Articles

Pharmacological neuroenhancement and the ability to recover from stress – a representative cross-sectional survey among the German population

Pharmacological neuroenhancement (PNE) refers to the use of psychoactive substances without doctor’s prescription to enhance cognitive performance or to improve mood. Although some studies have reported that d...

Authors: Christiana Bagusat, Angela Kunzler, Jennifer Schlecht, Andreas G. Franke, Andrea Chmitorz and Klaus Lieb

Effects of behavioural activation on substance use and depression: a systematic review

Substance use and depression co-occurrence is a frequent phenomenon and an important public health concern. Given the clinical implications and the high prevalence of both disorders, effective interventions ar...

Authors: Carmela Martínez-Vispo, Úrsula Martínez, Ana López-Durán, Elena Fernández del Río and Elisardo Becoña

Narrating the journey of sustained recovery from substance use disorder

The reported high rate of relapse in the context of an ever-increasing rate of substance abuse internationally and in South Africa together with the fact that the topic of sustained recovery from Substance Use...

Authors: Mandy Stokes, Peter Schultz and Assim Alpaslan

Universal cannabis outcomes from the Climate and Preventure (CAP) study: a cluster randomised controlled trial

The Climate and Preventure (CAP) study was the first trial to assess and demonstrate the effectiveness of a combined universal and selective approach for preventing alcohol use and related harms among adolescents...

Authors: Nicola C. Newton, Maree Teesson, Marius Mather, Katrina E. Champion, Emma L. Barrett, Lexine Stapinski, Natacha Carragher, Erin Kelly, Patricia J. Conrod and Tim Slade

Completion rates and psychosocial intervention effectiveness in an Australian substance use therapeutic community

Program attrition is a major problem in substance use treatment. It is not clear which client and treatment variables are related to successful completion. This study aimed to identify client variables associa...

Authors: Michael Harley, Sabrina Winona Pit, Trent Rees and Susan Thomas

The housing first technical assistance and training (HFTAT) implementation strategy: outcomes from a mixed methods study of three programs

This paper discusses the initial testing of the Housing First Training and Technical Assistance (HFTAT) Program, a multifaceted, distance-based strategy for the implementation of the Housing First (HF) support...

Authors: Dennis P. Watson, Emily Q. Ahonen, Valery Shuman, Molly Brown, Sam Tsemberis, Philip Huynh, Fangqian Ouyang and Huiping Xu

Adolescents, parents and teachers’ perceptions of risk and protective factors of substance use in Moroccan adolescents: a qualitative study

Substance use in adolescents is a global public health concern that continues to draw attention from academics, policy experts, and government officials. In Morocco, few studies have investigated the influenci...

Authors: Hicham El Kazdouh, Abdelghaffar El-Ammari, Siham Bouftini, Samira El Fakir and Youness El Achhab

How broad are state physician health program descriptions of physician impairment?

Physician health program websites in 23 states provide many descriptions of possible physician impairment. This study sought to determine whether these descriptions are so broad that almost everyone might pote...

Authors: Nicholas D. Lawson and J. Wesley Boyd

Assessing the validity and reliability of the Turkish versions of craving beliefs and beliefs about substance use questionnaire in patients with heroin use disorder: demonstrating valid tools to assess cognition-emotion interplay

Cognitions associated with craving and substance use are important contributors for the psychological theories of Substance use disorders (SUD), as they may affect the course and treatment. In this study, we a...

Authors: Melike Küçükkarapınar, Hale Yapici Eser, Vahap Ozan Kotan, Merve Yalcinay-Inan, Rifat Tarhan and Zehra Arikan

Change and variability in drug treatment coverage among people who inject drugs in 90 large metropolitan areas in the USA, 1993–2007

Our previous research has found low and stable mean drug treatment coverage among people who inject drugs (PWID) across 90 large US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) during 1993–2002. This manuscript updat...

