Opium Research Articles

Applying foresight methods at the national level in the field of substance use: Experience from the DRUG-PREP project

Abstract This presentation will focus on the experience from the DRUG-PREP project. While foresight has been used in other sectors, its implementation in the drugs field has previously remained relatively limited. The application of foresight to the drugs sphere is important in recognition of the fast-changing and intersectional nature of drugs and addiction. At the European level, a futures exercise was organized by the EMCDDA (as of July 2024 the European Union Drugs Agency, EUDA) to explore the future of drugs at the European level until 2030. In this landscape, the DRUG-PREP project implemented foresight approaches at the national level, to support preparedness of national drug monitoring and response systems. The DRUG-PREP partners carried out individual national exercises in six countries: Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal. The link to policy was a key aspect of the project, with each country organising a national dialogue to directly engage policymakers. The presentation will focus on the Belgian research. Horizon Scanning was performed to identify trends and megatrends with potential implications on the national drugs ecosystem, through a literature review. An expert workshop was organized to validate the trends and explore their implications. Subsequently, a small scenario building exercise was organised to explore the consequences of a clearly defined ‘disruptor’: the ban on opium production in Afghanistan. Finally, a national dialogue allowed discussion with stakeholders on how foresight can be integrated more structurally in the drugs field in Belgium. A summary of the results will be presented. Policymakers across all levels (local, regional, federal) have been active participants in the foresight activities and workshops. The link to policymaking has been crystallized in the integration of foresight into the new Belgian National Drugs Strategy 2024-2025.

The politics of medical expertise and substance control: WHO consultants for addiction rehabilitation and pharmacy education in Thailand and India during the Cold War.

This paper explores the role of World Health Organization (WHO) medical experts in ambitious projects for substance control during the Cold War in Thailand and India. The circumstances surrounding opium production in these two nations were very different, as were the reasons for requesting expert assistance from the United Nations. Whereas the Thai military regime was concerned with controlling illicit traffic to secure its borders, the Indian government wanted to direct its opium raw materials towards domestic pharmaceutical production. Overlapping and sometimes competing agendas of country governments and international agencies converged upon each project, complicating the consultants' work and requiring careful navigation. In both cases, medicine as a science concerned with human health and well-being was subordinated to more pressing agendas. At the same time, the article argues that WHO consultants left an important impact, though not necessarily due to their skills and training in medicine. Instead, they provided exemplars of sound governance and delivery of public health in a politically stable and economically developed country.

Between abolition and opium: civility and force across Asian and Caribbean British imperialisms

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between Britian’s abolition of slavery in its Caribbean colonies in 1838 and its instigation of the First Opium War with China in 1840. In so doing, it works against the occlusion of this relationship in the study of British imperialism despite the centrality of these events to the birth of global systems of free trade and free labour. It draws on the parliamentary debates and correspondence of British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston to analyze Britain’s negotiation of anti-slavery efforts with Haiti and its trade of Indian opium with China. It argues that these negotiations position British masculine civility against less-civilized foreign others in ways that legitimate the use of maritime force. This logic of imperial civility produces contradictory effects by demanding an end to the brutality of African enslavement while condoning the devastation of Asian opium addiction enacted in the name of free trade.

Predictors of tobacco use among pregnant women: a large-scale, retrospective study

ObjectiveTo investigate the predictors of smoking among pregnant women in Iran, focusing on health literacy and associated socioeconomic factors.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included 103,042 pregnant women aged 18–45 years who attended healthcare centers affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for routine prenatal and postnatal checkups between 2017 and 2020. Data were collected from the Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR®), which recorded sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and lifestyle behaviors, including tobacco use.ResultsSmoking prevalence was 0.9%. Women with undergraduate or higher education had significantly lower odds of smoking (OR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.28–0.47) compared to those with primary education or less. Maternal age was marginally associated with increased smoking risk (OR = 1.01; 95% CI = 1.00-1.03). While unemployment showed an increased crude risk for smoking, this was not significant after adjustment (adjusted OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.86–1.21). Strong associations were found between tobacco use and alcohol consumption (OR = 46.3; 95% CI = 24.8–83.4) and opium addiction (OR = 23.4; 95% CI = 14.5–36.3). Chronic disease history also increased smoking odds (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.17–1.92).ConclusionLower education, substance use, and chronic disease are significant predictors of smoking among pregnant women in Iran. Targeted interventions to improve health literacy and address these factors are essential to reduce tobacco use during pregnancy.

