Substance use & misuse
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Substance use & misuse · Jul 2017
Attitudes Toward Medical Cannabis Legalization Among Serbian Medical Students.
Currently, medical cannabis polices are experiencing rapid changes, and an increasing number of nations around the world legalize medical cannabis for certain groups of patients, including those in Serbia. ⋯ Overall, 63.4% students supported medical cannabis legalization, and only 20.8% supported its legalization for recreational use. Students who previously used marijuana (p <.001) and alcohol (p =.004) were significantly more in favor of medical cannabis legalization compared with students who never used them. Support for marijuana recreational use was also related to prior marijuana (p <.001) and alcohol consumption (p =.006). Only cancer (90.4%) and chronic pain (74.2%) were correctly reported approved medical indications by more than half the students. Students who supported medical cannabis legalization showed better knowledge about indications, in contrast to opponents for legalization who showed better knowledge about side effects. Beliefs that using medical cannabis is safe and has health benefits were correlated with support for legalization, and previous marijuana and alcohol use, while beliefs that medical cannabis poses health risks correlated most strongly with previous marijuana use. Conclusions/Importance: The medical students' attitudes toward medical cannabis legalization were significantly correlated with previous use of marijuana and alcohol, knowledge about medical indications and side effects, and their beliefs regarding medical cannabis health benefits and risks.
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Substance use & misuse · Jul 2017
People Who Inject Drugs and Have Mood Disorders-A Brief Assessment of Health Risk Behaviors.
People who inject drugs have a greater risk of infectious disease and mortality than other substance abusers and nondrug users. Variation in risk behavior among people who inject drugs is likely associated with comorbid mental health disorders. ⋯ While there were no differences between groups in frequency of drug use, people who inject drugs who report a history of mood disorders reported more injection risk behaviors, drug overdoses, sex exchanges, and multiple partners than those with no history of mental illness. Adjusting the comparison for demographic characteristics and current depressive symptoms had little impact on these findings. Variation in risk between depression and bipolar disorder groups was minimal. Conclusions/Importance: People who inject drugs and have mood disorders have unique and significant social, clinical, and risk reduction needs. Despite the limited validity of self-reported mental health history, simply asking about a history of mood disorder may be effective for identifying a particularly vulnerable population of people who inject drugs.
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Substance use & misuse · Jul 2017
Beliefs, Behaviors, and Contexts of Adolescent Caffeine Use: A Focus Group Study.
Caffeinated products are widely available to adolescents, and consumption of caffeine products-energy drinks and coffee in particular-is on the rise in this age group (Branum, Rossen, & Schoendorf, 2014). Yet, little is known about the psychosocial context of caffeine use. Previous studies on adolescent caffeine use have focused on caffeine's acute physiological effects, rather than the psychosocial contexts and beliefs regarding different types of caffeinated beverages (e.g., coffee, energy drinks, soda). ⋯ The present findings inform adolescent health promotion efforts and provide researchers and practitioners alike detailed information in adolescents' own words about how and why they use caffeine. Adolescents' beliefs about caffeinated products are not uniform; the reasons adolescents articulate regarding their use of coffee, soda, and energy drinks are different across contexts and beverage type.
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Substance use & misuse · Jul 2017
The Adverse Effects and Treatment Results of Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy During Fasting/Non-Fasting State.
Cigarette smoking is one of the most common addictions worldwide. Muslim smokers reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke during Ramadan due to the long fasting hours. ⋯ Although our sample size was small, we found no difference in the rates of adverse effects or smoking cessation using a single daily oral dose of bupropion or varenicline between a fasting group and a non-fasting group that received conventional dosing.
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Substance use & misuse · Jul 2017
Predictors of Adult E-Cigarette Users Vaporizing Cannabis Using E-Cigarettes and Vape-Pens.
Given limited extant research, we assessed the use of portable, battery-powered cannabis vaporizers by adult e-cigarette users. ⋯ Adult e-cigarette users are vaporizing cannabis using e-cigarettes/vape-pens. Efforts to curb cannabis vaporization may benefit from targeting impulsivity in users and regulating device features that facilitate or promote convenient, inconspicuous cannabis use.