Authors: Barbara Tempalski, Charles M. Cleland, Leslie D. Williams, Hannah L. F. Cooper and Samuel R. Friedman

Use of withdrawal management services among people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada

For many individuals with substance use disorders, the entry point for addiction treatment can be through withdrawal management (e.g. detoxification) services. However, little is known about the factors that p...

Authors: Sharon Vipler, Kanna Hayashi, M.-J. Milloy, Evan Wood, Ekaterina Nosova, Thomas Kerr and Lianping Ti

Marijuana promotions on social media: adolescents’ views on prevention strategies

Youth exposure to positive marijuana messages increases their risk of marijuana use. Since Washington State legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, marijuana businesses have used social media business pages ...

Authors: Megan A. Moreno, Aubrey D. Gower, Marina C. Jenkins, Bradley Kerr and Jesse Gritton

Suspension of the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices: the importance of adhering to the evidence

Recently the United States Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use disclosed having suspended the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, stating it was so deficient in both ...

Authors: Sharon Green-Hennessy

Perceived driving safety and estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) the morning after drinking amongst young Australians attending a music festival: a cross-sectional survey

Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes remain a significant and costly public health issue globally. Particularly young people are over-represented in these incidents. This study set out to explore the factors ...

Authors: Mario Fernando, Johanna Buckland, Prashina Melwani, Vanessa Tent, Philip Preston and Sabrina Winona Pit

Family management risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use in South Africa

An increasingly recognised prevention approach for substance use entails a reduction in risk factors, and the enhancement of promotive, or protective factors in individuals and the environment surrounding them...

Authors: Beatrice Wamuyu Muchiri and Monika M. L. dos Santos

Principles for managing OUD related to chronic pain in the Nordic countries based on a structured assessment of current practice

Long-term use of opioid analgesics (OA) for chronic pain may result in opioid use disorder (OUD). This is associated with adverse outcomes for individuals, families and society. Treatment needs of people with ...

Authors: Johan Kakko, Charlotte Gedeon, Mikael Sandell, Henrik Grelz, Inge Birkemose, Thomas Clausen, Valgerður Rúnarsdóttir, Kaarlo Simojoki, Richard Littlewood, Hannu Alho and Fred Nyberg

“Freshman’s week”: characteristics associated with participation and experiencing adverse effects

“Freshman’s week” (FW) is a Norwegian initiation ritual to higher education. Previous research has suggested that FW-participation is associated with better social adjustment to the student setting, as well as...

Authors: E. K. Erevik, S. Pallesen, Ø. Vedaa, C. S. Andreassen and T. Torsheim

Drug checking: a potential solution to the opioid overdose epidemic?

North America is experiencing an overdose epidemic driven in part by the proliferation of illicitly-manufactured fentanyl and related analogues. In response, communities are scaling up novel overdose preventio...

Authors: Geoff Bardwell and Thomas Kerr

Financial hardship and drug use among men who have sex with men

Little is known about the role of financial hardship as it relates to drug use, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). As such, this study aimed to investigate potential associations between financi...

Authors: Su Hyun Park, Yazan Al-Ajlouni, Joseph J. Palamar, William C. Goedel, Anthony Estreet, Brian Elbel, Scott E. Sherman and Dustin T. Duncan

Activism and scientific research: 20 years of community action by the Vancouver area network of drug users

Over the past several decades, there have been numerous peer-reviewed articles written about people who use drugs (PWUDs) from the Downtown Eastside neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada. While individual research...

Authors: Ehsan Jozaghi, Alissa M. Greer, Hugh Lampkin and Jane A. Buxton

Pain clinic definitions in the medical literature and U.S. state laws: an integrative systematic review and comparison

In response to widespread opioid misuse, ten U.S. states have implemented regulations for facilities that primarily manage and treat chronic pain, called “pain clinics.” Whether a clinic falls into a state’s p...

Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Joshua B. Rager, Brittany Brown-Podgorski, Ross D. Silverman and Dennis P. Watson

Reasons for betel quid chewing amongst dependent and non-dependent betel quid chewing adolescents: a school-based cross-sectional survey

Betel quid (BQ) chewing in children is initiated in their adolescence. It is pivotal to understand adolescents’ reasons behind chewing BQ. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the reasons for BQ chewing amongst...

Authors: Azmina Hussain, Sidra Zaheer and Kashif Shafique

Cannabis and Kratom online information in Thailand: Facebook trends 2015–2016

Our study aims to evaluate the trends in online information about cannabis and kratom on Facebook in Thailand, where there is current discussion regarding legalizing these drugs.

Authors: Kanittha Thaikla, Kanokporn Pinyopornpanish, Wichuda Jiraporncharoen and Chaisiri Angkurawaranon

Challenges in implementing opioid agonist therapy in Lebanon: a qualitative study from a user’s perspective

Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) has been implemented for the treatment of individuals with opioid use disorders in Lebanon since 2011, but has not been evaluated yet. The aim of the study is to describe the imple...

Authors: Ali Ghaddar, Sanaa Khandaqji and Zeinab Abbass

Substance use and associated factors among Debre Berhan University students, Central Ethiopia

Being a global burden of youths, substances use is unhealthy behavior that exposes youths to health and social problems. Knowledge of the prevalence and predictors of substance use behavior among university st...

Authors: Tesfay Birhane Gebremariam, Kalayu Birhane Mruts and Tedla Kutaye Neway

A comparative analysis of pharmacists’ perspectives on codeine use and misuse – a three country survey

The misuse of codeine is of increasing concern in a number of countries, particularly as this relates to over -the-counter pain and cough relief medication, and is also supplied as a prescription medicine. The...

Authors: Tara Carney, John Wells, Charles D. H. Parry, Padraig McGuinness, Richard Harris and Marie Claire Van Hout

Preventing sensationalistic science and fake news about substance use

Authors: Stephan Arndt and De Shauna Jones

Effects of substance use disorder on treatment process and outcome in a ten-session psychiatric treatment for borderline personality disorder

Dual diagnosis is common in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), one of the most common being Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Previous studies have shown that general psychiatric management (GPM) was effective...

Authors: Louise Penzenstadler, Stéphane Kolly, Stéphane Rothen, Yasser Khazaal and Ueli Kramer

Weaved into the cultural fabric: a qualitative exploration of alcohol consumption during pregnancy among tribal women in Odisha, India

Evidence-based research has documented the association between alcohol intake during pregnancy and increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and congenital birth defects. Alcohol consumption is a complex behav...

Authors: Sanghamitra Pati, Abhimanyu Singh Chauhan, Pranab Mahapatra, Devraj Hansdah, Krushna Chandra Sahoo and Sandipana Pati

Psychometric properties of the medical outcomes study: social support survey among methadone maintenance patients in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a validation study

Social support plays a crucial role in the treatment and recovery process of patients engaging in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). However, there is a paucity of research about social support among MMT p...

Authors: Long Quynh Khuong, Tuong-Vi Thi Vu, Van-Anh Ngoc Huynh and Truc Thanh Thai

Crack cocaine users views regarding treatment with contingency management in Brazil

Contingency management (CM) has recently shown efficacy in promoting abstinence and retention in treatment among crack cocaine users in Brazil. However, partially because of unawareness and resistance among he...

Authors: André Q. C. Miguel, Clarice S. Madruga, Viviane Simões, Rodolfo Yamauchi, Claudio J. da Silva, Renata R. Abdalla, Michael McDonell, Sterling McPherson, John M. Roll, Jair J. Mari and Ronaldo R. Laranjeira

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of self-reported measures of alcohol consumption: a COSMIN systematic review

To review studies about the reliability and validity of self-reported alcohol consumption measures among adults, an area which needs updating to reflect current research.

