Drug Demand Reduction Research Articles

Global addiction university education: a survey of members of International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR)

ABSTRACT Background Quality education is needed for providing quality addiction care. There are addiction university-based programmes worldwide, differing in their characteristics leading to different profiles. The ICUDDR is a global consortium of universities preparing the addiction workforce providing networking and collaboration. The purpose was to categorize the characteristics of the addiction degree programmes, compare them to the first proposed typology of such programmes, and emphasize the meaning of quality in education. Methods The sample consisted of 99 self-selected representatives from 396 current member institutions of ICUDDR. Data were collected using a questionnaire in an online format and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results 35 universities operated at least one degree programme in addictions. Of these, five offered bachelor’s, 16 master’s, and five PhD programmes, and 17 universities provided programmes awarding graduate/postgraduate certificate or diploma. The main focuses of specialized programmes included mostly treatment and prevention. Compared to the typology, we identified all types proposed, and two new types appeared. Conclusions The work provides the first comparison of the proposed typology to the reality of the global representation of universities providing addiction studies and emphasizes the importance of quality assurance and collaboration in addiction education.

Implementation of quality standards in drug demand reduction: Insights from FENIQS-EU project and ways forward.

Quality standards have been recognized as an important tool for improving the quality of drug use prevention, treatment, and harm reduction services and for bridging the gap between science and practice. The aim of this paper is to describe the state of implementation of quality standards in drug demand reduction in the European Union and to identify barriers, needs, and challenges to implementation and future pathways. Between June and November 2021, an online survey (n = 91) and follow-up interviews (n = 26) were conducted with key informants - experts in drug demand reduction and quality assurance. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The survey showed that most countries have implemented the European Drug Prevention Quality Standards (EDPQS) in the prevention domain and the Minimum Quality Standards (MQS) in drug demand reduction. A variety of standards are applied in the treatment area and the EQUS minimum quality standards are widely known. The application of quality standards is least reported in the harm reduction service area. Mentioned challenges and barriers to implementation included lack of funding, unrecognized importance of evaluation, professional competencies, and system fragmentation. Mentioned supportive factors included appropriate materials and training, as well as political support and professional networks. The study shows that quality standards are inconsistently implemented in all areas of drug demand reduction. According to respondents, implementation could be improved by advocating for the need to implement quality standards, ensuring sustainable funding for interventions, and providing education and training.

Toward a Socioeconomic Equity in Combating Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Outreach and Drop-In Centre to Bridge the Gap.

This paper describes a case study of an Outreach and Drop-in Centre (ODIC) established under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. In the quantitative part, data were gathered from the ODIC office documents and analysed using MS Excel. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a relationship between the number of in-centre clients and the number of Community Outreach Programmes (COPs). Similarly, this study examined the relationship between the number of networks established and the number of participants in COPs. Hence, two regression lines were derived accordingly. In addition, qualitative data collected through key informant interviews corroborated the quantitative results. This case study highlights the importance of networks and COPs in increasing the reach of ODIC and ensuring the quality of services. Finally, in partnership with other government agencies, this ODIC sets a model for engaging marginalised adolescents in reducing substance abuse.

Spanish Best Practice Portal in Drug Demand Reduction and Behavioural Addictions

Sharing and exchange of best practices to actual transfer to other countries is an important tool that helps to bridge the gap between public health challenges and practical solutions [1].

National Drug Laws, Policies, and Programs in India: A Narrative Review.

Drug use is a major public health issue in India. Significant changes in the approach toward drug use have happened in the last few decades. Despite this, no systematic attempt has been made to document the same in the scientific literature. This narrative review attempts to discuss the major drug laws, policies, and national programs of the Government of India (GoI). A thorough search was conducted to look for policies, programs, acts, and notifications related to substance use/drug use on various websites of different ministries of the GoI. Acts, programs, and policies addressing substance use were identified. Various drug laws, programs, and acts from the GoI provide a multipronged approach to curbing the procurement of drug use along with its prevention and cure. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) is the nodal ministry for drug demand reduction. The enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 and Policy 2012 and the implementation of India's Drug De-Addiction Program (DDAP) are important landmarks in this journey. The GoI initiatives for reducing the mental health burden in this country in general and substance use disorders (SUDs), in particular, are immense. The acts/statutes/laws/notifications are all interlinked. Stakeholders in mental health, public health, and policy-making need to upgrade themselves with the relevant statutes to curb the menace of drug use.

Normalization of Prevention Principles and Practices to Reduce Substance Use Disorders Through an Integrated Dissemination and Implementation Framework.