Investigating the Effect of Opium Addiction on Serum Glucose and Lipid Profiles in Diabetic Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes

Background: Opium is one of the most commonly abused substances in Iran. Understanding the relationship between unhealthy drug use and clinical outcomes is essential due to its public health implications. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of opium addiction on serum glucose and lipid profiles in diabetic patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 99 diabetic patients with ACS were examined. Demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters (including hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting blood sugar (FBS), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG) were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups: those who used opium and those who did not. All variables were compared between the two groups. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18. Results: The mean age of patients in the opium and non-opium groups was 47.4 ± 11.01 and 47.5 ± 11.12 years, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of serum glucose levels (P > 0.05). Additionally, no significant difference was found in TG, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL between patients who used opium and those who did not (P > 0.05). Conclusions: This study found that opium use did not have any positive or negative effect on serum glucose levels or lipid profiles in diabetic patients with ACS. Therefore, our results cannot be generalized with certainty.

Effect of Opium on Blood Pressure of Abuset

Present study aim to examine effect of Opium on Blood pressure of abuser, for this Opium abuser of different age, gender were categorised in groups then there Blod pressure were measured by sphygmanometer, result sjow that Opium decreases blood pressure of abuser

Functional genetics reveals the contribution of delta opioid receptor to type 2 diabetes and beta-cell function

Functional genetics has identified drug targets for metabolic disorders. Opioid use impacts metabolic homeostasis, although mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we explore the OPRD1 gene (encoding delta opioid receptor, DOP) to understand its impact on type 2 diabetes. Large-scale sequencing of OPRD1 and in vitro analysis reveal that loss-of-function variants are associated with higher adiposity and lower hyperglycemia risk, whereas gain-of-function variants are associated with lower adiposity and higher type 2 diabetes risk. These findings align with studies of opium addicts. OPRD1 is expressed in human islets and beta cells, with decreased expression under type 2 diabetes conditions. DOP inhibition by an antagonist enhances insulin secretion from human beta cells and islets. RNA-sequencing identifies pathways regulated by DOP antagonism, including nerve growth factor, circadian clock, and nuclear receptor pathways. Our study highlights DOP as a key player between opioids and metabolic homeostasis, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes.

Uncovering the Opium Crisis: The Poison of Turkish–American Relations in the 1960s and 1970s

Opium cultivation in Turkey had a long history spanning centuries. It was used as food, oil, painkiller, and a raw material to produce heroin. In the late 1960s, opium production precipitated a crisis between the United States of America (USA) and Turkey in which the USA puts increasing pressure on Turkey to ban opium cultivation as a part of its fight against drug addiction. However, the opium crisis was more than just a crop crisis, because Turkey did not play a major role in illegal drug trafficking as a producer country due to the volume of its opium production. Rather, the crisis can be viewed as a diplomatic offensive to test Turkey's loyalty to the USA and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Turkey was economically and militarily dependent on the USA, but shaken by the rise of the left and anti-Americanism in the late 1960s, it tried to move away from its US-centric foreign policy after the Cyprus Crisis in 1964. Ultimately, the democratically elected Demirel and Ecevit governments failed the test of loyalty to the USA and NATO, while the Erim government, backed by the military, passed the test due to different political, economic and social concerns.

