Personal Drug Use Research Articles

Personality Traits and Drug Use: A Longitudinal Study Using Data from the British Cohort Study

Plain Language SummaryDrug use presents significant concerns for health, economics, and society globally. Research highlights the pivotal role of personality traits in understanding drug use. This study aims to contribute to the existing literature by exploring how personality traits at age 10 correlate with drug use at age 30. Utilizing data from the British Cohort Study 1970, we obtained five personality traits from both teacher-completed and self-completion questionnaires when participants were 10 years old. The relationship between personality traits and drug use was examined by employing a probit model. Children exhibiting lower levels of conscientiousness/agreeableness or higher levels of extraversion/internal locus of control at age 10 were more inclined to engage in drug use in adulthood. Moreover, significant differences based on gender and the types of drugs used were observed. These findings might be valuable to policymakers, as they could introduce interventions tailored to specific personality traits to mitigate their adverse effects. For instance, they could offer emotional regulation training for children with low levels of conscientiousness or engage children with high extraversion in stimulating activities such as sports, creative arts, or music.

Drug use and condomless sex among sexual minority men in relationships: Whether relationship quality is a risk or protective factor depends upon what they believe their partners do

Sexual minority male (SMM) couples tend toward behavioral similarity around cannabis use, illicit drug use, and sex with casual partners. Similarity in these behaviors may contextualize associations with relationship quality. This study tested the hypotheses that perceptions of partner (cannabis and illicit) drug use and sexual behavior would predict personal drug use and sexual behavior as well as moderate the association between relationship quality and these health outcomes. Recruitment via social networking applications yielded a sample of 5511 cisgender SMM aged 18–85 (M = 38.21, SD = 12.16) who were in a relationship with an adult cisgender male main partner. Respondents completed an online survey assessing their own cannabis use, illicit drug use, and condomless anal sex (CAS) with casual partners during the past 30 days as well as their belief about their partner's engagement in these behaviors. Three subscales of the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) scale assessed relationship quality. Across the observed range of PRQC scores participants who reported their partner used cannabis, used other illicit drugs, and had recent CAS with a casual partner were more likely to report engaging in these activities themselves. Among participants who indicated their partner did not engage in these activities, relationship quality was negatively associated with personal cannabis use (OR = 0.985, p < 0.001), illicit drug use (OR = 0.973, p < 0.001), and CAS with casual partners (OR = 0.979, p < 0.001); meanwhile, among those who reported their partner engaged in these behaviors – relationship quality was positively associated with the odds of these behaviors (OR = 1.018, p < 0.001; OR = 1.015, p < 0.001; OR = 1.019, p = 0.015 for cannabis, illicit drug use and CAS with casual partners respectively). These findings suggest that perceptions of a partner's behavior contextualize associations between relationship quality and personal behavioral risk. Results emphasize the importance of integrating components that support relationship quality into behavioral health interventions for SMM couples and SMM in relationships.

Longitudinal examination of borderline personality disorder symptoms and drug use: The influence of negative and positive emotion dysregulation.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with greater substance use. Emotion dysregulation has been implicated in both BPD and substance use, yet there is limited research examining the role of emotion dysregulation in the BPD-substance use relation. We examined the independent and interactive associations of BPD symptoms and emotion dysregulation in reported drug use over 1year. Participants (N = 143) were over-recruited for BPD, assessed via interview, and completed measures of negative and positive emotion dysregulation. Drug use frequency was assessed with monthly surveys over a 1-year period. Results demonstrated interrelations among BPD symptoms and both negative and positive emotion dysregulation. However, when modeling BPD and emotion dysregulation together, only higher BPD symptoms were associated with more frequent drug use. Findings support the relation of BPD symptoms and emotion dysregulation but suggest that emotion dysregulation may not account for drug use frequency above and beyond BPD in community-recruited populations.

The impact of border crossing and imprisonment on injection practices and risk of HIV and hepatitis C infection among men who inject drugs in Nepal.

