GHB and phenmetrazine use by Australian police detainees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merran McAlister ◽  
Tom Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Polydrug Use ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
The Past

This study uses data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program to investigate the prevalence of GHB and phenmetrazine use among police detainees. Fifteen percent (n=75) of police detainees surveyed reported using GHB in the past 12 months. GHB use was also most prevalent among respondents in their 30s. Methamphetamine use (90%, n=27) and polydrug use (77%, n=23) were also common among those who had recently used GHB. One percent of detainees (n=4) had used phenmetrazine in their lifetime and none tested positive to the drug.

scholarly journals Synthetic Cannabinoid Use Among High School Seniors

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-32
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Palamar ◽  
Monica J. Barratt ◽  
Leigh Coney ◽  
Silvia S. Martins
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Synthetic Cannabinoid ◽  
Illegal Drugs ◽  
Polydrug Use ◽  
The Past ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Monitoring The Future ◽  
Nationally Representative

OBJECTIVES In this study, we examined the prevalence and correlates of current synthetic cannabinoid (SC) use among high school seniors in the United States. METHODS Monitoring the Future, an annual nationally representative survey of high school seniors, began querying current (30-day) SC use in 2014. Data were examined from the 2 most recent cohorts (2014–2015; N = 7805). Prevalence of self-reported use was examined and differences in demographics and recency and frequency of other drug use was compared between current marijuana-only users and current SC (plus marijuana) users using χ2 and generalized linear model using Poisson. RESULTS We found that 2.9% of students reported current SC use; 1.4% of students (49.7% of users) reported using SCs on ≥3 days in the past month. SC users were more likely to report more recent (and often more frequent) use of lysergic acid diethylamide, cocaine, heroin, and/or nonmedical use of opioids compared with marijuana-only users. Compared with current marijuana-only users, SC users were more likely to report lower parent education (P < .05) and current use of a higher number of illegal drugs other than marijuana (Ps < .001). Students using SCs ≥10 times in the past month were more likely to be boys, frequent marijuana users (Ps < .01), African American, and users of multiple other illegal drugs (Ps < .001). CONCLUSIONS SC use is typically part of a repertoire of polydrug use, and polydrug use is less prevalent among marijuana-only users. Current SC users are at risk for poisoning from use of the newest generation of SCs and from concurrent drug use.

Drug use monitoring in Australia: drug use among police detainees, 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Voce ◽  
Tom Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
The Past ◽  
Early Stages

The Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program involves the routine collection of survey and urinalysis data from police detainees across Australia. In 2020, almost half of the detainees reported using cannabis (47%) and methamphetamine (45%) in the past 30 days. Fewer detainees reported using benzodiazepines (21%), cocaine (8%), heroin (7%) or ecstasy (5%) in the past month. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability and quality of methamphetamine and heroin declined. Past-month methamphetamine use, as confirmed by urinalysis results, also decreased from 55 percent in January–February to 38 percent in April–June.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic constricts methamphetamine supply in Perth

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Voce ◽  
James Finney
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
The Past ◽  
Threefold Increase

This study examines the methamphetamine market and prevalence of methamphetamine use in Perth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program indicate that 38 percent (n=55) of Perth police detainees interviewed between April and June 2020 reported recent methamphetamine use—a significantly lower rate than in January–February 2020. Detainees who used methamphetamine did so on a median of five days in the past month—significantly less often than in previous years (median=15) and in January–February 2020 (median=16). Detainees also reported a threefold increase in the price of methamphetamine (from $30 to $100 per point), and significant declines in methamphetamine availability and quality.

