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2017-01-31
Carsey School of Public Policy at The University of New Hampshire;
Americans are killing themselves at an alarming rate. Nationwide, the mortality rate, from drug poisoning, alcohol poisoning, and suicide increased by 52 percent between 2000 and 2014. Most of this increase was driven by a surge in prescription opioid and heroin overdoses, but overdoses from other drugs, suicides by means other than drugs, and alcohol-induced deaths also increased over this period. Between 2010 and 2014, drugs, alcohol, or suicide were the underlying cause of death for 537,000 people and were contributing factors in an additional 133,000 deaths. Especially striking is that mortality from drugs, alcohol, and suicide has increased during a period of declining mortality for other major causes of death, including diabetes, heart disease, most cancers, and motor vehicle accidents.
1972-01-01
Ford Foundation;
Provides a survey of the drug abuse problem in the U.S. and efforts to control it. Summarizes the results of Ford's Drug Abuse Survey Project. Provides recommendations, including the establishment of the Drug Abuse Council.
2013-07-16
HelloSundayMorning;
In this study, we conducted three separate but similar analyses in order to determine which factors influence the content produced by HSMers. The first analysis separated HSMers in to groups based on the number ofposts they produced. The second analysis separated HSMers based on their number of followers. The final analysis separated HSMers in to distinct 'neighborhoods' using a network-‐analysis approach based on their follower networks.
2014-12-01
VicHealth;
Victoria's drinking culture is informed by attitudes and beliefs held about alcohol, intoxication and associated behaviours. Public health organisations are increasingly trying to find ways of reducing risky drinking behaviour, especially among young people. The internet and social media are progressively being recognised as platforms for mobilising social change. Hello Sunday Morning (HSM)is an online program that encourages the adoption of a healthier drinking culture. HSM is a blogging website that supports people to stay sober for a self-determined period of time. Those who sign up instantly have a platform and network to discuss their transition to abstinence, creating an environment that enables people to change their drinking behaviourand attitudes associated with alcohol. Despite HSM seeing rapid growth in its uptake, little research has been undertaken to investigate the impact of HSM in altering drinking behavioursand attitudes.The aim ofthis project is to therefore analysehow participation in HSM impacts drinking behaviour among Victorians and to explore the motivations, barriers and enablers experienced by Victorian HSM Usersduring their engagement with the program.
2002-01-19
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS);
In 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewed evidence of the effectiveness of HIV prevention programs for injection drug users (IDUs) and recommended that three types of
interventions be implemented to prevent transmission of HIV among IDUs: 1) community-based outreach, 2) expanded syringe access (including needle exchange programs [NEP] and pharmacy sales), and 3) drug treatment. Progress on increasing the acceptance and feasibility of implementing these programs has been made at the national level, but their implementation has been varied at the local level.
Understanding the conditions under which communities accept and implement interventions can help guide effective strategies to foster the implementation of these interventions in areas where programs do not currently exist.
1993-10-01
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS);
The goal of the project was: "To assess the public health impact of needle exchange programs." Fourteen research questions were identified; Chapters 5 through 18 of Volume I of the report each address one of these research questions. The study consisted of four components: 1) formal review of existing research, 2) NEP site visits; 3) mail surveys of NEPs not visited; and 4) cost-effectiveness modeling.
2009-07-01
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS);
UFO Presents! is a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded program providing much needed hepatitis education, prevention and care services for youth and young adults with injection risk in San Francisco, CA. We aim to meet the broader needs of youth and young adults through comprehensive health and psychosocial support. We are the most experienced group in San Francisco in providing hepatitis, HIV and STI prevention services tailored to young adult IDU, a group with few other health-related resources or programs tailored directly to them.
2009-03-01
MDRC;
Participants in an intensive care management program for public assistance recipients with substance abuse problems were slightly more likely to enroll in treatment than participants in less intensive services. However, the intensive program had no effects on employment or public benefit receipt among the full sample.
2009-06-16
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP);
Legislators in a number of states have proposed to test all TANF recipients for drug use. This brief explains that random drug testing may be unconstitutional, and is a costly and ineffective way to identify individuals in need of substance abuse treatment. Screening, targeted testing programs, and enhanced treatment options are a better approach to helping TANF families affected by substance abuse.
2002-02-01
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development;
A survey of employers' attitudes regarding the prevalence of drugs in the workplace, how employee drug use impacts their firm, and the effectiveness of company policies to treat and prevent employee substance abuse.
2005-01-06
Research Center for Leadership in Action;
At the Triangle Residential Option for Substance Abusers (TROSA), a North Carolina residential treatment program, Executive Director Kevin McDonald and his colleagues have advanced a social entrepreneurial model for nearly a decade. In the process, they've built hundreds of active, engaged citizens, not just sober individuals.
2009-04-02
Cato Institute;
On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense. While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization -- whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution -- Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed. Notably, decriminalization has become increasingly popular in Portugal since 2001. Except for some far-right politicians, very few domestic political factions are agitating for a repeal of the 2001 law. And while there is a widespread perception that bureaucratic changes need to be made to Portugal's decriminalization framework to make it more efficient and effective, there is no real debate about whether drugs should once again be criminalized. More significantly, none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents -- from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for "drug tourists" -- has occurred. The political consensus in favor of decriminalization is unsurprising in light of the relevant empirical data. Those data indicate that decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates in Portugal, which, in numerous categories, are now among the lowest in the EU, particularly when compared with states with stringent criminalization regimes. Although postdecriminalization usage rates have remained roughly the same or even decreased slightly when compared with other EU states, drug-related pathologies -- such as sexually transmitted diseases and deaths due to drug usage -- have decreased dramatically. Drug policy experts attribute those positive trends to the enhanced ability of the Portuguese government to offer treatment programs to its citizens -- enhancements made possible, for numerous reasons, by decriminalization. This report will begin with an examination of the Portuguese decriminalization framework as set forth in law and in terms of how it functions in practice. Also examined is the political climate in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization with regard to drug policy, and the impetus that led that nation to adopt decriminalization. The report then assesses Portuguese drug policy in the context of the EU's approach to drugs. The varying legal frameworks, as well as the overall trend toward liberalization, are examined to enable a meaningful comparative assessment between Portuguese data and data from other EU states. The report also sets forth the data concerning drug-related trends in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization. The effects of decriminalization in Portugal are examined both in absolute terms and in comparisons with other states that continue to criminalize drugs, particularly within the EU. The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world.
