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Curbing the menace of antimicrobial resistance in developing countriesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Several reports suggest that antimicrobial resistance is an increasing global problem; but like most pandemics, the greatest toll is in the less developed countries. The dismally low rate of discovery of antimicrobials compared to the rate of development of antimicrobial resistance places humanity on a very dangerous precipice. Since antimicrobial resistance is part of an organism's natural survival instinct, total eradication might be unachievable; however, it can be reduced to a level that it no longer poses a threat to humanity. While inappropriate antimicrobial consumption contributes to the development of antimicrobia...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - November 19, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Chidi NwenekaNdey Tapha-SossehAnibal Sosa Source Type: journals

Levamisole tainted cocaine causing severe neutropenia in Alberta and British ColumbiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Five cases of severe neutropenia (neutrophil counts < 0.5 per 109 cells/L) associated with exposure to cocaine and levamisole, an antihelimithic agent no longer available in Canada, were identified in Alberta in 2008. Alberta and British Columbia (BC) public health officials issued an advisory and urged health care professionals to report cases to public health. This paper presents the findings of the public health investigations. Methods: Cases were identified prospectively through reporting by clinicians and a retrospective review of laboratory and medical examiners data from January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2009...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - November 17, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Lewinda KnowlesJane BuxtonNataliya SkuridinaIfeoma AchebeDonald LeGattShihe FanNancy ZhuJames Talbot Source Type: journals

Debunking the claim that abstinence is usually healthier for smokers than switching to a low-risk alternative, and other observations about anti-tobacco-harm-reduction argumentsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Nicotine is so desirable to many people that when they are given only the options of consuming nicotine by smoking, with its high health costs, and not consuming nicotine at all, many opt for the former. Few smokers realize that there is a third choice: non-combustion nicotine sources, such as smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or pharmaceutical nicotine, which eliminate almost all the risk while still allowing consumption of nicotine. Widespread dissemination of misleading health claims is used to prevent smokers from learning about this lifesaving option, and to discourage opinion leaders from telling smokers the ...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - November 3, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Carl Phillips Source Type: journals

Survey of abuses against injecting drug users in IndonesiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In Indonesia, an ongoing government "war on drugs" has resulted in numerous arrests and anecdotal reports of abuse in detention, but to date there has been little documentation or analysis of this issue. JANGKAR (also known in English as the Indonesian Harm Reduction Network), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Jakarta, surveyed 1106 injecting drug users in 13 cities about their experiences of police abuse. Of those interviewed, 667 or 60% reported physical abuse by police. These findings indicate the importance of continuing efforts to promote police reform and harm reduction in Indonesia. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - October 23, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Sara DavisAgus TriwahyuonoRisa Alexander Source Type: journals

Surveillance indicators for potential reduced exposure products (PREPs): developing survey items to measure awarenessEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: After evaluating new measures with cognitive interviews, we conclude that as of winter 2006, awareness of reduced exposure products among U.S. smokers was likely to be between 1% and 8%, with the higher estimates for some products occurring in test markets. Recommended measurement strategies for future surveys are presented. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - October 18, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Karen BogenLois BienerCatherine GarrettJane AllenK CummingsAnne HartmanStephen MarcusAnn McNeillRichard O'ConnorMark ParascandolaLinda Pederson Source Type: journals

Can we prevent drug related deaths by training opioid users to recognise and manage overdoses?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Our findings confirm that training of bystanders constitutes a valuable resource in the assessment and management of opiate overdoses that may not otherwise be recognised or addressed. Obstacles have been identified at individual (transportability, stigma) and at a systems level (police involvement, prescription laws). Training individuals does not seem to be sufficient for these programmes to succeed and a more applied approach is necessary. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - September 24, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Romina Lopez GastonDavid BestVictoria ManningEdward Day Source Type: journals