Authors: Hannah McKenna, Charlene Treanor, Dermot O’Reilly and Michael Donnelly

Psychometric properties of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and prevalence of alcohol use among Iranian psychiatric outpatients

Iran is a developing and Islamic country where the consumption of alcoholic beverages is banned. However, psychiatric disorders and alcohol use disorders are often co-occurring. We used the Alcohol Use Disorde...

Authors: Simasadat Noorbakhsh, Jamal Shams, Mohamadmahdi Faghihimohamadi, Hanieh Zahiroddin, Mats Hallgren and Hakan Kallmen

Patient perspectives of transitioning from prescription opioids to heroin and the role of route of administration

As the availability of prescription opioids decreases and the availability of heroin increases, some prescription opioid users are transitioning to heroin. This study seeks to explore factors associated with r...

Authors: Laura B. Monico and Shannon Gwin Mitchell

Major depressive disorder and access to health services among people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada

People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) are commonly diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, little is known about whether PWUD living with MDD experience additional barriers to accessing health s...

Authors: Tara Beaulieu, Lianping Ti, M.-J. Milloy, Ekaterina Nosova, Evan Wood and Kanna Hayashi

Evaluation of the effects of a designated program on illegal drug cessation among adolescents who experiment with drugs

Studies indicate that adolescent-onset drug users experience a greater likelihood of dependence that continues into adulthood. The importance of early intervention was evident in treating adolescents before th...

Authors: Chiu-Ching Chang, Jung-Yu Liao, Chiu-Mieh Huang, Hsiao-Pei Hsu, Chih-Che Chen and Jong-Long Guo

Strategies to control HIV and HCV in methadone maintenance treatment in Guangdong Province, China: a system dynamic modeling study

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) participants remain high. Optimized HIV and HCV prevention strategies for MMT clinics in re...

Authors: Xia Zou, Yong Xu, Wen Chen, Yinghua Xia, Yin Liu, Cheng Gong and Li Ling

Quality measurers of therapeutic communities for substance dependence: an international collaborative study survey in Latin America

In Latin America, substance related disorders are highly prevalent and one of the treatment strategies is the Therapeutic Communities (TCs), however, in Latin America there is scarce data about this treatment ...

Authors: Carlos Gómez-Restrepo, Patricia Maldonado, Nelcy Rodríguez, Rafael Ruiz-Gaviria, Miguel Ángel Escalante, Raúl Ángel Gómez, Marcelo Ribeiro de Araujo, Ana Carolina Schmidt de Oliveira, Joel Salvador Chávez Rivera, Jorge Alberto Godínez García, Marina Piazza Ferrand and Dora Blitchtein-Winicki

Influences of perfectionism and motivational climate on attitudes towards doping among Korean national athletes: a cross sectional study

The motives for elite athletes to dope are related primarily to maintaining and improving their physical performance. Especially, elite athletes training to compete in the Olympics may feel unique situational ...

Authors: Moonjung Bae, Jungjoong Yoon, Hyunyong Kang and Taegyu Kim

Case report: surgical removal of a migrated needle in right ventricle of an intravenous drug user

Illicit drug use has become an increasing public health and social concern in the past decades worldwide. Intravenous injection has an elevated risk of infection. Needle embolism is a rare complication of intr...

Authors: Xianming Fu, Kai Chen, Xiaobo Liao and Kangjun Shen

Socioeconomic factors associated with cessation of injection drug use among street-involved youth

Although the initiation of injection drug use has been well characterized among at-risk youth, factors that support or impede cessation of injection drug use have received less attention. We sought to identify...

Authors: Derek C. Chang, Scott E. Hadland, Ekaterina Nosova, Evan Wood, Thomas Kerr and Kora DeBeck

“I just feel comfortable out here, there’s something about the place”: staff and client perceptions of a remote Australian Aboriginal drug and alcohol rehabilitation service

The need for effective, culturally safe residential rehabilitation services for Aboriginal people is widely acknowledged, however the combination of treatment components that is optimally effective, is not wel...