In Nepal, personal drug use is criminalized and among people who inject drugs (PWID), the majority of whom are men, movement across the border with India for drug procurement and use is common. Using a risk environment approach, this study examined associations between border crossing and imprisonment with respect to HIV, HCV and injection risk behavior among men who inject drugs in Nepal. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1345 participants from 14 districts across Nepal. Explanatory variables were prior imprisonment and past-month border crossing to procure or use drugs. We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate associations between these variables and HIV, HCV, HIV/HCV co-infection and past-month injection risk behavior among PWID. Over half of participants reported prior imprisonment (34.6% prior to past year, 21.6% within past year) and Indo-Nepal border crossing in the past year to use or buy drugs (31.2% sometimes, 20.8% often); over one quarter of participants (29.6%) reported both. Imprisonment prior to the past year was associated with higher odds of all outcome variables: HIV (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-4.59), HCV (aOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.08-2.09), HIV/HCV co-infection (aOR 3.12, 95% CI 1.58-6.14) and injection risk behavior (aOR 1.64, 95% CI 1.20-2.25). Past-year border crossing to procure or use drugs was associated with HCV (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.42-2.98) and injection risk behavior (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.04-2.10), with larger effect sizes among PWID who reported both border crossing as well as history of imprisonment. Imprisonment and border crossing were associated with injection risk behavior and disease outcomes. These findings indicate a need to implement cross-border disease surveillance and harm reduction initiatives in the Indo-Nepal border region and in Nepali prisons.

Drug decriminalization: The importance of policy change for the health and wellbeing of children and youth in Canada.

The criminalization of drug use and possession has demonstrable harms on the health of children and youth, with disproportionate effects on Black people, Indigenous people, people from other racially oppressed communities, and people living in poverty. Drug decriminalization, by separating personal possession and use of drugs from the criminal justice system, allows for a health-based approach to drug policy. Paediatricians are well-positioned to advocate for policies within a decriminalization framework to prioritize the physical and mental health of children and youth.

Personal Drug use Among Drug Users: A Structural Equation Model

Personal Drug use Among Drug Users: A Structural Equation Model

Werther effect in the juvenile population. About a series of cases

IntroductionSuicide is currently one of the biggest public health problems, it is the third cause of death in the age group between 15 and 29 years (16.36% of young people who died in 2013). The ‘Werther effect’ refers to the mimetic behavior of the suicidal act, thus making reference to the controversial novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Goethe, in 1774. The population most susceptible to this influence is the most vulnerable and ambivalent, such as they can be adolescents and young people, people with personality disorders and drug use. Durkheim considered that imitation was not due to the contagion effect of making suicides public, but to the social conditions of some places, which were what caused people to commit suicide.ObjectivesThe objective of the case is to expose the vulnerability to the imitation of suicidal behaviors of young people suffering from personality disorder and drug use.MethodsWe present the case of 4 young people between 18 and 21 years old (3 women and 1 man) from the same group of friends who, after the death by suicide of a 20-year-old boy, in the following 2 months, carried out suicidal behavior by taking medication they found at home and consumption of different drugs.ResultsThe two 21-year-old patients planned for the first month of the anniversary of the friend’s death, the intake of drugs and medication and leave a farewell note explaining the reasons. The patients required hospitalization in an acute mental health unit, one patient developed myocarditis secondary to toxins, during hospitalization they undergo psychotherapeutic treatment and are evaluated, leading to the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and Multiple Drug Use Disorder. The 20-year-old patient took medication on the anniversary month but did not require hospitalization. He underwent outpatient follow-up at a day hospital. During the therapeutic process, he was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. The 18-year-old patient required hospitalization for structured self-injurious ideation with a risk of acting out at 2 months, psychotherapeutic treatment was started and she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and harmful drug use. The 4 young people continue outpatient follow-up by both the community mental health unit and the addiction treatment center.ConclusionsWe observe in the series of cases exposed, the vulnerability of young people suffering from personality disorders and drug use to suicidal behavior, so risk factors for their prevention must be identified and continue working on adequate information of suicidal acts, whether completed or not, to avoid imitation phenomena. In all cases, suicide should not be seen as a desirable alternative and strategies to cope with difficulties and emotional management should be offered and promoted, especially in this young population that is still developing and is more vulnerable.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Differences in Drug Use among Persons Experiencing Homelessness According to Gender and Nationality.