Efficacy of pharmacotherapies for short-term smoking abstinence: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Smoking cessation has important immediate health benefits. The comparative short-term effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions is not well known. We aimed to determine the relative effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion and varenicline at 4 weeks post-target quit date. Methods: We searched 10 electronic medical databases (inception to October 2008). We selected randomized clinical trials [RCTs] evaluating interventions for our primary outcome of abstinence from smoking at at-least 4 weeks post-target quit date, with biochemical confirmation. We conducted random-effects odds ratio...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - September 17, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Edward MillsPing WuDean SpurdenJon EbbertKumanan Wilson Source Type: journals

Injection drug use, unsafe medical injections, and HIV in Africa: a systematic reviewEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The reuse of injecting equipment in clinical settings is well documented in Africa and appears to play a substantial role in generalized HIV epidemics. The U.S. and the WHO have begun to support large scale injection safety interventions, increased professional education and training programs, and the development and wider dissemination of infection control guidelines. Several African governments have also taken steps to control injecting equipment, including banning syringes that can be reused.However injection drug use (IDU), of heroin and stimulants, is a growing risk factor for acquiring HIV in the region. IDU is incre...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - August 27, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Savanna Reid Source Type: journals

HIV and hepatitis C virus infections among hanka injection drug users in central Ukraine: a cross-sectional surveyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Harm reduction, addiction treatment and HIV prevention programs should address risk factors to stop further spread of both HIV and HCV among IDUs and to the general population in central Ukraine. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - August 22, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Kostyantyn DumchevRuslan SoldyshevHan-Zhu QianOlexandr ZezyulinSusan ChandlerPavel SlobodyanyukLarisa MorozJoseph Schumacher Source Type: journals

Drug choice, spatial distribution, HIV risk, and HIV prevalence among injection drug users in St. Petersburg, RussiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The type of drug injected was associated with distinct behavioral risks. Risks specific to Stimulant Only Users appeared related to direct syringe sharing. The risks specific to the other two groups are common to the process of sharing drugs in preparation to injecting. Across the board, IDUs could profit from prevention education that emphasizes both access to clean syringes and preparing and apportioning drug with these clean syringes. However, attention to neighborhood differences might improve the intervention impact for injectors who favor different drugs. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 30, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Gina Rae KruseRussell BarbourRobert HeimerAlla ShaboltasOlga ToussovaIrving HoffmanAndrei Kozlov Source Type: journals

Needle and syringe sharing among Iranian drug injectorsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: However this data has been extracted from cross-sectional design and we can not conclude causation, some of the introduced variables with association with needle and syringe sharing may be used in HIV prevention programs which target reducing syringe sharing among IDUs. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 29, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Hassan RafieyHooman NarenjihaPeymaneh ShirinbayanRoya NooriMorteza JavadipourMohsen RoshanpajouhMercedeh SamieiShervin Assari Source Type: journals

Worry as a window into the lives of people who use injection drugs: a factor analysis approachEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: PWUID in this study first and foremost worry about stressful factors in their daily life which have been linked to both increased HIV/AIDS risk behaviour and decreased anti-retroviral treatment adherence. The importance PWUID give to these concerns emphasizes the need to place HIV/AIDS intervention and /or treatment programs within a broader harm-reduction framework that incorporates their perspectives on both worry and risk. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 28, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Heidi ExnerErin GibsonRyan StoneJennifer LindquistLaura CowenEric Roth Source Type: journals

Harm reduction in hospitals: is it time?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article describes harm reduction activities within hospitals and areas for future investigation. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 28, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Beth RachlisThomas KerrJulio MontanerEvan Wood Source Type: journals

Safe using messages may not be enough to promote behaviour change amongst injecting drug users who are ambivalent or indifferent towards deathEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Most of the interviewees in this study were indifferent towards heroin-related death. Whilst interviewees were well aware of the possible consequences of their actions, these consequences were not seen as important as achieving their desired state of mind. Safe using messages are an important part of reducing drug-related harm, but people working with IDUs must consider the context in which risk behaviours occur and efforts to reduce said behaviours must include attempts to reduce environmental risk factors at the same time. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 24, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Peter Miller Source Type: journals

