Perception Of Drug Users Research Articles

Perceptions of drug users and community gate keepers on the causes and consequences of synthetic drug use in Kunming: A three-level social-ecological approach

Synthetic drug use (SDU) is on the rise in China. Utilizing a grounded three-level social-ecological theoretical model, we aim to better understand how users, medical professionals, and other community gatekeepers perceive the causes and consequences of synthetic drug use in Kunming, China. Past work typically relies on drug users confined to rehabilitation facilities. Utilizing qualitative methods, our work integrates how various community actors perceive problems around synthetic drug use. Thirty face-to-face interviews were conducted in Kunming that were audio-recorded and transcribed. We identify emergent personal, interpersonal and societal level themes shaping SDU which provided our grounded theoretical model. Regardless of their social position, informants identified curiosity, peer networks that facilitated exposure, and the communality of sharing the drug experience as reasons to try synthetic drugs. Drug users reported negative consequences of SDU including the inability to sleep, a fear that others might discover one was using, and the difficulty of quitting. Medical professionals and others in the community were more likely to identify potential harms of SDU. Still, these community members felt synthetic drugs were less problematic than traditional drugs and reported less prejudice and stigma about these new drugs. Overall, medical professionals felt ill-prepared to deal with this new epidemic.

Patterns of use and perceptions of drug addicts in Greece about “shisha” (a new synthetic drug) at economic crisis era

Purpose – This paper aims to research the prevalence of a new drug which appeared at the era of economic crisis in Greece, called “shisha.” Shisha, a rather cheap form of crystal meth, has spread fast among drug users in Greece with the deepening of the economic crisis. The present paper is concerned with the socio-demographic characteristics of drug users who choose this type of drug and reveals the conditions under which this drug is used. In addition, perceptions of drug users about the specific drug are also explored. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 148 drug users took part in this study. Of these 73 percent were men and 27 percent women. The average age of participants was approximately 37 years. All participants in the study were interviewed face-to-face on the basis of a structured brief questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. Findings – The data suggests that the majority of drug users who use “shisha” are mainly heroin users (63.2 percent) and they use this new drug as a second choice to heroin. Shisha can be found in the center of Athens and it is usually smoked through a glass pipe. The cost for buying the drug is relatively low (two to three euros) and the drug is produced in small illegal labs. Most participants argued that shisha is linked to violent and aggressive behavior, loss of weight, insomnia, sexual arousal and a psychotic state that may cause death. The drug is made out of a form of crystal meth produced by amphetamines and liquid acids found in batteries liquids. Practical implications – This drug is mainly used by homeless drug users in the center of Athens. Its exact synthesis cannot be identified given the fact that drug users use various recipes to produce it. Taking the drug is extremely dangerous for the health of the users. Originality/value – Research of the use of a new drug linked to the economic crisis in Greece. Researchers in this paper approached street drug users who are highly unlikely to seek help from health or other types of treatment providers.

Perceptions of drug users regarding Hepatitis C screening and care: a qualitative study

BackgroundIllicit drug users have a high prevalence of HCV and represent the majority of newly infected persons in the U.S. Despite the availability of effective HCV treatment, few drug users have been evaluated or treated for HCV. Racial and ethnic minorities have a higher incidence and prevalence of HCV and higher HCV-related mortality. Factors contributing to poor engagement in care are incompletely understood.MethodsFourteen mixed-gender focus groups of either African American or Latino/a drug users (N = 95) discussed barriers to HCV testing and treatment. Themes were identified through content analysis of focus group discussions.ResultsMany drug users were tested for HCV in settings where they were receiving care. Outside of these settings, most were unaware of voluntary test sites. After testing HCV positive, drug users reported not receiving clear messages regarding the meaning of a positive HCV test, the impact of HCV infection, or appropriate next steps including HCV clinical evaluations. Many drug users perceived treatment as unimportant because they lacked symptoms, healthcare providers minimized the severity of the diagnosis, or providers did not recommend treatment. Mistrust of the motivations of healthcare providers was cited as a barrier to pursuing treatment. Social networks or social interactions were a source of HCV-related information and were influential in shaping drug users perceptions of treatment and its utility.ConclusionDrug users perceived a paucity of settings for self-initiated HCV testing and poor provider-patient communication at test sites and during medical encounters. Notably, drug users reported having an unclear understanding about the meaning of a positive HCV test, the health implications of HCV infection, the importance of clinical evaluations and monitoring, and of treatment options for HCV. Efforts to improve the delivery of clinical messages about HCV infection for drug users at test settings and clinical encounters are needed.