The Americanization of Karen Refugee Youth: Exploring Attitudes Toward and Use of Methamphetamine

2021 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2110226
Author(s):  
Brooke N. Cooley ◽  
Lisa L. Sample ◽  
Karen Rolf ◽  
Julie D. Garman
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Refugee Youth ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
Karen Refugees ◽  
American Cities

Drug use among refugee populations is a concerning trend in many urban American cities. For instance, Omaha, Nebraska is home to an estimated 7,000 refugees from Myanmar, with at least 75% of those being Karen refugees. The purpose of this paper is to explore methamphetamine use among Karen adolescents in Omaha and to examine whether Karen youth bring their drug use habits with them from refugee camps or if they learn about drugs from their American peers. Two focus groups of Karen youth and two focus groups of Karen parents were conducted to examine methamphetamine use among this population. Findings suggest, like most youth, the Karen children were reluctant to disclose their own use of drugs, but they did see the use of methamphetamine and other drugs in their schools. It appears drug use among the Karen youth is acquired during the “Americanization” of these children in Omaha schools.

scholarly journals Prevalence and demographic, substance use, and mental health correlates of fasting among U.S. college students

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle T. Ganson ◽  
Rachel F. Rodgers ◽  
Stuart B. Murray ◽  
Jason M. Nagata
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Past ◽  
Self Injury

Abstract Background Fasting is an unhealthy behavior that has been frequently used as part of weight loss attempts. To date, little research has been conducted to determine the prevalence and substance use and mental health correlates of fasting among college students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and associations between any (≥ 1 time) and regular (≥ 13 times) occurrences of fasting in the past 4 weeks and substance use and mental health correlates among a large sample of college students from 2016 to 2020. Methods Data from four academic survey years (2016–2020; N = 8255) of the national (USA) Healthy Minds Study were analyzed. Unadjusted prevalence of any and regular fasting by survey year and gender was estimated. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations between any and regular fasting and the demographic (age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, highest parental education), substance use (cigarette use, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, alcohol use), and mental health (depression, anxiety, eating disorder symptoms, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury) correlates. Results Any fasting in the past 4 weeks was common among both men (14.77%) and women (18.12%) and significantly increased from 2016 (10.30%) to 2020 (19.81%) only among men. Regular fasting significantly increased among both men and women from 2016 (men: 1.46%; women: 1.79%) to 2020 (men: 3.53%; women: 6.19%). Among men and women, both any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of all mental health symptoms, including a positive depression, anxiety, and eating disorder screen, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-injury. Among women, but not men, any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of marijuana use and other illicit drug use (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy). Conclusions The results from this study underscore both the high and increasing prevalence of fasting among a national sample of college students, as well as the substance use and mental health symptoms associated with this behavior. Healthcare professionals both on and off campus should consider screening for fasting behaviors among college students and provide appropriate intervention when needed.

Is there fentanyl contamination in the Australian illicit drug market?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Voce ◽  
Tom Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
Illicit Substance ◽  
The Past

This research investigates fentanyl use among police detainees participating in the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program. Three percent of respondents tested positive to fentanyl and/or norfentanyl during urinalysis, and 11 percent reported lifetime fentanyl use. Nonprescribed fentanyl use was associated with use of and dependence on other drugs in the past 12 months. Three percent of all detainees believed they had used an illicit substance mixed with fentanyl. No detainees who tested positive to fentanyl reported using the drug in the past 12 months. These findings suggest fentanyl contamination may be occurring in the Australian illicit drug market.

scholarly journals Drug Use Changes at the Individual Level: Results from a Longitudinal, Multisite Survey in Young Europeans Frequenting the Nightlife Scene

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Meryem Grabski ◽  
Jon Waldron ◽  
Tom P. Freeman ◽  
Claire Mokrysz ◽  
Ruben J.J. van Beek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Prescription Opioids ◽  
Alkyl Nitrates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Past ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
The Individual

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Monitoring emerging trends in the increasingly dynamic European drug market is vital; however, information on change at the individual level is scarce. In the current study, we investigated changes in drug use over 12 months in European nightlife attendees. <b><i>Method:</i></b> In this longitudinal online survey, changes in substances used, use frequency in continued users, and relative initiation of use at follow-up were assessed for 20 different substances. To take part, participants had to be aged 18–34 years; be from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK; and have attended at least 6 electronic music events in the past 12 months at baseline. Of 8,045 volunteers at baseline, 2,897 completed the survey at both time points (36% follow-up rate), in 2017 and 2018. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The number of people using ketamine increased by 21% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in those continuing use increased by 15% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001; 95% CI: 0.07–0.23). 4-Fluoroamphetamine use decreased by 27% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in continuing users decreased by 15% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001, 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.23). The drugs with the greatest proportion of relative initiation at follow-up were synthetic cannabinoids (73%, <i>N</i> = 30), mephedrone (44%, <i>N</i> = 18), alkyl nitrites (42%, <i>N</i> = 147), synthetic dissociatives (41%, <i>N</i> = 15), and prescription opioids (40%, <i>N</i> = 48). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In this European nightlife sample, ketamine was found to have the biggest increase in the past 12 months, which occurred alongside an increase in frequency of use in continuing users. The patterns of uptake and discontinuation of alkyl nitrates, novel psychoactive substances, and prescription opioids provide new information that has not been captured by existing cross-sectional surveys. These findings demonstrate the importance of longitudinal assessments of drug use and highlight the dynamic nature of the European drug landscape.

