Substance use & misuse
-
Substance use & misuse · Jan 2011
Petrol sniffing interventions among Australian indigenous communities through product substitution: from skunk juice to opal.
Inhalation of petrol (gasoline) fumes has been prevalent in some Australian Indigenous communities since World War II, and has led to a continuing quest for an effective method of preventing the practice either by modifying the substance or by substituting nonharmful alternatives. This article traces the results of this search, beginning with the addition of ethyl mercaptan, then describing the substitution of aviation fuel for conventional vehicle fuel, and concluding with the staged introduction of Opal--a vehicle fuel containing low levels of aromatic hydrocarbons--throughout many communities from 2005. The article assesses the benefits and limitations of supply reduction methods.
-
Addiction films have been shaped by the internal demands of a commercial medium. Specifically, melodrama, as a genre, has defined the limits of the visual representation of addiction. Similarly, the process of intermedialization has tended to induce a metamorphosis that shapes disparate narratives with diverse goals into a generic filmic form and substantially alters the meanings of the texts. Ultimately, visual representations shape public perceptions of addiction in meaningful ways, privileging a moralistic understanding of drug addiction that makes a complex issue visually uncomplicated by reinforcing "common sense" ideas of moral failure and redemption.
-
Substance use & misuse · Jan 2011
Access to sterile syringes for injecting drug users in New York City: politics and perception (1984-2010).
In the United States, political and social environments have shaped public health response to injecting drug use, and New York City represents a salient example. The history of "harm reduction" in New York City is characterized within changing historical periods and in relation to the actions of stakeholders. The expansion is traced over four periods: (i) 1984-1989: emergence, activism, and science; (ii) 1990-1994 reckoning: syringe exchange legislation and consolidation; (iii) 1995-1999: bureaucratization, opposition, and challenges to institutional control; and (iv) 2000-2010 revitalization: expansion of syringe access and harm reduction. ⋯ Without this "push," it is unlikely that New York City would have experienced the dramatic decline in HIV infection among drug injectors in the 1990s. Second, successful arguments for expanding syringe access in New York City were based on the high HIV/AIDS infection rates. Thus, program developments were advocated as HIV prevention interventions, rather than as expanded services for addressing broader health and social issues of injecting drug use.
-
Substance use & misuse · Nov 2010
Current trends in tramadol-related fatalities, Tehran, Iran 2005-2008.
Tramadol is a widely prescribed drug. Abuse of tramadol as well as tramadol-related deaths have been increasing in Iran. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the trends of tramadol-related deaths that occurred between 2005 and 2008 in Tehran, Iran. ⋯ The majority of the cases were young male adults. Tramadol-related deaths in 2008 were 32.5 times more than in 2005. These results suggest that tramadol-related fatalities are growing in Iran especially among substance abusers.
-
Noninvasive brain stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation can modify decision-making behaviors in healthy subjects. The same type of noninvasive brain stimulation can suppress drug craving in substance user patients, who often display impaired decision-making behaviors. We discuss the implications of these studies for the cognitive neurosciences and their translational applications to the treatment of addictions. We propose a neurocognitive model that can account for our findings and suggests a promising therapeutic role of brain stimulation in the treatment of substance abuse and addictive behavior disorders.