Psychosocial and contextual correlates of opioid overdose risk among drug users in St. Petersburg, RussiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Opioid overdose experience is very common among drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia, and interest in receiving training for overdose recognition and prevention was high. Future research should target the development of effective overdose recognition and prevention interventions, especially ones that include naloxone distribution and involve drug users' families. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 23, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Lauretta GrauTraci GreenMikhail TorbanKsenia BlinnikovaEvgeny KrupitskyRuslan IlyukAndrei KozlovRobert Heimer Source Type: journals

Bundling occupational safety with harm reduction information as a feasible method for improving police receptiveness to syringe access programs: evidence from three U.S. citiesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: The experience in these three cities suggests that a harm reduction training curriculum that bundles strategies for increasing officer occupational safety with information about the legality and public health benefits of SAPs can be well received by law enforcement personnel and can lead to better communication and collaboration between law enforcement and harm reduction actors. Further study is indicated to assess whether such a bundled curriculum is effective in changing officer attitudes and beliefs and reducing health risks to officers and injection drug users, as well as broader benefits to the community a...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 13, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Corey DavisLeo Beletsky Source Type: journals

Characteristics of inmates witnessing overdose events in prison: implications for prevention in the correctional settingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Witnessing a drug overdose is a frequent occurrence within the prison system. The likelihood of witnessing an overdose is greater with being male, polydrug use and drug injection in prison. Findings signal an urgent public health challenge that requires prompt interventions to reduce this drug related harm within the correctional system, including adequate access to medication with opiate agonists. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 8, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Carmen Albizu-GarciaAdriana Hernandez-ViverJacqueline FealJose Rodriguez-Orengo Source Type: journals

Survey of smokers' reasons for not switching to safer sources of nicotine and their willingness to do so in the futureEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Despite the well-known risks of smoking, policy, social pressure, and accessible cessation programs, tens of millions of North American adults continue smoking rather than quitting or switching to less harmful non-combustion nicotine products. We surveyed people smoking in public in Edmonton, Canada (n=242, year=2007) to investigate smokers' reasons for resisting switching to low-risk nicotine sources. 43% had used low-risk products (mostly pharmaceutical nicotine). 75% indicated willingness to consider switching to low-risk products. Smokers cited similar reasons for not switching to smokeless tobacco and pharmaceutical n...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 1, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Karyn HeavnerZale RosenbergCarl Phillips Source Type: journals

Large sharing networks and unusual injection practices explain the rapid rise in HIV among IDUs in Sargodha, PakistanEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiscussionUse of an unprecedented method of injecting drugs that largely bypasses fresh syringes, larger size of sharing networks, higher injection frequency and near universal use of street injectors likely explain for the rapid rise in HIV prevalence among IDUs in Sargodha despite high level provision of fresh syringes. This had been missed by us and the national surveillance, which is quantitative. We have addressed this by hiring injectors as peer outreach workers and increasing syringe supply. Our findings highlight both the importance of qualitative research and operations research to enrich the quality of HIV preven...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 25, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Adnan KhanAhmad AwanSalman QureshiAi RazaqueSyed Zafar Source Type: journals

Review of "The Globalisation Of Addiction: A Study In Poverty Of The Spirit" By Bruce K. AlexanderEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Book review of "The Globalisation Of Addiction: A Study In Poverty Of The Spirit"by Bruce K. Alexander (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 22, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Harry Levine Source Type: journals

Prevalence of khat chewing in students of Jazan regionEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of khat chewing among college and secondary school students in Jazan region. Methods: The study was conducted in May 2006 in the colleges and secondary schools in Jazan region. A sample of 10,000 students aged between 15 and 25 years was randomly selected. Students in each year of study were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The overall prevalence of khat chewing in all the studied population was 21.4 % (colleges 15.2% versus schools 21.5%). There were 3.8% fem...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 19, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Hussein Ageely Source Type: journals