The main aims of this article are to update the data related to drug and alcohol use in persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) who use shelters, and to see if there are significant differences in their drug use depending on their gender and nationality. The article presents an analysis of the interconnections between the results of drug dependence detection tools (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10), Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS)) according to gender and nationality with the intention of identifying specific needs that lead to new lines of research into better approaches to homelessness. A cross-sectional, observational and analytical method was used to analyse the experiences of persons experiencing homelessness who use various shelters in the cities of Madrid, Girona, and Guadalajara (Spain). The results show that there are no gender differences in the risks of using drugs and drug addiction, but there are differences in terms of nationality for drug addiction, with Spanish nationals showing a greater tendency to develop drug addiction. These findings have significant implications, as they highlight socio-cultural and socio-educational influence as risk factors in drug addiction behaviours.

Should we be leery of being Leary? Concerns about psychedelic use by psychedelic researchers.

Psychedelic research is proceeding rapidly, despite ongoing legal and regulatory barriers and lingering questions about study design, such as the difficulty of ensuring adequate blinding, the relative overrepresentation in studies of participants who have previously used psychedelics, and the importance of personal experience with psychedelics for those who provide psychedelic-assisted therapy. Here we wish to explore a distinct concern: whether personal use of psychedelics by researchers could threaten the objectivity and ethical conduct of psychedelic research itself. In 2020, Anderson et al. suggested that psychedelic use could lead even "conservative individuals to become wildly enthusiastic about the potentials of psychedelics to heal and transform". Recent popular press criticisms of psychedelic science, in particular critiques of the MAPS Phase II and Phase III MDMA-Assisted Therapy trials for PTSD, have also raised questions about whether personal use of psychedelic drugs by psychedelic therapists could compromise scientific objectivity, lead to the exploitation of research subjects, or promote biased reporting of results. Here, we elaborate on and attempt to delimit these concerns, with the goal of informing policy related to psychedelic research and the eventual clinical use of psychedelics. In particular, we explore whether the possibility that psychedelic use can directly and positively affect investigators' enthusiasm about psychedelics themselves raises concerns about bias and scientific integrity. We then discuss several practical strategies to reduce perceived conflict of interest.

The clinical boundary between deviant behavior and criminal conduct: From maladaptive positions to pathological dysfunctionality using the “Graded Antisociality Model” (GA-M), the “Antisocial Severity Scale” (AS-S) and “Perrotta-Marciano questionnaire on the grade of awareness of one’s deviant and criminal behaviors” (ADCB-Q)

The concepts of deviance and criminality are often confused or grouped, following a sociological logic. In the clinic, there is a need to distinguish them, speaking of “deviant behaviors” as active human acts that result in a violation of a social norm determined by the community and that do not provide a sanction of a legal nature (e.g., personal use of drugs)”, while from “criminal behaviors” as active human acts that result in a violation of an exclusively legal norm and that provides a sanction of a civil-administrative nature (compensation for damages, restitution, demolition, suspension, disbarment, and administrative detention) or criminal (fine, fine, imprisonment and arrest)”. Even more succinctly, we can consider “deviant and criminal behavior” (DCB) as all those active human acts that constitute a violation of a social and/or legal rule, and their transgression provides for the application of a punitive sanction. Based on this assumption, we propose a) the Graded Antisocial Model (GA-M), which considers antisociality as a graded phenomenon that is reinforced over time through active behaviors that are not limited by the social context of reference, becoming then a structured personality disorder only when the individual’s self-centeredness becomes rigid and dysfunctional; b) the Antisocial Severity Scale (AS-S), which draws the pathological and dysfunctional evolution of antisociality, in five levels (yellow for emotional dysfunctionality, orange for self-centeredness, red for violation of social rules and violence to property, animals, and people, purple for severe violation of legal rules and black for structured psychopathology); c) the Perrotta-Marciano Questionnaire on the state of awareness of one’s deviant and criminal behaviors (ADCB-Q), in 30 items on L1-6 scale, which defines both deviant and criminal tendency and the grade of awareness of one’s pathological state.

Depresión y esquemas tempranos maladaptativos asociados al consumo de drogas en usuarios de una comunidad terapéutica intrapenitenciaria

Introduction: drug addiction is considered a public health problem and is associated with delinquency and violent behavior. Objective: to determine the relation between early maladaptive schemas, depression and drug use in persons deprived of liberty in intrapenitentiary treatment with the therapeutic community modality. Method: non-experimental and cross-sectional research in a population conformed by 114 male users deprived of liberty. The instruments used were the Beck Depression Inventory and early maladaptive schemas and drug use questionnaires. Results: the schemas that correlated with drug use in persons deprived of liberty were failure, subjugation, sacrifice, insufficient discipline and grandiosity, and those that increased the risk of drug use were dependence/incompetence (RR = 3.375, I = .418, S = 27.227), vulnerability (RR = 3.375, I = .418, S = 27.227), failure (RR = 2.500, I = .306, S = 20.453) and unattainable standards (RR = 2.294, I = .279, S = 18.860). Discussion and conclusions: it was found that early maladaptive schemas in the prison population are related to and increase the risk of drug use, therefore these results have applications for the prevention and treatment of drug use in persons deprived of liberty.

