The International journal on drug policy
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Int. J. Drug Policy · May 2014
OxyContin in Ontario: the multiple materialities of prescription painkillers.
In the past decade, OxyContin diversion and misusehave been firmly established in Ontarian public discourse as serious problems requiring major intervention.This article contextualizes and theorizesthe processes through which the marketing of the prescription opioid and its subsequent problematization occurred. Theanalysis refuses the impossible choice between the 'deserving pain patient' and the 'undeserving addict,' between the war on pain and the war on drugs, and between a notion of OxyContin as either miracle panacea or destructive poison. Rather than falling in step with these binaries, OxyContinis theorized across them, or multiply, with the aim of moving beyond established moral and theoretical registers for exploring embodied consumption. ⋯ Attempts to contain the multiplicity of OxyContin result in the further entrenchment of privatized and individualized approaches to pain and painkilling and serve to undermine rather than secure public health and safety.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · May 2014
The economic geography of medical cannabis dispensaries in California.
The introduction of laws that permit the use of cannabis for medical purposes has led to the emergence of a medical cannabis industry in some US states. This study assessed the spatial distribution of medical cannabis dispensaries according to estimated cannabis demand, socioeconomic indicators, alcohol outlets and other socio-demographic factors. ⋯ High demand for cannabis within individual block groups and within cities is related to the location of cannabis dispensaries at a block-group level. The relationship to low income, alcohol outlets and unincorporated areas indicates that dispensaries may open in areas that lack the resources to resist their establishment.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · May 2014
Negotiating place and gendered violence in Canada's largest open drug scene.
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is home to Canada's largest street-based drug scene and only supervised injection facility (Insite). High levels of violence among men and women have been documented in this neighbourhood. This study was undertaken to explore the role of violence in shaping the socio-spatial relations of women and 'marginal men' (i.e., those occupying subordinate positions within the drug scene) in the Downtown Eastside, including access to Insite. ⋯ Gendered violence is critical in restricting the geographies of men and marginal men within the street-based drug scene. There is a need to scale up existing environmental interventions, including supervised injection services, to minimize violence and potential drug-related risks among these highly-vulnerable PWID.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · May 2014
Public opinion of drug treatment policy: exploring the public's attitudes, knowledge, experience and willingness to pay for drug treatment strategies.
Research evidence is strong for opiate replacement treatment (ORT). However, public opinion (attitudes) can be at odds with evidence. This study explored the relationships between, attitudes, knowledge of drugs and a range of socio-demographic variables that potentially influence attitude. This is relevant in the current policy arena in which a major shift from harm reduction to, rehabilitation is underway. ⋯ There is a gap between public attitudes and evidence regarding drug treatment. Findings suggest a way forward might be to develop and evaluate treatment that integrates ORT with a community rehabilitative approach. Evaluation of public engagement/education to improve knowledge of drug treatment effectiveness is recommended.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · May 2014
Establishing expertise: Canadian community-based medical cannabis dispensaries as embodied health movement organisations.
In this commentary, I describe how, through both advocacy and the generation of new knowledge, community-based medical cannabis dispensaries have contributed to the broader dialogue regarding the legal and safe provision of medical cannabis in Canada. By employing an embodied health movement framework (Brown et al., 2004), this analysis highlights the role of dispensaries in creating new knowledge, challenging existing practices, and advancing their agenda to legitimise cannabis as a therapeutic substance and offer an alternative model for its provision. Although the community-based, holistic approach that dispensaries offer has not been adopted by the Canadian government, dispensaries have achieved success in being recognized as credible stakeholders and experts in the ongoing debate on the legal provision of medical cannabis in Canada.