Major research breakthroughs over the past 30years in the field of substance use prevention have served to: (1) enhance understanding of pharmacological effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems and the health and social consequences of use of psychoactive substances, particularly for children and adolescents; (2) delineate the processes that increase vulnerability to or protect from initiation of substance use and progression to substance use disorders (SUDs) and, based on this understanding, (3) develop effective strategies and practices to prevent the initiation and escalation of substance use. The challenge we now face as a field is to "normalize" what we have learned from this research so that it is incorporated into the work of those involved in supporting, planning, and delivering prevention programming to populations around the world, is integrated into health and social service systems, and helps to shape public policies. But we wish to go further, to incorporate these effective prevention practices into everyday life and the mind-sets of the public, particularly parents and educators. This paper reviews the advances that have been made in the field of prevention and presents a framework and recommendations to achieve these objectives generated during several meetings of prevention and implementation science researchers sponsored by the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR) that guides a roadmap to achieve "normalization."

Spanish Project of Best Practice Portal in Drug Demand Reduction and Behavioural Addictions

Spanish Project of Best Practice Portal in Drug Demand Reduction and Behavioural Addictions

Implementation of Quality Standards in Drug Demand Reduction: Preliminary Findings from the FENIQS-EU Project

Implementation of Quality Standards in Drug Demand Reduction: Preliminary Findings from the FENIQS-EU Project

Characteristics of drug demand reduction structures in Britain and Iran.

Administrative structure of drug demand reduction and the way in which involved organizations interact with each other has been neglected by researchers, policy makers, and administrators at the national level and even in international institutions in this field. Studying such structures in different countries can reveal their attributes and features. In this study, key experts from the addictive behavior department of St George's University of London and a group of Iranian specialists in the field of drug demand reduction first wrote on a sheet the name of organizations that are in charge of drug demand reduction. Then, via teamwork, they drew the connections between the organizations and compared the two charts to assess the relations between the member organizations. In total, 17 features of efficient structure were obtained as follow: multi-institutional nature, collaborative inter-institutional activities, clear and relevant inter-institutional and intra-institutional job description, the ability to share the experiences, virtual institutions activity, community-based associations activity, mutual relationships, the existence of feedback sys-tems, evaluation, changeability, the ability to collect data rapidly, being rooted in community, flexibility at the local and regional levels, connection with research centers, updated policymaking, empowering the local level, and seeking the maximum benefit and the minimum resources. Recognizing the characteristics of substance related organizations in various countries could help policy makers to improve drug demand reduction structures and to manage the wide-spread use of psychoactive substances more effectively.

‘Ten Years Later’ – Developing Institutional Mechanisms for Drug Demand Reduction and Addictology Education in Georgia – A Case Study

‘Ten Years Later’ – Developing Institutional Mechanisms for Drug Demand Reduction and Addictology Education in Georgia – A Case Study

Government Expenditure on Substance Abuse and Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Analytical Approach

The study specifically examined the short and long run impact government expenditure on substance abuse prevalence and rehabilitated drug addicts on the real growth rate on the Nigeria economy. Real Growth rate was made the dependent variable while government capital expenditure, government recurrent expenditure and number of rehabilitated drug addicts stood as explanatory variables. Analysis was carried using the ARDL technique. Findings revealed that there existed, in the short run, a significant impact of government recurrent, capital expenditure and rehabilitated drug individuals on real economic growth. However, in the long run, only capital expenditure on substance abuse has significant impact on the real growth rate in the Nigeria economy. It is therefore suggested that, combating the menace of drug abuse prevalence and trafficking needs the co-operation of all. To that extent government and non-government organization at both local and international level must network to ensure effective control. Therefore, adequate funds should be made available to government organization involved in drug demand reduction activities. Employment opportunities should also be created by the government to get user/ traffickers out of the illegal business. Massive preventive drug abuse education and enlightenment that emphasize healthy life style should be embarked upon frequently.