Use of benzodiazepine and related drugs in migrants and Finnish-born persons: a nationwide register-based study.

Benzodiazepines and related drugs (BZDR) are often used longer than generally recommended. The aim is to study patterns of use among migrant and Finnish-born users of BZDR, and to identify factors that are associated with long-term use and BZDR polytherapy. This register-based study includes a nationwide sample of migrants (n=8729) and their Finnish-born controls (n=11 388) who had purchased BZDR in 2011-2014, but not in 2009-2010. Information on drug purchases was obtained from the National Prescription Register and the duration of drug use was estimated using PRE2DUP method. The main outcomes were long-term use of BZDR, polytherapy and time until discontinuation of BZDR use. Sociodemographic variables and information on preceding psychiatric diagnoses were included as covariates. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were the statistical methods used. Only migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa were more likely to discontinue the medication once initiated than Finnish-born users. Migrants were significantly less likely to be long-term users (adjusted odds ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.70-0.89) or polytherapy users (aOR 0.90, 95% CI 0.84-0.97) of BZDR compared with Finnish-born participants. Migrants had less long-term and concomitant use of several BZDR than Finnish-born participants. The pattern of use is more optimal among migrants, but it may also reflect poorer access to mental health treatment.

56-LB: Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Use of Blood Pressure–Lowering Drugs Associated with Different Risk levels of Type 2 Diabetes among U.S. Adults without Diabetes

Understanding differences in risk factors can assist in identifying means to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence. Different types of blood pressure (BP) lowering drugs are associated with different levels of T2D risk. This study examined the utilization of BP-lowering drugs among US adults aged 18 and over without diabetes with diagnosed hypertension by racial/ethnic group. We used self-report or ICD-10 diagnostic codes to identify our study population using the 2016-2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The high T2D risk drugs included beta-blockers and diuretics and the low-risk drugs were ACEI and ARBs. We calculated the percentage of high-risk and low-risk drug use in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) , non-Hispanic White (NHW) , Hispanic, and Asian persons. Logistic regression was used to compare the uses of two drug types across different racial/ethnic groups, controlling for demographics, history of cardiovascular and renal diseases, insurance, duration of hypertension, and general health measurements. We have identified 18,283 individuals, with a mean age of 60.7 and 52.4% were females. Compared with NHB, NHW persons (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) :0.90, 95% CI: 0.58-0.98) , Hispanic (aOR:0.62, 95% CI: 0.56-0.70) , and Asian (aOR:0.54, 95% CI: 0.46-0.64) persons were less likely to receive high-risk drugs. Meanwhile, NHW (aOR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.09-1.29) , Hispanic (aOR:1.14, 95% CI: 1.03-1.27) , and Asian (aOR:1.19, 95% CI: 1.02-1.40) persons were more likely to use low-risk drugs than NHB persons (all p&amp;lt;0.05) . The highest use of high-risk BP-lowering drugs and the lowest use of low-risk BP-lowering drugs by NHB persons could increase their risks of T2D and contribute to disparities in T2D prevalence between NHB and other racial/ethnic groups. Future studies can quantify the effect of the BP-lowering drug choices on T2D disparities. Disclosure H. Shao: Board Member; BRAVO4HEALTH, LLC. K. Alkhuzam: None. J. Guo: None. T. Jiao: None. S. M. Smith: None. P. Zhang: None. E. W. Gregg: None.

Distinguishing personal use of drugs from drug supply: Approaches and challenges.

