Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2012
Estimated magnitude of diversion and abuse of opioids relative to benzodiazepines in France.
Prescription drug abuse is a major concern in several countries. France appears to be particularly prone to the abuse of opiate maintenance treatment (OMT) opioids and benzodiazepines (BZD), whereas the abuse of opioid analgesics (OA) is less commonly reported. To estimate the extent of psychoactive drug abuse, the French drug agency relies on different methods measuring various diversion indicators used as proxies for the detection of abuse/misuse: suspicion of abuse/dependence, illegal acquisition by patients seen in specialized care centers, prescription forgery and doctor shopping. The main objectives of the present study are to analyse the abuse and diversion of opioids (both OA and OMT), in comparison with those of BZDs, through the concurrent use of three different data sources. ⋯ This study presents an original approach, based on the use of multiple data sources, to evaluate and compare the estimated abuse and diversion of opioids and benzodiazepines. It provides health authorities with a global, comparative and summarized overall view of the importance of different patterns of diversion and abuse for different prescription drugs.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2012
Comparative StudyContrasting effects of d-methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone, and 4-methylmethcathinone on wheel activity in rats.
Reports from U.S., U.K. and European drug policy entities, and ongoing media accounts, show increasing recreational use of 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC, mephedrone) and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). Severe sympathomimetic symptoms, hallucinations, psychoses, and even deaths have been reported, yet little scientific information is available on the effects of these compounds in laboratory models. Available studies on the neurochemistry of these drugs show that 4-MMC and MDPV enhance DA neurotransmission, while 4-MMC additionally enhances 5-HT neurotransmission--a pattern much like that reported for methamphetamine versus 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). As is the case for designer amphetamines, these neurochemical distinctions may predict differential potential for repetitive versus episodic abuse and distinct lasting toxicities. ⋯ Thus, voluntary wheel running yielded the same categorical distinctions for these drugs as did prior experiments testing the effects of these drugs on monoaminergic neurotransmission. These data indicate that MDPV produces prototypical locomotor stimulant effects whereas 4-MMC is more similar to the entactogen MDMA.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2012
Assessment of a formulation designed to be crush-resistant in prescription opioid abusers.
The extent of prescription opioid abuse has led to the development of formulations that are difficult to crush. The purpose of the present studies was to examine whether experienced prescription opioid abusers (individuals using prescription opioids for non-medical purposes regardless of how they were obtained) were able to prepare a formulation of oxymorphone hydrochloride ER 40 mg designed to be crush-resistant (DCR) for intranasal (study 1) or intravenous abuse (study 2), utilizing a non-crush-resistant formulation of oxymorphone (40 mg; OXM) as a positive control. ⋯ These data suggest that the oxymorphone DCR formulations may be a promising technology for reducing opioid abuse.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2012
Co-ingestion of prescription opioids and other drugs among high school seniors: results from a national study.
The objective of this study was to determine the past-year prevalence rates and behavioral correlates of co-ingestion of prescription opioids and other drugs among high school seniors in the United States. ⋯ Nearly 7 out of every 10 nonmedical users of prescription opioids reported co-ingestion of prescription opioids and other drugs in the past year. The findings indicate that the co-ingestion of prescription opioids and other drugs by high school seniors in the United States serves as a marker for substance abuse and represents a significant public health concern.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2012
The combined effects of parental divorce and parental history of depression on cannabis use in young adults in France.
The joint effects of multiple social risk factors on substance use, such as parental divorce and parental history of depression, have rarely been studied in young adult offspring. ⋯ Our findings highlight the critical importance of considering familial context in understanding cannabis use in young adults.