Authors: Alice Munro, Julaine Allan, Anthony Shakeshaft and Courtney Breen

Neuropsychological function is improved among opioid dependent adults who adhere to opiate agonist treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone: a preliminary study

Among persons with opioid use disorder (OUD), neuropsychological dysfunction is associated with depression, and better neuropsychological function is associated with opioid abstinence. However, it is unknown w...

Authors: Travis M. Scott, Monica Rivera Mindt, Chinazo O. Cunningham, Franchesca Arias, Kelly Coulehan, Aprille Mangalonzo, Pat Olsen and Julia H. Arnsten

Problematic khat use as a possible risk factor for harmful use of other psychoactive substances: a mixed method study in Ethiopia

Substance use disorders along with neuropsychiatric disorders contributed about 14% of the global burden of disease. Harmful alcohol use, is a known contributor for many harms (accidents, suicide, violence, an...

Authors: Awoke Mihretu, Solomon Teferra and Abebaw Fekadu

Willingness to receive intravenous buprenorphine treatment in opioid-dependent people refractory to oral opioid maintenance treatment: results from a community-based survey in France

Injectable opioids are an interesting option for people who inject drugs (PWID) that do not respond to oral Opioid Maintenance Treatment (OMT). To date, intravenous (IV) buprenorphine - a safer drug than full-...

Authors: Perrine Roux, Daniela Rojas Castro, Khadim Ndiaye, Laélia Briand Madrid, Virginie Laporte, Marion Mora, Gwenaelle Maradan, Stéphane Morel, Bruno Spire and Patrizia Carrieri

The opioid crisis: past, present and future policy climate in Ontario, Canada

Addressing opioid use disorder has become a priority in Ontario, Canada, because of its high economic, social and health burden. There continues to be stigma and criticism relating to opioid use disorder and t...

Authors: Kristen A. Morin, Joseph K. Eibl, Alexandra M. Franklyn and David C. Marsh

Licit and illicit substance use patterns among university students in Germany using cluster analysis

The use of multiple licit and illicit substances plays an important role in many university students’ lives. Previous research on multiple substance use patterns of university students, however, often fails to...

Authors: Laura Schilling, Hajo Zeeb, Claudia Pischke, Stefanie Helmer, Andrea Schmidt-Pokrzywniak, Ralf Reintjes, Ulla Walter, Maria Girbig, Alexander Krämer, Andrea Icks and Sven Schneider

Lead poisoning among opium users in Iran: an emerging health hazard

Lead (Pb) poisoning among people using opium has been an increasing problem in Iran. The present study highlights the clinical effects of lead toxicity associated with opium use in Iran, Kerman province.

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Hayatbakhsh, Zohreh Oghabian, Elvira Conlon, Samaneh Nakhaee, Ali Reza Amirabadizadeh, Mohammad Javad Zahedi, Sodief Darvish Moghadam, Bighan Ahmadi, Somayeh Soroush, Jan Aaseth and Omid Mehrpour

History of medication-assisted treatment and its association with initiating others into injection drug use in San Diego, CA

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) remains the gold standard for the treatment of opioid use disorder. MAT also reduces the frequency of injecting among people who inject drugs (PWID). Relatedly, data suggest...

Authors: Maria Luisa Mittal, Devesh Vashishtha, Shelly Sun, Sonia Jain, Jazmine Cuevas-Mota, Richard Garfein, Steffanie A. Strathdee and Dan Werb

Is there room for resilience? A scoping review and critique of substance use literature and its utilization of the concept of resilience

Research in the area of illicit substance use remains preoccupied with describing and analyzing the risks of people who use drugs (PWUD), however more recently there has been a drive to use a strengths-based o...

Authors: Katherine Rudzinski, Peggy McDonough, Rosemary Gartner and Carol Strike