Implementing and Evaluating the Universal Prevention Curriculum to Promote Capacity Building among Drug Demand Reduction Practitioners in Nigeria: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Implementing and Evaluating the Universal Prevention Curriculum to Promote Capacity Building among Drug Demand Reduction Practitioners in Nigeria: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Awareness of users and motivational factors for using new psychoactive substances in Belgium

BackgroundFew data on motivations for using new psychoactive substances (NPS) are available. However, the cost, the legal status, and their accessibility through channels like internet contributed to the popularity of NPS. The objective of this article are first to gain a deeper understanding of the culture surrounding NPS in Belgium and second to define the awareness of the users concerning the content of the NPS they are consuming.MethodsSnowball sampling and partners in the drug demand reduction field were used as a gateway in order to reach a heterogeneous study population. In total, 45 users were recruited and in-depth interviews were conducted. The personal experiences of NPS users and their needs for support along the continuum of care were explored through an interview guideline, while subjects were given the opportunity to deposit a NPS sample for forensic analysis in a recognized laboratory.ResultsA diversity of profiles was found among NPS users but also a wide diversity in the motives to consume NPS: personal reasons such as pleasure, mind exploration, being connected to others, or out of curiosity, but also external reasons such as price, accessibility or the specific effects procured by certain NPS. The results showed as well that a majority of NPS users seem to be aware of the substances they are using.ConclusionUnderstanding the motivations of use is of importance to determine which type of NPS targeted interventions are adapted to different profiles of users.

Legislative Basis of the Republic of Finland to Reduce the Demand for Drugsand Counter their Trafficking

The subject of the study is the legal and organizational framework for countering drug traff icking in the Republic of Finland. In the process of work on the publication the author used a set of General scientif ic research methods such as comparison, analysis, as well as formal-logical, comparative-legal and other private scientif ic methods including: historical method. For the f irst time the author has carried out a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework concerning organizational measures aimed at countering drug traff icking in the Republic of Finland. The study examined the provisions of the existing acts of lawmaking in the f ield of drug control: laws and regulations, departmental documents. The author comes to the conclusion that the Republic of Finland has a suff iciently developed legislation in the f ield of drug demand reduction and counteraction to their illicit traff icking, which is constantly developing and improving. They also noted that the policy of Finland in the sphere of counteraction of drug addiction focused on the need for simultaneous operation aimed at reducing the supply and demand of drugs, reduce harm from drug use, early prevention of drug addiction and the possibility of providing timely assistance to drug users. Practical signif icance of the research is that the mastery of the positive side of the experience in combating drug traff icking in Finland, can be used by the state authorities of the Russian Federation in building the system of organizational-administrative work for the prevention of drug-related crime.

Drug Demand Reduction Programme in India: Recommendations for the Future

India is a welfare-based nation; therefore, it has an embedded responsibility to protect the marginalized communities. However, drug dependency has always been a hidden phenomenon. Focusing on the Indian scenario, this research critically analyses the implementation of the demand reduction programme, i.e. the National Scheme of Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse which emerged from Section 71 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Although the NDPS Act is prohibitionist in its approach and has criminalized the use of drugs, it has inculcated Section 71 of NDPS Act that stated the government can establish sufficient de-addiction centres for treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependents. In order to gain a broad understanding of the implementation the study covered a national perspective by including Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi and Mizoram representing Southern, Western, Northern and North East regions of the country respectively. The treatment and rehabilitation services were analyzed categorically and thematically by posing specific standards such as availability, accessibility, quality and Protection of Human Rights.
 It was learnt that at the regional and community level, no autonomous body was set up for implementation of treatment and rehabilitation, treatment was envisaged through correctional angle, huge gaps in extension of financial support to existing de-addiction centres, weak preventive measures, ineffective training of staff, restricted admission for high risk drug dependents, diverse cases of human rights violation, mismanagement of withdrawal symptoms and prevalence of minimal harm reduction measures. However, on the positive side, the best practices are also being recorded with ongoing study such as positive impact of meditation, yoga therapy, life coaching based on emotional intelligence among other indigenous practices. The focus of this article is to provide a knowledge framework to enhance the quality of policy formulation and disseminate recommendations of the study with the hope that policy makers and practitioners and other concerned stakeholders are better informed of the situation so as to make a positive change in the lives of the users and the society at large.

Measures Adopted to Reduce Drug and Substance Abuse in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

