What's New at CDAS
November 2. 2009:
Illegal ADHD Medication Use by College Students
A recent report by the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies found that college students using ADHD medication without a prescription were more likely to use other substances. Students using the prescription medication without a prescription were more likely to binge drink, smoke marijuana, use prescription painkillers, and use several other controlled substances. The full report has been published through the Delaware Drug and Alcohol Tracking Alliance and is available here.
October 2, 2009:
Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion in an Urban Community: The Results of an Ultra- Rapid Assessment
James A. Inciardi, Ph.D.,Hilary L. Surratt, Ph.D., Theodore J. Cicero, Ph.D., and Ronald A. Beard, M.H.S.
Abstract:
Both national and state-level monitoring systems are documenting the widespread abuse of prescription drugs by a variety of populations in the United States, and numerous scientific papers have discussed the issue of prescription drug diversion -- the transfer of a prescription drug from a lawful to an unlawful channel of distribution or use. Nevertheless, diversion is a topic about which comparatively little is known, and systematic information garnered from prescription drug abusers and dealers on the specific mechanisms of diversion is limited. Within this context, a pilot ultra-rapid assessment was carried out in Wilmington, Delaware, during December 2006. The primary goal of this investigation was to gather timely descriptive information from multiple sources (police, prescription drug abusers, prescription drug dealers) in order to better understand the scope and dynamics of prescription drug abuse and diversion in the Wilmington area. The results suggest that the abuse and diversion of prescription medications in Wilmington are significant problems. For many individuals, the abuse of prescription opioids served as a gateway to heroin use. Sources of prescription drugs on the street were the elderly, pain patients, and doctor shoppers, as well as pill brokers and dealers who work with all of the former. It would appear that the diversion of prescription opioids in the Wilmington area might be reduced through physician education focusing on: 1) recognizing that a patient is misusing and/or diverting prescribed medications; 2) considering a patient’s risk for opioid misuse before initiating opioid therapy; and, 3) understanding the variation in the abuse potential of different opioids currently on the market. Patient education also appears appropriate in the areas of safeguarding medications, disposal of unused medications, and understanding the consequences of manipulating physicians and selling their medications.
August 27, 2009:
A New Approach Reducing HIV and Hepatitis Risk among Released Prisoners
Abstract:
Brief interventions to reduce harmful or problem behaviors have become increasingly popular in a variety of health fields, including HIV and hepatitis risk reduction. A central issue in intervention research involves the evaluation of what constitutes an effective "dose" of an intervention. This research examines the relative effectiveness of three alternative brief interventions of varying intensity designed to change the risk behaviors of inmates who are reentering society: a DVD-based, peer delivered intervention; the NIDA Standard HIV Intervention; and a standard practice condition (HIV educational video).
All participants randomly received one of the interventions and were tested for HIV and HCV prior to release from custody. Thirty and ninety day follow-ups examined changes in high-risk behaviors. Results for 343 subjects who completed the 90-day follow up indicate significant reductions in reported sexual risk behaviors for those participating in the DVD intervention, compared to the other two brief interventions. This study is among the first to report any positive impacts on sexual behaviors among a population of inmates returning to the community.
Read the full article here.