Improving introspection to inform free will regarding the choice by healthy individuals to use or not use cognitive enhancing drugsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A commentary in Nature entitled "Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy" (Greely et al 2008 Nature 456: 702-705) offers an opportunity to move toward a humane societal appreciation of mind-altering drugs. Using cognitive enhancing drugs as an exemplar, this article presents a series of hypotheses concerning how an individual might learn optimal use. The essence of the proposal is that individuals can cultivate sensitivity to the effects of ever-smaller amounts of psychoactive drugs thereby making harm less likely and benign effects more probable. Four interrelated hypotheses are presented and ...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 16, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: David Thaler Source Type: journals

Can abuse deterrent formulations make a difference? Expectation and speculation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It is critical that issues surrounding the abuse and misuse of prescription opioids be balanced with the need for these medications for the treatment of pain. One way to decrease the abuse of prescription opioid medications is to develop formulations (abuse deterrent formulations or ADFs) that in some way prevent drug abusers from extracting out the active ingredient in order to employ alternate routes of administration, such as injection, snorting, and smoking. Several factors including the pharmacokinetic profile of the drug, the features of the drug formulation that make it attractive or unattractive for abuse, the type...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 29, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Simon BudmanJill Grimes SerranoStephen Butler Source Type: journals

The context of illicit drug overdose deaths in British Columbia, 2006Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this study was to examine IDD in 2006 in BC by place of residence, injury and death, decedents' age and sex and substances identified. Methods: IDD data was obtained through the BC Coroners Office and entered into SPSS (version 14). Fisher's exact and Pearson's chi2 were used for categorical data; Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous variables. Rates were calculated using 2006 population estimates. Results: We identified 223 IDD in BC; 54 (24%) occurred in Vancouver. Vancouver decedents (compared to those occurring outside Vancouver) were older (mean age 43.9 vs. 39.2 years; p (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 29, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Jane BuxtonTrevor SkutezkyAndrew TuBilal WaheedAlex WallaceSunny Mak Source Type: journals

Moving beyond non-engagement on regulated needle-syringe exchange programs in Australian prisonsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Psychology, peace studies and social marketing all agree people's views must be carefully collected and analysed if people are going to be convinced to consider and discuss the issue. By understanding the views and their underlying motivations of those who oppose NSPs, it will be far easier to influence these views. Furthermore, involving all stakeholders, especially prison authorities, will help create a sense of ownership of a solution and therefore increase the chances of that solution succeeding. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 4, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Daniel Mogg and Michael Levy Source Type: journals

Overdose beliefs and management practices among ethnic Vietnamese heroin users in Sydney, AustraliaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The explanatory model of overdose employed by ethnic Vietnamese IDUs privileges traditional beliefs about the circulatory, rather than the respiratory, system. This paper explores participants' beliefs about blood, the effects of drugs on blood and the causes of heroin overdose in order to document the explanatory model of overdose used by ethnic Vietnamese IDUs. Implications for overdose prevention, treatment and management are identified and discussed. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - April 27, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Lisa Maher and Hien T Ho Source Type: journals

HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, British Columbia: A growing epidemicEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The prevalence of HIV in Vancouver, British Columbia was subject to two distinct periods of rapid increase. The first occurred in the 1980s due to high incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM), and the second occurred in the 1990s due to high incidence among injection drug users (IDU). The purpose of this study was to estimate and model the trends in HIV prevalence in Vancouver from 1980 to 2006. HIV prevalence data were entered into the UNAIDS/WHO Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) where prevalence trends were estimated by fitting an epidemiological model to the data. Epidemic curves were fit for IDU, MSM, fem...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - March 5, 2009 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Colin W McInnes, Eric Druyts, Stephanie S Harvard, Mark Gilbert, Mark W Tyndall, Viviane D Lima, Evan Wood, Julio SG Montaner and Robert S Hogg Source Type: journals

High prevalence of HIV infection among homeless and street-involved Aboriginal youth in a Canadian settingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We examined HIV seroprevalence and risk factors among a cohort of 529 street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. At baseline, 15 (2.8%) were HIV positive, of whom 7 (46.7%) were Aboriginal. Aboriginal ethnicity was a significant correlate of HIV infection (odds ratio = 2.87, 95%CI: 1.02 – 8.09). Of the HIV positive participants, 2 (28.6%) Aboriginals and 6 (75.0%) non-Aboriginals reported injection drug use; furthermore, hepatitis C co-infection was significantly less common among Aboriginal participants (p = 0.041). These findings suggest that factors other than injection drug use may promote HIV transmission among str...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - November 19, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Brandon DL Marshall, Thomas Kerr, Chris Livingstone, Kathy Li, Julio SG Montaner and Evan Wood Source Type: journals