The making of a ‘narco-state’: Opium consumption, trade and regulations on the northeastern frontier of British India

Opium was one of the highly valued-commodities traded in the northeastern frontier of British India. This article argues that the introduction of opium in the region was in line with the British policy of introducing high-value commodities trade in the colonies. This policy helped extract raw materials and expand exchanges in new territories. Second, this policy of introducing cash crops was subtle. Opium was introduced as a cash crop decades before tea was ‘discovered’ in the region. The acreage remained low as compared to tea plantations. Opium’s value in terms of its revenue-generating capacity was the highest in comparison with tea and salt. Lastly, opium was disposed of through the state-run, monopolistic trade networks. Opium cultivation was discontinued in the British territories in Assam in 1860. All demands for poppy were subsequently met by importing opium from the rest of South Asia. The state-run and state-promoted tea and opium trades sustained the empire’s control over resources and lubricated the state machinery. Monopoly over the opium trade was crucial to control labour/resources and finance the Empire. The colonial regime built the ‘narco-state’ in the northeastern frontier to expand and sustain its trading interests. The exploration of the colonial policies and measures in this regard also interrogates the nature of political economy in the region in the period under study.

Impact of Alcohol and Opium Use on Aggressive Behavior in Substance Users

The aim of the study is to compare the aggression levels in male drug patients who were taking alcohol and opium. A sample of 54 male drug addicts used in this study to compare verbal and physical aggression, hostility and anger. The Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire was used in this study. The results of the study show the significant difference between alcohol and opium when it comes to physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. The result shows that physical aggression was higher in alcohol addicts (M= 29.00) as compared to opium addicts (M= 22.70). Similarly, verbal aggression was significantly higher (M= 12.14) in alcohol addicts as compared to opium addicts (M= 11.57). Likewise, anger was also higher in alcohol addicts (M= 16.86) than opium (M= 14.96). Furthermore, hostility was also higher in alcohol addicts (M= 21.28) as compared with opium addicts (M= 20.04). The results are significant in spreading awareness and developing optimal treatment plans for substance users.

Exploring Narcopolis as a Postmodern Narrative and Semiotic Text

Jeet Thayil’s Narcopolis (2012), inspired by his own experience as an opium and later heroin addict, paints a vivid picture of the seedy underbelly of 1970s Bombay. The novel features a multitude of characters from the opium dens of Bombay and threads multiple narratives, subversive and carnivalesque, to create a postmodern chronicle of the city. This article analyzes the narrative techniques in Jeet Thayil's novel Narcopolis (2012) to explore traits of postmodernity. It contends that the occurrence of multiple narratives, whose reliability is questionable, indicates a Barthian death of the author, encouraging the readers to give meaning to the text. Also, an inquiry into the novel’s commentary on its own narrative style indicates self-reflexivity. A study of the chronotope will be undertaken to decipher the temporality in the novel. Besides, the article will look out for possibilities of embedded narratives, plot digressions, and intertextuality. It also intends to scrutinize the novel using the tools of social semiotics. Linguistic analysis of discourse entails a monolithic approach, wherein it considers language as the only mode of interpretation of a text. Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen suggest that this limitation can be overcome by social semiotics, which studies a text in its multimodality. Signs, linguistic as well as nonlinguistic, are apparent through multiple modes, such as language, sound, visual, and so forth. The incorporation of certain pictures, changes in typography of certain pages as well as the book cover of Narcopolis poses a rich possibility of the semiotic understanding of the text through visual mode. Lastly, this article will aim to establish a connection between the narrative techniques and the semiotic interpretation of the text.

Resisting British Mercantilism in the Age of Free Trade: Persian Merchants and the Opium Trade in the Indian Ocean World in the Nineteenth Century

Resisting British Mercantilism in the Age of Free Trade: Persian Merchants and the Opium Trade in the Indian Ocean World in the Nineteenth Century

Investigation of the Demographic Characteristics of Patients Addicted to Opioids Undergoing Drug Maintenance Treatment in Addiction Treatment Centers in Bojnurd City