The ‘war on drugs’ has failed: Is decriminalisation of drug use a solution to the problem in South Africa?

This article engages in the debate surrounding decriminalisation of drug use and whether this is a possible solution to the problem of drug use in South Africa – a question becoming more prevalent in global discussions about drug policy and its efficacy. We argue that two aspects must be addressed when evaluating a policy: its philosophical justification and its efficacy. We find that criminalising drugs may be justified by the public harm principle, but it does not effectively achieve the purpose of preventing and decreasing drug use and associated burdens. Thus, we argue that prohibition is a constitutional limitation, but does not necessarily achieve its purpose in the least repressive or most effective way. Finally, we suggest that a solution to the drug problem will have to address the health needs of the drug user and the context, particularly socio-economic, of drug use. Decriminalisation could theoretically do this by changing society’s perception of drug users, thus helping to promote a human rights-based, public health-orientated approach to the drug problem in South Africa.

Mind the Gap! Failure in Understanding Key Dimensions of a Drug User's Life

This article discusses the failure to succeed in the treatment of the heterogeneous population of substance users, in terms of too little, or a total absence of, necessary available knowledge from an ethnographic perspective of the user's mental geographies. I suggest three dimensions that are critical to be knowledgeable about at the beginning planning stages of any intervention and on any level of policy, namely, insights into time, space, and bodily perceptions of drug users. In these scopes, barriers are drawn and upheld between caregiver and intervention planners, on the one hand, and the client, on the other. In cases when treatment has proven successful, however success is defined, the gap between the addict's mental geography and the surrounding world has been overcome to some degree. Previous research in the area of substance users’ perspective of time, space, and body, and estimates of its value for success in and posttreatment, support, and care of people with severe drug-use-related problems, are discussed.

Changing Control of the Open Drug Scenes in Oslo— Crime, Welfare, Immigration Control, or a Combination?

Over the last few years there has been a societal move away from a perception of drug users as criminals to a perception of the users as sick. Contrary to what one may expect from such a change, reported drug crimes against the penal code are at record-high levels. It is the contradictory inherent in these tendencies that will be emphasized and highlighted in this article. The open drug scenes in Oslo and the police control of the scenes have changed. During the last few years there has been a growing element of foreign citizens in the drug scenes, and the police control has focused on the foreigners. Could part of the explanation of the contradictions be that there is a differentiation of how the different users are handled? Are there different forms of social control employed toward Norwegian and foreign actors in the open drug scenes? This article puts forward arguments that this is actually the case, driven by a consistent association of foreign actors in the drug scene with organized crime, and a stricter Norwegian legislation and approach to immigration questions, with a tendency toward a conflation of immigration and criminal law.

Family functioning of out-of-treatment cocaine base paste and cocaine hydrochloride users

Knowledge of family structure and behavioral dynamics of out-of-treatment drug users under poverty becomes relevant, because of the role that the family plays in drug use and rehabilitation. Hypotheses 1. The perception of drug users about their family functioning reveals a dysfunctional organization and communication–connection problems with their families; and 2. the family system of cocaine base paste (CBP) users presents greater dysfunctionality than cocaine hydrochloride (CH) users. Method Cross-sectional descriptive design of primary users of CH ( n = 236) and primary users of CBP ( n = 231) during the last month, out-of-substance abuse treatment during the last 6 months. Instruments Risk Behavior Questionnaire and How-Is-Your-Family Questionnaire. Results The total sample presented 72.9% of families with risk functioning; CBP users registered a more deteriorated family structure and communication–connection than CH users. Conclusions CBP and CH users, who are hidden from health treatment services, do indeed present a high degree of family dysfunction; and the CBP group, compared to the CH group, presented various indicators of greater risk in their family dysfunction.

Social Categorization and the Influence of Drug Involvement on Drug Attitude Structures: Implications for Assessing Drug Use and Tolerance in the Workplace1

Theories of social categorization were used to generate hypotheses concerning the impact of drug involvement on the attitudes and knowledge structures that people use in making drug‐related judgments. Data indicated that greater drug exposure tended to foster more complex knowledge structures for drugs and drug users as revealed by subjects’ perceptions of drug users, tolerance for drug use, and perceptions of drug seriousness. Basically, high drug involvement in terms of personal alcohol use and associating with illicit drug users was related to greater individuation of drug user types. Therefore, high‐involved subjects, relative to low‐involved individuals, were better able to discriminate between different drug user subtypes and drug user subtypes were more important to high‐involved subjects when responding to drug‐related survey items.