Predictors of HIV infection and prevalence for syphilis infection among injection drug users in China: Community-based surveys along major drug trafficking routesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Prevalence rates of HIV among IDUs in China are more than two out of three in some venues. Risk factors include longer duration of IDU and needle sharing. Also associated with HIV were factors that may indicate some success in education in higher risk persons, such as higher knowledge. A systemic community-level intervention with respect to evidenced-based, population-level interventions to stem the spread of HIV from IDU in China should include needle exchange, opiate agonist-based drug treatment, condom distribution along with promotion, and advocacy for community-based VCT with bridges to HIV preventive ser...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - August 25, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Yujiang Jia, Fan Lu, Gang Zeng, Xinhua Sun, Yan Xiao, Lin Lu, Wei Liu, Mingjian Ni, Shuquan Qu, Chunmei Li, Jianbo Liu, Pingsheng Wu and Sten Vermund Source Type: journals

Distributing foil from needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) to promote transitions from heroin injecting to chasing: an evaluationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions These findings suggest that distributing foil packs can be a useful means of engaging NSP attenders in discussions about ways of reducing injecting risks and can reduce injecting in settings where there is a pre-existing culture of heroin chasing. Further research should see whether these findings can be reproduced in other cultural contexts and evaluate whether the observed behavioural changes are sustained and lead to reductions in harm including blood-borne infections and overdose. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - July 21, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Rachael Pizzey and Neil Hunt Source Type: journals

Half a gram – a thousand livesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The article presents information on the latest drug policy change in the Russian Criminal Code: a decrease of the drug threshold amounts for which possession can lead to a criminal liability. Also, the article presents an assessment of the 2003–2004 liberal revisions in the Criminal Code, and an analysis of the background/premise for the 2006 counter-reform. The author examines the new criteria for establishing criminal liability and possible consequences of these changes for people who use illicit psycho-active substances for non-medical purposes. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 24, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Lev Levinson Source Type: journals

Half a gram - a thousand livesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The article presents information on the latest drug policy change in the Russian Criminal Code: a decrease of the drug threshold amounts for which possession can lead to a criminal liability. Also, the article presents an assessment of the 2003-2004 liberal revisions in the Criminal Code, and an analysis of the background/premise for the 2006 counter-reform. The author examines the new criteria for establishing criminal liability and possible consequences of these changes for people who use illicit psycho-active substances for non-medical purposes. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 24, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Lev Levinson Source Type: journals

On drug treatment and social control: Russian narcology's great leap backwardsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The medical discipline of narcology in Russia is a subspecialty of psychiatry from the Soviet era and it is given warrant to define the scope of health activities with regard to alcohol and other drug use, drug users, and related problems. Narcological practice is in turn constrained by the State. The emergence of widespread injection opiate use and associated HIV morbidities and mortalities during the first decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union has brought the contradictions in Russian narcological discourse into high relief. Narcology officials in the Russian Federation have consistently opposed substitution ...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - June 24, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Richard Elovich and Ernest Drucker Source Type: journals

How high? Quantity as a predictor of cannabis-related problemsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that quantity is an important predictor of cannabis-related outcomes, and that the three quantity measures convey useful information about use. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 29, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Nicole Walden and Mitch Earleywine Source Type: journals

Switching to smokeless tobacco as a smoking cessation method: evidence from the 2000 National Health Interview SurveyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Switching to ST compares very favorably with pharmaceutical nicotine as a quit-smoking aid among American men, despite the fact that few smokers know that the switch provides almost all of the health benefits of complete tobacco abstinence. The results of this study show that tobacco harm reduction is a viable cessation option for American smokers. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 23, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Brad Rodu and Carl V Phillips Source Type: journals