Introduction: Opium addiction is one of the most significant problems in Iran. This study investigates demographic information of opium-addicted patients undergoing maintenance treatment in Bojnurd addiction treatment centers. This study aims to identify high-risk groups and those who need therapeutic and psychosocial interventions to maintain treatments. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2016 to 2021 on 300 addicted patients referring to Bojnurd addiction treatment centers. These patients participated in the opioid maintenance treatment program for at least six months. The investigation utilized a checklist of demographic information and examined the files of addicted people undergoing maintenance treatment in eight addiction treatment centers in the city. The data were analyzed in SPSS23 software using the Chi-square statistical test. Results: The mean age (standard deviation) of the participants was 52.17±14.13 years. Besides, 76.6% of the participants were male, 70.0% resided in the city, and 73.6% were married. The majority of the participants had a primary education level and were self-employed. Opium juice was the most consumed substance, and smoking was the most common method of use. Conclusion: It appears that married and middle-aged individuals constitute the largest population undergoing maintenance treatment in Bojnurd city. The high frequency of individuals with low or no literacy in the studied population underscores the importance of education.

The Impact of Opium Consumption on Inflammatory Factors in Umbilical Cord Blood and Maternal Blood Postpartum: A Potential Contributor to Neonatal Complications

Opium addiction during pregnancy can have significant effects on the activity of the immune system as well as on pregnancy outcomes. A study was conducted comparing opium-addicted pregnant women to healthy pregnant women. Blood samples were taken from the maternal vein and umbilical cord immediately after delivery to measure concentrations of inflammatory markers. The results showed that the opium-addicted group had significantly higher levels of IL-6, IL-10, CRP, C3, and C4 in both maternal and cord blood samples compared to the control group. Additionally, adverse pregnancy outcomes such as NICU admissions, neonatal deaths, and low Apgar scores were more prevalent in the opium-addicted group. These findings suggest that opium addiction during pregnancy can lead to postpartum inflammation and negatively impact pregnancy outcomes. It is important to address opium addiction and provide appropriate support and treatment to pregnant women to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce the risk of complications.

Colonial Landscape Navigation: Postcolonial Ecocriticism in Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

This article examines how colonialism, ecology, and postcolonial viewpoints interact in Amitav Ghosh’s novel. The main themes and theoretical frameworks used to analyse the novel’s representation of a colonial environment and its ecological repercussions are highlighted in this study. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh brings readers to a 19th-century India firmly enmeshed in British colonialism. This work explores the intricate interactions between people and the environment, exploring the massive ecological changes brought on by imperial conquest via a postcolonial eco-critical perspective. This study reveals the novel’s ecological roots by looking at how Ghosh questions conventional narratives and presents a criticism of the effects of colonial rule on both human and non-human beings. The research emphasises the function of landscape as a place of contestation and resistance, illuminating how nature is exploited and perverted within the colonial setting by drawing on postcolonial theory and eco-critical frameworks. Important problems about power dynamics, environmental justice, and the connections between capitalism and ecological degradation are brought up by Ghosh’s depictions of the opium trade, the transatlantic slave trade, and the privatisation of nature.

Critical Analysis of United States Counternarcotics Strategies in Afghanistan

Between 2002 and 2018, the United States allocated $8.87 billion to counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, focusing on eradication, seizure, and alternative crops. Despite significant investments, Afghanistan emerged as the primary global opium supplier, responsible for 80% of opium production. Available data from 2001 to 2020 show that successful eradication and interdiction measures led to the destruction of 85,411 hectares of poppy fields and seizures of 679.05 tons of opium, yet cultivation reached 3,238,000 hectares and production reached 105,585 tons during the same period. The promotion of alternative crop projects inadvertently facilitated opium cultivation in some areas, as foreign aid empowered recipients to exploit resources contrary to their intended goals. Insecurity, weak governance, corruption, and the involvement of the elite are some of the factors for increased opium cultivation in Afghanistan. We argue that methods of foreign aid delivery, coupled with these four factors, rendered the whole enterprise of counternarcotics efforts ineffective.