The ability to fairly and justly distinguish between drug possession for personal use and drug possession for supply is a central feature of drug laws across the globe. Whether such distinctions pertain to decriminalisation of simple possession, or to the penalties associated with drug offences, such differentiation remains a core problem for policymakers. In this commentary, taking 91 different jurisdictions into consideration, we identify five different approaches to distinguishing personal use from supply: four of these involved quantification of an amount of drug (whether in weight or number of doses). The other approach relied on case-by-case judgement. Drawing upon survey data of drug use from nine countries, we provide an example of how the quantity bears little resemblance to drug use patterns, and does not take heterogeneity of drug use into account. While the non-quantified approach can lead to discriminatory and racialised policing, all of the quantification approaches also pose problems, largely concerned with arbitrary amounts. There appears to be no perfect way to differentiate possession for personal use from intentions to supply. This commentary opens up a number of important policy-relevant research questions given this central feature of drug policy design.

A Sociology of Empathy and Shared Understandings: Contextualizing Beliefs and Attitudes on Why People Use Opioids

AbstractThere has been a steep rise in overdoses and mortality among people who use opioids or who inject drugs (PWUD), including in North America, the United Kingdom, and parts of Eastern Europe, with some of the sharpest increases amassing in rural communities. Currently, the literature lacks a comparative focus on the views and experiences of rural PWUD and professionals who regularly work and interface with them, in terms of their understandings of the rural drug use initiation/relapse trajectory. Considering a renewed sociology of emotions and empathy and the constructs of direct experience (e.g., of personal drug use) versus role‐playing (e.g., envisioning oneself in another's position), we used a modified constant comparison method to analyze interviews conducted with PWUD and professional stakeholders in rural southern Illinois, an opioid overdose hotspot. Findings suggest that rural opioid use is adopted in service of an intricate interplay of sensory, relational, somatic, and psychosocial benefits, with a sharp divergence between PWUD, who express considerable agency in their drug use behaviors, and professionals, who fail to successful role‐play in emphasizing PWUD's limited willpower and “deviant” sociocultural predilection. These dynamics illuminate challenges to advancing nuanced, culturally humble programming to advance public health goals related to the opioid and drug injection epidemic.

Psychedelic Cognition-The Unreached Frontier of Psychedelic Science.

Psychedelic compounds hold the promise of changing the face of neuroscience and psychiatry as we know it. There have been numerous proposals to use them to treat a range of neuropsychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction and PTSD; and trials to date have delivered positive results in favor of the novel therapeutics. Further to the medical use, the wider healthy population is gaining interest in these compounds. We see a surge in personal use of psychedelic drugs for reasons not limited to spiritual enhancement, improved productivity, aiding the management of non-pathological anxiety and depression, and recreational interests. Notably, microdosing—the practice of taking subacute doses of psychedelic compounds—is on the rise. Our knowledge about the effects of psychedelic compounds, however, especially in naturalistic settings, is still fairly limited. In particular, one of the largest gaps concerns the acute effects on cognition caused by psychedelics. Studies carried out to date are riddled with limitations such as having disparate paradigms, small sample sizes, and insufficient breadth of testing on both unhealthy and healthy volunteers. Moreover, the studies are majoritarily limited to laboratory settings and do not assess the effects at multiple dosages within the same paradigm nor at various points throughout the psychedelic experience. This review aims to summarize the studies to date in relation to how psychedelics acutely affect different domains of cognition. In the pursuit of illuminating the current limitations and offering long-term, forward-thinking solutions, this review compares and contrasts findings related to how psychedelics impact memory, attention, reasoning, social cognition, and creativity.

A test of self-medication hypothesis for drug use in homeless persons: the role of severe mental illness

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to test the self-medication hypothesis of drug use in a sample of homeless persons. A serial mediation model was tested to examine the effects of recent victimization on trauma-related symptom severity, and the effects of trauma-related symptom severity on severity of severe mental illness (SMI) symptoms, and finally the effects of severity of SMI symptoms on illicit drug use. The final sample for the study included 164 participants who were assessed prospectively at both baseline and 6-month post-baseline. It was hypothesized that SMI would mediate the pathways for self-medication. Structural Equations Modelling analyses revealed that current trauma-related symptom severity mediated the relationship between recent victimization and severity of SMI symptoms. Furthermore, SMI symptom severity mediated the relationship between current trauma-related symptom severity, and illicit drug use providing indirect support for the self-medication hypothesis. The findings underscore the importance of assessing and providing for trauma-informed care to persons with SMI seeking services for co-occurring substance use disorders.