Return to Galileo? The Inquisition of the International Narcotic Control BoardEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Nearly 400 years after Galileo Galilei of Florence was arraigned and convicted of suspected heresy by the ten member Congregation of the Holy Office (Inquisition), the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) is similarly inserting itself into matters pertaining to innovations in healthcare and the public health response to addiction throughout the world. Like that earlier Inquisition of 1633 that convicted Galileo of heresy for holding that the sun is the centre of the universe with the earth revolving around it (in contradiction to church doctrine of the time) the INCB and its thirteen-member panel, now rails against ...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - May 7, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Dan Small and Ernest Drucker Source Type: journals

Awareness of the need for safe storage of Methadone at home is not improved by the use of protocols on recording information giving.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: Recall of information on safety issues is very poor. Provision of written as well as verbal information is needed. The use of printed safety information cards which patients can take away for future reference may be of use. It is the responsibility of health professionals to ensure they provide information and advice to methadone users on the safe storage of their methadone at home. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - April 30, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Annemarie Mullin, Rosanna J McAuley, Derrett J Watts, Ilana B Crome and Roger N Bloor Source Type: journals

Designing an experimental HIV/HCV intervention to promote the safe re-use of drug preparation materials by injection drug users in Puerto RicoEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This report describes the final selection of items and practices: 1) A small water bottle that permits IDUs to add approximately .05cc water drops directly to drug powder in cookers; 2) A preparation syringe (a type of ancillary equipment not used for injecting) that permits IDUs to pull up a measurable amount of water to add to drug powder, an alternative to producing water drops; 3) A filtering device, the Sterifilt filter, attached to a preparation syringe, which eliminates the need for cotton or cigarette filters; 4) Use of a preparation syringe to distribute drug solution by backloading to injection syringe(s); 5) A s...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - April 28, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: H Ann Finlinson, Hector M Colon, Juan Negron and Rafaela R Robles Source Type: journals

Early exit: estimating and explaining early exit from drug treatmentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Early exit diminishes the contribution that treatment may make to the reduction of drug related harm. This paper identifies characteristics of people most likely to drop out of treatment prematurely in English drug treatment services and highlights a range of possibilities for improving services. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - April 25, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Alex Stevens, Polly Radcliffe, Melony Sanders and Neil Hunt Source Type: journals

Quantifying hepatitis C transmission risk using a new weighted scoring system for the Blood-Borne Virus Transmission Risk Assessment Questionnaire (BBV-TRAQ): Applications for community-based HCV surveillance, education and preventionEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Brief, easy to administer and score, and inexpensive to apply, the utility of the BBV-TRAQ for community based education and prevention is enhanced by the application of item weights, potentially offering a valid surrogate measure for HCV infection among IDU. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - April 23, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Mark A Stoove, Craig L Fry and Nicholas Lintzeris Source Type: journals

Prevalence and determinants of hepatitis C virus infection among female drug injecting sex workers in GlasgowEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Women who engage in street sex work to finance their drug habit are a particularly desperate, chaotic and vulnerable population. This study demonstrates that their HCV infection risk may be greater than that for other IDUs. Those responsible for designing interventions to prevent HCV infection among IDUs should consider the special needs of this group. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - March 20, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Avril Taylor, Sharon J Hutchinson, Gail Gilchrist, Sheila Cameron, Susan Carr and David J Goldberg Source Type: journals

Is low-nicotine Marlboro snus really snus?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Swedish snus is a medium/high nicotine delivery, low-nitrosamine moist smokeless tobacco product that has been estimated to be at least 90% less harmful than smoked tobacco. More men use snus than smoke cigarettes in Sweden, and a quarter of male former smokers quit by switching to snus. Leading multinational cigarette manufacturers have begun test-marketing snus-like products in the United States and other countries. The version of Philip Morris Marlboro snus currently being marketed in the United States differs from Swedish snus in many ways; it has lower moisture content and pH, but most puzzling is its very low nicotin...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - February 27, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Jonathan Foulds and Helena Furberg Source Type: journals

