The International journal on drug policy
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Nov 2013
Cannabis use in a Swiss male prison: qualitative study exploring detainees' and staffs' perspectives.
Several studies suggest a high prevalence of cannabis use before and during imprisonment, but subjective perspectives of detainees and staff towards its use in prison are lacking. This issue was explored in the framework of an observational study addressing tobacco use in three Swiss prisons in 2009 and 2010 that involved multiple strands (quantitative and qualitative components). This article presents qualitative data on cannabis use collected in one of the settings. ⋯ Although illegal, cannabis use is clearly involved in daily life in prison. A clearer and comprehensive policy addressing cannabis is needed, including appropriate measures tailored to individual users. To sustain a calm and safe environment in prison, means other than substance or medication use are required.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Nov 2013
Access to treatment for substance-using women in the Republic of Georgia: socio-cultural and structural barriers.
In the Republic of Georgia, women comprise under 2% of patients in substance use treatment and to date there has been no empirical research to investigate what factors may facilitate or hinder their help-seeking behaviour or access to treatment services. ⋯ Within the context of orthodox Georgian society, low self-esteem, combined with severe family and social stigma play a critical role in creating barriers to the use of both general health and substance-use-treatment services for women. Education of the public, including policy makers and health care providers is urgently needed to focus on addiction as a treatable medical illness. The need for more women centred services is also critical to the provision of effective treatment for substance-using women.
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While methadone was first developed as an analgesic, and used for this purpose before it was adopted as a therapy for drug dependence, it is this latter use which has saturated its identity. Most of the literature and commentary on methadone discusses it in the context of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). But one of the effects of the liberalization of opiate prescription for chronic pain which took place in the 1990s was the re-emergence of methadone as a painkiller. ⋯ Central to this separation is the classification of patients into addicts and non-addicts; and pain sufferers and non-pain sufferers. The article argues that despite this work of making and maintaining distinctions, the similarities in the way methadone is used and acts in these different medical contexts complicates these categories. The difficulties of keeping the 'two methadones' separate becomes most apparent in cases of MMT patients also being treated for chronic pain.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Nov 2013
ReviewThe role of the Chinese police in methadone maintenance therapy: a literature review.
The behavior of police is an important factor in drug users' access to preventive and therapeutic health services. In China, opiate users must be registered and approved by police before accessing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). ⋯ Reviewed studies report drug policing practices that appear to be impeding MMT access and reducing successful treatment outcomes. Research focusing on the nature, prevalence and severity of these effects is urgently needed. Health and public security officials in China should review and reform policies and practices of registering, monitoring, and incarcerating drug users.
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Int. J. Drug Policy · Nov 2013
ReviewWork and the journey to recovery: exploring the implications of welfare reform for methadone maintenance clients.
An emphasis on welfare reform has been a shared concern of recent UK governments, with the project of transforming the provision of welfare gathering pace over the past six years. Replicating active labour market policies pursued across the globe, successive governments have used welfare-to-work programmes as mechanisms to address worklessness. Since 2008, problem drug users (PDUs) have been added to a list of groups for whom intervention is deemed necessary to encourage, enable, and sometimes coerce them into paid employment. This approach is underpinned by three beliefs relating to paid work: it sustains recovery, has a transformative potential and should be the primary duty of the responsible citizen. Using policy developments in the UK as a case study, the article explores the implications for methadone maintenance clients of connecting drug policy (premised on the belief that work is central to recovery) with welfare policy (which at present is preoccupied with reducing worklessness). ⋯ Welfare reform in the UK is likely to undermine the recovery of methadone maintenance clients. Further research is urgently needed to explore its impact on this sub-group of PDUs, alongside comparative studies to determine best practice in integrating drug and welfare policies.