Fangs and foliage: Unearthing the haemotoxic secrets of cannabis-dwelling rattlesnakes

Despite a recent surge in high-throughput venom research that has enabled many species to be studied, some snake venoms remain understudied. The long-tailed rattlesnakes (Crotalus ericsmithi, C. lannomi, and C. stejnegeri) are one group where such research lags, largely owing to the rarity of these snakes and the hazardous areas, ripe with drug (marijuana and opium) production, they inhabit in Mexico. To fill this knowledge gap, we used multiple functional assays to examine the coagulotoxic (including across different plasma types), neurotoxic, and myotoxic activity of the venom of the long-tailed rattlesnakes. All crude venoms were shown to be potently anticoagulant on human plasma, which we discovered was not due to the destruction of fibrinogen, except for C. stejnegeri displaying minor fibrinogen destruction activity. All venoms exhibited anticoagulant activity on rat, avian, and amphibian plasmas, with C. ericsmithi being the most potent. We determined the mechanism of anticoagulant activity by C. ericsmithi and C. lannomi venoms to be phospholipid destruction and inhibition of multiple coagulation factors, leading to a net disruption of the clotting cascade. In the chick biventer assay, C. ericsmithi and C. lannomi did not exhibit neurotoxic activity but displayed potential weak myotoxic activity. BIRMEX® (Faboterápico Polivalente Antiviperino) antivenom was not effective in neutralising this venom effect. Overall, this study provides an in-depth investigation of venom function of understudied long-tailed rattlesnakes and provides a springboard for future venom and ecology research on the group.

Long-Term Effects of Opium Consumption Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A 10-year Follow-Up Study.

Opium consumption has been an overlooked health issue in the Iranian population, and the prognostic role of opium consumption in patients undergoing coronary revascularization is unknown. We aimed to assess the association between opium consumption and long-term cardiovascular outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We screened 2203 consecutive patients who underwent elective PCI between April 2009 and April 2010 at Tehran Heart Center. Exclusion criteria were unsuccessful PCI, non-elective PCI, and missing opium use data. Opium consumption was defined as self-reported ever use of any traditional opium substances. Outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and a composite of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). The association between opium use and study outcomes was evaluated using the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method. Cumulative hazard curves were demonstrated to further assess the association visually. Furthermore, the effect of opium consumption on individual components of MACCE was evaluated in a competing risk setting. A total of 2025 elective PCI patients were included (age: 58.7 ± 10.67, 29.1% women), among whom 297 (14.6%) patients were opium users. After a median follow-up of 10.7 years, opium consumption was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality (IPTW-hazard ratio [HR] = 1.705, 95% CI: 1.125-2.585; P = 0.012) and MACCE (IPTW-HR = 1.578, 95% CI: 1.156-2.153; P = 0.004). The assessment of MACCE components suggested a non-significant borderline trend for higher non-fatal myocardial infarction (IPTW-sub-distribution HR [SHR] = 1.731, 95% CI: 0.928-3.231; P = 0.084) and mortality (IPTW-SHR = 1.441, 95% CI: 0.884-2.351; P = 0.143) among opium users. Opium consumption is associated with a more than 50% increase in long-term risk of mortality and MACCE in patients undergoing PCI. These findings accentuate the importance of preventive strategies to quit opium addiction in this population.

Fentanyl's potential impact on public health in India and China: A comparative review

AbstractThis study reviewed and compared fentanyl's potential impact on public health in India and China, two nations linked to its production and distribution. A comparison of China and India's governance structures, historical experiences with opioids, ideologies, and drug policies on the potential for domestic fentanyl use showed that fentanyl will likely become a more significant threat to Indian society. India's relatively weak governance, historical acceptance of opium, and permissive drug culture facilitate an environment conducive to the production and use of fentanyl. In contrast, China's strong central government, the Opium Wars, the historical effects of opium addiction, and adherence to conservative Confucian ethics will likely contribute to opposition to fentanyl use. Understanding these disparities is paramount for policymakers and public health officials in both nations to develop and customise strategies to confront the challenges posed by fentanyl.

The combined effect of Green Tea and Acceptance-based Training, Commitment on Craving in Opium Addicts

The combined effect of Green Tea and Acceptance-based Training, Commitment on Craving in Opium Addicts