The use of drugs is a major societal concern, and schools are considered a privileged space for the development of prevention measures and health promotion. It is possible, and desirable, for schools to be concerned with drug demand reduction, drug supply reduction and mitigating the health and social consequences of drug use with major focus on demand reduction. The purpose of this study was to establish measures to be adopted to reduce drug and substance abuse in public secondary schools in Kenya. The research was based on social learning theory. The research was conducted in Nandi County schools in Kenya. Twenty four randomly selected schools out of 235 county schools were engaged in the study. A sample size of 1292 respondents was obtained using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The participants included Deputy Principals, Counselors, and teachers teaching Life Skills subject, students and Focus Group Discussions. The data instruments utilized included questionnaires and structured interviews. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency, tables, graphs, pie charts and percentages. The results of this study revealed that drug abuse in schools was a challenge that needed to be addressed by all stake holders in education. Outsiders were found to be clandestinely selling drugs to students during festivities such as music and games. Teachers and school security officers in most schools did not bother to check on student luggage on arrival during opening and midterms which became an easy leeway of getting drugs into schools. The research findings would be useful to schools, parents, research practitioners and school administration. Keywords: Challenges, teachers, learners, social net-working, Drugs and Substance Abuse. DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-23-14 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Critical reflections on quality standards within drug demand reduction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the usefulness of quality standards aimed at prevention interventions for drug using young offenders. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses critical literature on quality standards, readings of quality standards and qualitative interviews as well as focus-group discussions with professionals working in services targeting drug use among young offenders. Findings The findings show discrepancies between the idea that quality standards provide a tool for supporting the implementation of more effective interventions and professionals’ experiences with quality standards as almost absent in their work. Originality/value This viewpoint highlights barriers to the implementation of quality standards that have to be overcome if quality standards are to be adopted and implemented in practice.

Estimation of Measurement Uncertainty in Quantitation of Benzoylecgonine (BZE) and 11-nor-Δ9-THC-9-carboxylic acid (THCA).

Calculating measurement uncertainty is a helpful exercise for identifying components or steps in a forensic analytical procedure that contribute to measurement variance. In this study, we used a bottom up approach to identify components in our procedures that contribute to measurement variance in our Department of Defense (DoD) Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP) Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS) analytical procedures for benzoylecgonine (BZE) and the THC metabolite, 11-nor-Δ9-THC-9-carboxylic acid (THCA) at 125% the DDRP concentration threshold (cutoff). Each assay was run 10 times over 30 days, each assay containing five calibrators and five samples (125%). Measurement uncertainty was estimated to be ±7.6 and ±0.6 ng/mL, for the BZE and THCA methods, respectively (α = 0.05). In both assays, method precision and the preparation of calibrator and samples were major contributors to measurement uncertainty. While this exercise will help with evaluating assay performance from a Quality Assurance perspective, these estimates should not be applied in interpreting DDRP test results. DDRP cut offs are already inherently conservative being above the Limit of Quantitation and were developed taking into consideration variability in assay performance across instruments and laboratories within the DDRP drug testing system.

Current state of selective prevention practice of drug abuse in Croatia

Drug use is a phenomenon which seriously disturbs the health and the ability to function socially and in a balanced manner for a large number of young people in Croatia who are at the most sensitive stage of their individual development (Petrović, 1983; as cited in Bouillet, 2007). The perspective of developmental psychopathology helps to create all-encompassing theoretical models that explain the development of problems related to drug abuse, identify the groups that have the highest risk and guide the creation of logical models for prevention programs. This paper offers a hypothesized model of development of addiction problems in adolescence from the perspective of developmental psychopathology and uses it as a tool to analyse the current state of selective prevention practice in Croatia. The national focal point for drugs and drug addiction is located within the Office for Combating Drug Abuse of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. This Office also runs a Database of projects and programs administered in the field of drug demand reduction. According to the database review performed by the authors on June 26th 2016, 57 selective prevention programs were identified that fit the criteria for being “selective” (according to the definition by Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994). Among these, 15 selective prevention programs were identified as matching the criteria of “program” used by the US Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS, 2013a & 2013b). The suggested theoretical model was subsequently compared to the goals and activities of these programs.

English

This study investigates drug abuse and its impact on Bangladesh and aims to identify the family-related and social reasons for being addicted, and the causes and effects of drug abuse. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in assessing the causes and consequence of its impact in Bangladesh using purposeful sampling for sample collection, involving recent graduates from different public and private university, civil servants, and civil society members. Findings revealed that drug abuse is multidimensional, and should be addressed accordingly. Many of the addicts view the rehabilitation procedures and costs introduced by the Narcotics Department as high and cumbersome. Many people, especially the youths are eager to get rid of drugs, but unfortunately can hardly find any way out. The addicts, while talking with the investigators, sought treatment to wipe out the negative effects of the drugs. Thus, the government should involve both the family and society which are the two most effective institutions to prevent drug addiction within the drug policy covering both the preventive and curative issues. These two institutions side by side with the government and nongovernmental efforts can play vital role in drug demand reduction, and preventing drug abuse in the country. Also, urgent major policy and institutional reforms involving all the concerned bodies is needed for effective response to combat drug abuse in the country. Key words: Drug abuse, narcotics control, elevated risk, impact, Bangladesh.