Efficacy and Safety of Omadacycline Versus Linezolid in Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections in Persons Who Inject Drugs.

IntroductionAcute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) represent one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits, and are frequent complications of intravenous drug use in persons who inject drugs (PWID). This study examined the efficacy and safety of omadacycline, versus linezolid, in PWID and persons who do not inject drugs, in the Phase 3 Omadacycline in Acute Skin and Skin Structure Infection (OASIS-1, OASIS-2) studies.MethodsEligible participants were aged ≥ 18 years with qualifying skin infections: wound infection, cellulitis, erysipelas, or major abscess. The primary efficacy endpoint was early clinical response (ECR) in the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population, defined as survival with ≥ 20% reduction in lesion size at 48–72 h after the first dose of omadacycline or linezolid. Key secondary endpoints included investigator-assessed clinical response at the post-treatment evaluation (PTE) in the mITT and clinical per-protocol populations, and clinical response at PTE in the micro-mITT population. Safety was assessed based on adverse events (AEs) and standard clinical laboratory tests. Efficacy endpoints of clinical response at ECR and PTE were analyzed for the mITT and clinically evaluable (CE) PTE populations.ResultsIn total, 1380 patients (822 PWID, 558 non-PWID) were included in this secondary analysis. Wound infections were reported more frequently in the PWID subgroup (72.8%) at baseline; cellulitis or erysipelas (43.9%) and major abscess (37.4%) were the most frequently reported baseline infections in the non-PWID subgroup. Clinical success rates at ECR and PTE in the mITT population, and at PTE in the CE population, were high for patients receiving omadacycline or linezolid. Severe or serious treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs), and TEAEs leading to discontinuation, were infrequent.ConclusionThis subgroup analysis showed that omadacycline was effective and well tolerated, regardless of PWID status.

Visualizing a Calculus of Recovery: Calibrating Relations in an Opioid Epicenter.

This article uses participatory photography to explore the relationships animating efforts towards recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD) in the Dayton, Ohio area, an epicenter of illicit opioid use and overdose death. A photo-elicitation project was conducted with thirteen people who met the DSM-5 criteria for OUD. Photographs were used as prompts during qualitative interviews, which were thematically analyzed. Analysis of both visual and textual data demonstrated the ways in which recovery became an unfolding process of calculation as participants made strategic choices to navigate relations and encounters with things, people, and places. Relationships across each of these domains could, under some circumstances, serve as supports or motivators in the recovery process, but, in alternate settings, be experienced as “triggers” prompting a resumption of problematic drug use or, at the very least, a reckoning with the feelings and emotions associated with painful or problematic aspects of personal histories and drug use experiences. Findings highlight the importance of understanding recovery as a calibration of the ambiguous relations animating experiences of everyday life. We argue for continued emphasis on recovery as an active performance and ongoing practice of calculation—of risks and benefits, of supports and triggers, of gratification and heartbreak—rather than a goal or static state.

“Coming Out”: Stigma, Reflexivity and the Drug Researcher’s Drug Use

Some personal experience of illicit drug use undoubtedly exists within the population of academic drug researchers. But it is rarely acknowledged, and even more rarely reflected upon, in their published work. This is understandable: criminal, professional and social sanctions may follow public admission of illicit activities. However, to not “come out” seems contrary to some core academic principles, such as transparency in data collection and reflexivity in the research process. Coming out may present researchers with an opportunity for improving knowledge of, and policies toward, drug use. In this article, we identify reasons for and against the public disclosure of drug use and the impact of such disclosure across a range of spheres, including research, teaching, policy influence and private lives. Reasons against coming out include the risks of undermining professional reputations and hence the ability to contribute to academic and policy debates, the threat of criminal justice sanctions, and impacts on loved ones. However, coming out can have academic benefit (i.e., improving our understanding of drugs, of people who use drugs, and of drug research) and contribute to activist goals (e.g., de-stigmatization of drug use and demarginalization of people who use drugs). Both the risks and benefits of public drug use disclosure have implications for how research and researchers may influence drug policy. Two key themes, stigma and reflexivity, underpin the discussion. We do not conclude with clear recommendations for drug-using drug researchers; to come out or to not come out is a personal decision. However, we argue that there is clear merit to further open discussion on the role of disclosure and reflection on personal drug use experience among those working in drug research and drug policy—where such reflection is relevant and where such researchers feel able to do so.