The acceptability and feasibility of peer worker support role in community based HCV treatment for injecting drug usersEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne virus in Australia affecting over 200 000 people. Effective treatment for hepatitis C has only become accessible in Australia since the late 1990as, although active injecting drug use (IDU) remained an exclusion criteria for government-funded treatment until 2001. Treatment uptake has been slow, particularly among injecting drug users, the largest affected group. We developed a peer-based integrated model of hepatitis C care at a community drug and alcohol clinic. Clients interested and eligible for hepatitis C treatment had their substance use, mental health and other psychosocia...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - February 25, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Josephine Norman, Nick M Walsh, Janette Mugavin, Mark A Stoove, Jenny Kelsall, Kirk Austin and Nicholas Lintzeris Source Type: journals

Seeing is believing: an educational outreach activity on disinfection practicesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: In the weeks following this activity, some participants demonstrated and reported healthy behavioural changes regarding their own injection practices. Furthermore, they shared their newfound knowledge and began enforcing its application among people they inject drugs with. Most participants greatly appreciated this activity and valued it as being highly efficient and tangible. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - February 12, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Sarah-Amelie Mercure, Isabelle Tetu, Steeve Lamonde, Francoise Cote and Guides de Rue Working Group Source Type: journals

Mother-infant consultation during drug treatment: research and innovative clinical practiceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The implications for NNNS consultation in drug treatment programs is outlined. The importance of prevention/intervention to establish satisfactory mother-infant interaction in recovery programs which include a central parenting component is indicated (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - February 6, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: C. F. Zachariah Boukydis and Barry M. Lester Source Type: journals

Regulating compassion: an overview of Canada's federal medical cannabis policy and practiceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: Any future success will depend on the government's ability to better assess and address the needs and legitimate concerns of end-users of this program, to promote and fund an expanded clinical research agenda, and to work in cooperation with community-based medical cannabis dispensaries in order to address the ongoing issue of safe and timely access to this herbal medicine. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - January 28, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Philippe G. Lucas Source Type: journals

Years of life lost to prison: racial and gender gradients in the United States of AmericaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: There are clear gender and racial gradients in life expectancy spent in prison in the United States. Future research needs to examine how current imprisonment practice in the United States may influence population health and health disparities. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - January 25, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Robert S Hogg, Eric F Druyts, Scott Burris, Ernest Drucker and Steffanie A Strathdee Source Type: journals

A qualitative study of overdose responses among Chicago IDUsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Overall, our small study found that the overdose prevention efforts build on extensive knowledge possessed by IDUs. Teaching IDUs how to use naloxone is an effective risk reduction strategy. (Source: Harm Reduction Journal)
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - January 24, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Susan G Sherman, Donald S Gann, Gregory Scott, Suzanne Carlberg, Dan Bigg and Robert Heimer Source Type: journals

Amazing grace: Vancouver's supervised injection facility granted six-month lease on lifeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Addiction should be a matter, primarily, for the Chief of Medicine rather than the Chief of Police. While internationally renowned for its social kindness, Canada has not been without its share of disgraceful political mistakes in the not too distant past. Regrettably, there are many shameful events in Canada that have unfolded in the name of public policy including the banishment without medical treatment of Chinese Canadians living with leprosy to die on D'Arcy and Bentinck Islands in British Columbia while European Canadians stricken similarly enjoyed healthcare on the mainland as well as the eternally haunting treatme...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - January 24, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Dan Small Source Type: journals

Controlling illegal stimulants: a regulated market modelEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Prohibition of illegal drugs is a failed social policy and new models of regulation of these substances are needed. This paper explores a proposal for a post-prohibition, public health based model for the regulation of the most problematic drugs, the smokable and injectable stimulants. The literature on stimulant maintenance is explored. Seven foundational principles are suggested that could support this regulatory model of drug control that would reduce both health and social problems related to illegal stimulants. Some details of this model are examined and the paper concludes that drug policies need to be subject to res...
Source: Harm Reduction Journal - January 23, 2008 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Mark Haden Source Type: journals