Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2019
Drug checking services at music festivals and events in a Canadian setting.
Drug checking is a harm reduction intervention that allows for identification of drug composition. The objective of the study was to assess drug market components and concordance between expected substance reported by clients and results from point-of-care drug checking at music festivals and events in British Columbia. ⋯ We found a large proportion of substances that contained unexpected adulterants. Our findings highlight the value of continued drug checking and will be helpful in designing future harm reduction interventions in similar contexts.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2019
Roll-your-own cigarette smoking among youth experiencing homelessness.
Roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette smoking is uncommon among young smokers in the U.S. but may be more widespread among those experiencing homelessness as it is a less expensive source of cigarettes. This study examines the prevalence and correlates of RYO use among young cigarette smokers experiencing homelessness. ⋯ RYOs may encourage continued tobacco use among youth experiencing homelessness and pose additional health risks despite users' beliefs to the contrary. Future research is needed to obtain more detailed information on RYO practices and motivations for use, as well as how to address RYOs in efforts to reduce tobacco use in this population.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2019
Gestational buprenorphine exposure: Effects on pregnancy, development, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and behavior in a translational rodent model.
The opioid crisis has led to an increased number of pregnant opioid-dependent women receiving opioid-maintenance therapy (e.g. buprenorphine, BUP), but little is known about the consequences of gestational BUP exposure on pregnancy outcomes, maternal care, or offspring development. ⋯ These results demonstrate that the therapeutic BUP-LD in rats was relatively safe with subtle effects on maternal care and rodent offspring. However, overexposure BUP-HD in rats produced NOWS and compromised maternal caregiving as well as rodent offspring survival. More research is critical to validate the translational implication of these findings for human opioid-dependent mothers maintained on BUP-maintenance therapy.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2019
Characteristics and current clinical practices of opioid treatment programs in the United States.
Given rising rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and related consequences, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) can play a pivotal role in the U.S. opioid crisis. There is a paucity of recent research to guide how best to leverage OTPs in the opioid response. ⋯ Efforts are needed to increase availability of all medications approved to treat OUD in OTPs, integrate infectious disease-related services, and expand the reach of OTPs in the U.S.