The International journal on drug policy
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Jul 2013
Prevalence and correlates of prescription drug misuse among socially active young adults.
Prescription drug misuse represents an emerging global drug trend. Data indicate that young adults are misusing prescription drugs at high rates. As such, continued surveillance of the patterns of prescription drug misuse among young adults is critical, particularly for those engaged in social scenes known to accommodate drug use. ⋯ This study illustrates the need for health promotion efforts targeting prescription drug misuse among young adults who are highly socially active. Future research should focus on motivations for and factors associated with prescription drug misuse within youth cultures. Further research may provide a fuller sense of how to reduce the impact of prescription drug misuse for nations whose prescription drug problem lags behind that of the U.S.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Jul 2013
Housing and harm reduction: what is the role of harm reduction in addressing homelessness?
Homelessness and drug use often overlap and the harms of substance use are exacerbated by homelessness. Responding to the twin problems of homelessness and substance use is an important aspect of strategies to end homelessness. The introduction and development of ten year plans to end homelessness in North America heralds a new era of systemic responses to homelessness. ⋯ In this paper, we examine Housing First as an example of the integration of housing and harm reduction and then put forth a community level policy framework to further promote the integration of harm reduction as part of a response to homelessness. Drawing on Rhodes' risk environment framework and current evidence of Housing First and harm reduction, we describe four key policy areas for action: (1) social inclusion policies; (2) adequate and appropriate supply of housing; (3) on demand harm reduction services and supports and (4) systemic and organizational infrastructure. We conclude by identifying areas for future research.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Jul 2013
Exposure to project-based Housing First is associated with reduced jail time and bookings.
Project-based Housing First (HF) programs provide immediate, permanent, low-barrier, nonabstinence-based supportive housing to chronically homeless people within a single housing project. Previous studies have shown project-based HF is associated with 6-month reductions in jail time (Larimer et al., 2009), and that people with criminal histories are able to maintain their housing in supportive housing, such as project-based HF (Malone, 2009; Tsai & Rosenheck, 2012). This study aimed to extend these findings to document the criminal histories of project-based HF residents and to test the associations among exposure to project-based HF, criminal histories and jail time over a 2-year follow-up. ⋯ Findings suggest that participants' criminal histories primarily reflect "symptoms" of homelessness rather than threats to public safety. Further, the extent of participants' criminal histories was not associated with subsequent jail time or housing attrition. Although causation cannot be implied, these findings show that the amount of time spent in project-based HF is associated with decreased jail time for up to two years following initial HF exposure.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Jul 2013
CommentThe 'do-it-yourself' New Zealand injecting scene: implications for harm reduction.
The review in this issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy (Grund, Latypov, & Harris, 2013) highlights the disturbing harms caused by the increasing use of 'krokodil' by people who inject drugs (PWID) in Eurasia. The growing use of this home produced injectable opiate poses a number of challenges for harm reduction policy, particularly when situated in restrictive regulatory environments where initiatives such as Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) are prohibited or limited. In such contexts where OST access is restricted, how can these harms be minimised, and what alternatives can be offered? This commentary addresses these questions, by offering the rarely researched case of home produced injectable opioid use in New Zealand as an example.