Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2012
Reductions in convictions for violent crime during opioid maintenance treatment: a longitudinal national cohort study.
Although opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) has been found to reduce crime, less is known about its associations with violent crime. This study investigates changes in violent crime convictions prior to, during, and after OMT, and examines the relationship between violent crime convictions prior to OMT with the risk of violent and non-violent crime convictions during treatment. ⋯ Violent crime is reduced during OMT. Screening for violent behaviour and violence risk assessment should be implemented in the treatment system.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2012
Development of the caffeine withdrawal symptom questionnaire: caffeine withdrawal symptoms cluster into 7 factors.
Habitual caffeine consumers who abstain from caffeine experience withdrawal symptoms such as headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, and flu-like symptoms (Juliano and Griffiths, 2004). The caffeine withdrawal syndrome has been documented across many experimental studies; however, little is known about how withdrawal symptoms co-vary during a discrete episode. Furthermore, a validated measure of caffeine withdrawal is lacking. ⋯ Future directions include replication, assessment on a clinical population, and further examination of psychometric properties of the CWSQ. The CWSQ should facilitate the assessment and diagnosis of caffeine withdrawal and increase our knowledge of the caffeine withdrawal syndrome.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Aug 2012
Impulsivity differences in recreational cannabis users and binge drinkers in a university population.
Recreational cannabis use and alcohol binge drinking are the most common drug consumption patterns in young adults. Impulsivity and several psychopathological signs are increased in chronic drug users, but the implications of recreational use are still poorly understood. ⋯ Our observations of this population of non-dependent drug users are consistent with the increased impulsivity traits and behaviors that have been described previously in chronic drug abusers. In this study, compared to no drug use, the recreational use of cannabis was associated with a major dysfunction of the different facets of impulsive behaviors. However, alcohol binge drinking was related only to impulsive decision-making. These results suggest that impulsivity traits and behaviors are present not only in chronic drug abusers but also in recreational drug users. Future work should continue to investigate the long-term effects of these common consumption patterns on various impulsive behaviors and psychopathological symptoms.