Archive for the ‘Drugs’ Category
Trends in UK deaths associated with abuse of volatile substances, 1971-2008
No CommentsThis is the twenty-third annual report of the Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA) Mortality Project, and has been produced by the International Centre for Drug Policy (ICDP) based at St. George’s, University of London.
This report outlines the current trends, examines the nature of the problems, and identifies the factors associated with deaths from abuse of volatile substances occurring in the United Kingdom in 2008.
A Grounded Theory of Detoxification-Seeking Among Heroin Users in South East Ireland
No CommentsThis study explores a central phenomenon of detoxification-seeking among heroin users in the South East of Ireland, through a grounded theory approach.
The study conceptualises detoxification-seeking as a help-seeking behaviour, experienced by heroin users, but not all, in response to and as a consequence of the complex experience of being heroin dependent, and wanting to become abstinent. The core category, ‘forging a pathway towards abstinence from heroin’, provides an insight into challenges and tasks that research participants undertook when their aim was abstinence.
Toward a Syndrome Model of Addiction: Multiple Expressions, Common Etiology
No CommentsIt is common for clinicians, researchers, and public policy makers to describe certain drugs or objects (e.g., games of chance) as “addictive,” tacitly implying that the cause of addiction resides in the properties of drugs or other objects. Conventional wisdom encourages this view by treating different excessive behaviors, such as alcohol dependence and pathological gambling, as distinct disorders. Evidence supporting a broader conceptualization of addiction is emerging.
AA Isn’t the Best Solution: Alternatives for Alcoholics
No Comments
Building on an essay in Wired magazine by Brendan Koerner, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks lauds to the sky AA and its founder, Bill Wilson. Both Brooks and Koerner point out the worldwide spread of AA (although it is limited mainly to the U.S. and like-minded countries), and the spread of the 12 steps to nearly all areas of behavior change, indeed, to how we approach social problems of all sorts.
Trends in injecting drug use in Europe
No CommentsTrends in injecting drug use in Europe is the title of the latest EMCDDA Selected issue publication. This volume brings together data from a wide variety of sources as it describes Europe’s current drug injecting problem and plots its trends in recent years. Responses to drug injecting and measures to reduce the harm caused by this form of drug use are also reviewed.