scholarly journals Narratives of Starting, Using, and Stopping Methamphetamine Use

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
John Dance
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
Problematic Use ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cognitive Decision ◽  
Behavioural Theories

<p>Methamphetamine use has come to be seen as a significant policy issue in New Zealand and elsewhere. Panic about methamphetamine’s effects, the increasing prevalence of its use and its alleged potential to cause more harm than other drugs has been fundamental in elevating public concern and initiating a raft of law and order responses. Using the familiar tropes of addiction and drug-induced criminality, authoritative discourses conveying the nature of the ‘meth problem’ have obfuscated the social, cultural and structural forces which intersect decisions about drug use. Instead, explanations of meth-use anchored to behavioural theories about risk have emphasised drug-use is as being the product of individualised cognitive decision making. In taking a narrative approach to analyse 17 drug-users’ stories about starting, using and stopping methamphetamine use, this thesis sets out to theoretically engage with the experiential and contextual nuances of drug-taking decisions which continue to be excluded from authoritative accounts of problematic use. In doing so this thesis reveals how decisions about starting and using methamphetamine had occurred within established trajectories of problematic poly-drug taking behaviour. Collectively, the experiences of starting, using and stopping methamphetamine use storied by this sample of drug users help challenge pejorative constructions of problematic users of drugs as being wilfully self-destructive by highlighting that “risk actions are rarely the product of any one individuals’ rational decisions”(Rhodes: 1997:216).</p>

scholarly journals A Cascade of Care for Alcohol Use Disorder: Using 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Data to Identify Gaps in Care

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie M. Mintz ◽  
Sarah M. Hartz ◽  
Sherri L. Fisher ◽  
Alex T. Ramsey ◽  
Elvin H. Geng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Alcohol Misuse ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Health Care Settings ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cascade Of Care

ABSTRACTBackgroundAlthough effective treatments exist, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is undertreated. We used a cascade of care framework to understand gaps in care between diagnosis and treatment for persons with AUD.MethodsUsing 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data, we evaluated the following steps in the cascade of care: 1) prevalence of adults with AUD; 2) proportion of adults who utilized health care in the past 12 months; 3) were screened about alcohol use; 4) received a brief intervention about alcohol misuse; 5) received information about treatment for alcohol misuse; and 6) proportion of persons with AUD who received treatment. Analyses were stratified by AUD severity.ResultsOf the 171,766 persons included in the sample, weighted prevalence of AUD was 7.9% (95% CI 7.7-8.0%). Persons with AUD utilized health care settings at similar rates as those without AUD. Cascades of care showed the majority of individuals with AUD utilized health care and were screened about alcohol use, but the percent who received the subsequent steps of care decreased substantially. For those with severe AUD, 83.5% (CI: 78.3%-88.7%) utilized health care in the past 12 months, 73.5% (CI: 68.1%-78.9%) were screened for alcohol use, 22.7% (CI: 19.4%-26.0%) received a brief intervention, 12.4% (CI: 10%-14.7%) received information about treatment, and 20.5% (CI: 18%-23.1%) were treated for AUD. The greatest decrease in the care continuum occurred from screening to brief intervention and referral to treatment. More persons with severe AUD received treatment than were referred, indicating other pathways to treatment outside of the healthcare system.ConclusionsPersons with AUD utilize health care at high rates and are frequently screened about alcohol use, but few receive treatment. Health care settings-particularly primary care settings-represent a prime opportunity to implement pharmacologic treatment for AUD to improve outcomes in this high-risk population.

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