered by primary care teams in an inner-city multi-site program, Vancouver, Canada
This study examines outcomes of HCV treatment delivered by family physicians working in interdisciplinary treatment programs, integrated into inner-city primary care clinics. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 23, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Susan Nouch, Lesley Gallagher, Margaret Erickson, Rabab Elbaharia, Wendy Zhang, Lu Wang, Nic Bacani, Deborah Kason, Holly Kleban, Laura Knebel, David Hall, Rolando Barrios, Mark Hull Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research

Cannabis decriminalization: A study of recent policy change in five U.S. states
A number of public health professional organizations support the decriminalization of cannabis due to adverse effects of cannabis-related arrests and legal consequences, particularly on youth. We sought to examine the associations between cannabis decriminalization and both arrests and youth cannabis use in five states that passed decriminalization measures between the years 2008 and 2014: Massachusetts (decriminalized in 2008), Connecticut (2011), Rhode Island (2013), Vermont (2013), and Maryland (2014). (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 17, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Richard A. Grucza, Mike Vuolo, Melissa J. Krauss, Andrew D. Plunk, Arpana Agrawal, Frank J. Chaloupka, Laura J. Bierut Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research

Over and under-regulation in the Colorado Cannabis industry – A data-analytic perspective
With the State of California legalizing recreational cannabis sales on January 1, 2018, the regulatory process is once more in the forefront of cannabis research. Colorado, often held up as a model of legalization policy, was the first state to implement retail sale of recreational cannabis on January 1st, 2014. However, a combination of subsequent under-regulation and over-regulation, inconsistently applied across issues such as retail licencing, chemical testing, cannabis derivatives, municipality approval for growers, and financing, have not only held back the industry in Colorado but also negatively impacted public hea...
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 16, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Dave Yates, Jessica Speer Tags: Commentary Source Type: research

Problematisation and regulation: Bodies, risk, and recovery within the context of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is an anticipated effect of maternal drug use during pregnancy. Yet it remains a contested area of policy and practice. In this paper, we contribute to ongoing debates about the way NAS is understood and responded to, through different treatment regimes, or logics of care. Our analysis examines the role of risk and recovery discourses, and the way in which the bodies of women and babies are conceptualised within these. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 16, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Anne Whittaker, Amy Chandler, Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Paula Midgley, Lawrie Elliott, Sarah Cooper Source Type: research

‘Parents are the best prevention’? Troubling assumptions in cannabis policy and prevention discourses in the context of legalization in Canada
Canada has announced that it will legalize cannabis on October 17, 2018, and as a result of this impending drug law reform the need to develop prevention resources and drug education – in schools, in public health, and for parents – has emerged as a public concern and a policy priority. Set against this context, the aim of our paper is to amplify the parent perspective on preventing problematic adolescent cannabis use, but also to interrogate the idea of ‘parents as the be st prevention’ that has taken hold in discussions about the potential consequences of legalization for youth. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 16, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Rebecca J. Haines-Saah, Sarah Mitchell, Allie Slemon, Emily K. Jenkins Source Type: research

Risk behaviours and viral infections among drug injecting migrants from the former Soviet Union in Germany: Results from the DRUCK-study
High prevalence of drug use and injection-related risk behaviours have been reported among former Soviet Union (FSU)-migrants. To investigate hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV seroprevalence and related risk behaviours in this subgroup in Germany, we compared first generation FSU-migrants and native Germans using data from a sero-behavioural survey of people who inject drugs (PWID). (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - July 14, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Lineke Derks, Martyna Gassowski, Stine Nielsen, Matthias an der Heiden, Norbert Bannert, Claus-Thomas Bock, Viviane Bremer, Claudia K ücherer, Stefan Ross, Benjamin Wenz, Ulrich Marcus, Ruth Zimmermann, On behalf of the DRUCK-study group Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research