The transion of consumption patterns of heroin users in Belgrade

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 123-123
Author(s):  
S. Vucetic-Arsic ◽  
M. Stankovic ◽  
S. Alcaz ◽  
M. Nikic
Keyword(s):  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Lifetime Prevalence ◽  
Young Population ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
Heroin Users ◽  
Survey Technique ◽  
Special Hospital ◽  
Main Pattern

ObjectiveDuring the last two decades illicit drug use in Belgrade has been changed.Previously, one of the most common methods of illicit heroin use was via intravenous injection. In 1987, injecting drug, as main consumption patterns was accepted by 90,6% of patients, although intravenous administration fell to 75,5% in 1995.The aim of the study was to observe if the main pattern of heroin consumption had changed lately.MethodsThe study included 382 illicit drug users (mean age 28,8 ± 4,7; both gender) treated in Special Hospital for Addiction, Belgrade in period of a year (Sept. 2009–2010).We used data from Pompidou questionnaire and calculated prevalence through standard survey technique.ResultsA total of 94,5% respondents reported a lifetime prevalence of heroin as a main drug, 1,1% of other opiates, 0,3% of cocaine and amphetamine. More than 92,7% of respondents used heroin in the last month regularly. The lifetime prevalence consumption mode for intranasal use was 44,3%, injecting 39,8% and smoking/ inhaling 13,9%.First injectable route experience is reported for age 17–19 = 11.9%; for 20–22 = 25.6%; for 23–26 = 30-3%. The total number of 79,8% reported negative HIV testing result, 0,5% positive result.ConclusionThe consumption model changed in last 10 years and our study confirmed significant diversity. Intranasal administration linked with young population of heroin addicts, who never or rarely use injectable route with low level of HIV infection. Older addicts prefer intravenous use and often change to intranasal route later, for safety or damaged process of peripheral blood vessel.

Heroin Use and Street Crime

1979 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Inciardi
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Street Crime ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
Heroin Users ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between heroin use and street crime has been studied for the better part of this century, but the findings have been inconclusive. Research in this area has been limited to analyses of criminality in terms of arrest data, and samples have been drawn only from officially known populations of drug users. The present study focuses on a sample of 356 active heroin users from Miami, Florida, and data have been collected de scribing their officially known and self-reported criminal activity. The data indicate that, while active heroin users are heavily involved in street crime, any relationship between drug use and crime is much more complex than has been generally believed. The findings of the research suggest that the wrong questions may have been asked in previous studies of the drugs/crime nexus.

Defunding the Poor: The Impact of Lost access to Subsidized Methadone Maintenance Treatment on Women Injection Drug Users

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 923-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly R. Knight ◽  
Marsha Rosenbaum ◽  
Margaret S. Kelley ◽  
Jeanette Irwin ◽  
Allyson Washburn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Methadone Maintenance Treatment ◽  
Injection Drug Users ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Maintenance Treatment ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Methadone Maintenance ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
The Impact

Qualitative data from women defunded from a subsidized methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program were analyzed to determine the impact of defunding on the women and their dependents. Women attested to the efficacy of MMT in creating a stable environment in which their illicit drug use was eliminated or controlled; they were able to decrease their participation in illicit activities and pursue further employment and educational goals. When defunding occurred women employed a variety of strategies including family borrowing, welfare funds, and illicit activities to remain on private MMT programs. The result of these payment strategies was often a premature detoxification from MMT due to unpaid clinic bills. Many women returned to heroin use to alleviate withdrawal symptoms from methadone detoxification. This return to heroin use was also accompanied by increased illicit activities. Defunded women reported severe emotional and financial destabilization as a result of lost access to subsidized methadone maintenance treatment.

scholarly journals Concentration Ratios of Morphine to Codeine in Blood of Impaired Drivers as Evidence of Heroin Use and not Medication with Codeine

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1980-1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnel Ceder ◽  
Alan Wayne Jones
Keyword(s):  
Concentration Ratio ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Driving Under The Influence ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
Heroin Users ◽  
Available N ◽  
Blood Specimens ◽  
Positive Results ◽  
Urine Specimens

Abstract Background: Both the illicit drug heroin and the prescription drug codeine are metabolized to morphine, which tends to complicate interpretation of opiate-positive samples. We report here the concentrations of morphine and codeine, the morphine/codeine ratios, and 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM) in blood specimens from individuals arrested for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) in Sweden. The results were compared with positive findings of 6-AM in urine as evidence of heroin intake. Methods: In 339 DUID suspects, both blood and urine specimens were available for toxicologic analysis. In another 882 cases, only blood was available. All specimens were initially analyzed by immunoassay, and the positive results were verified by isotope-dilution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In routine casework, the limits of quantification (LOQs) for unconjugated opiates were 5 ng/g for blood and 20 μg/L for urine. Results: The median concentration of morphine in blood was 30 ng/g with 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles of 5 and 230 ng/g, respectively (n = 979). This compares with a median codeine concentration of 20 ng/g and 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles of 5 and 592 ng/g, respectively (n = 784). The specific metabolite of heroin, 6-AM, was identified in only 16 of 675 blood specimens (2.3%). This compares with positive findings of 6-AM in 212 of 339 urine samples (62%) from the same population of DUID suspects. When 6-AM was identified in urine, the morphine/codeine ratio in blood was always greater than unity (median, 6.0; range, 1–66). In 18 instances, 6-AM was present in urine, although morphine and codeine were below the LOQ in blood. The morphine/codeine ratio in blood was greater than unity in 85% of DUID cases when urine was not available (n = 506), and the median morphine and codeine concentrations were 70 ng/g and 10 ng/g, respectively. When morphine/codeine ratios in blood were less than unity (n = 76), the median morphine and codeine concentrations were 10 ng/g and 180 ng/g, respectively. Conclusions: Only 2.3% of opiate-positive DUID suspects were verified as heroin users on the basis of positive findings of 6-AM in blood. A much higher proportion (62%) were verified heroin users from 6-AM identified in urine. When urine was not available for analysis, finding a morphine/codeine concentration ratio in blood above unity suggests heroin use and not medication with codeine. This biomarker indicated that 85% of opiate-positive DUID blood samples were from heroin users.

Summary and conclusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Babor ◽  
Jonathan Caulkins ◽  
Benedikt Fischer ◽  
David Foxcroft ◽  
Keith Humphreys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
The Public ◽  
Balanced Approach

Among the 47 options reviewed in this book, most show some evidence of effectiveness in at least one country, but the evidence is less than definitive for many others, either because the interventions are ineffective, or the research is inadequate. Unfortunately, policies that have shown little or no evidence of effectiveness continue to be the preferred options of many countries and international organizations. The evidence reviewed in this book supports two overarching conclusions. First, an integrated and balanced approach to evidence-informed drug policy is more likely to benefit the public good than uncoordinated efforts to reduce drug supply and demand. Second, by shifting the emphasis toward a public health approach, it may be possible to reduce the extent of illicit drug use, prevent the escalation of new epidemics, and avoid the unintended consequences arising from the marginalization of drug users through severe criminal penalties.

Addiction Time and Intellectual Impairment in Heroin Users

1987 ◽  
Vol 60 (3_part_2) ◽  
pp. 1099-1105
Author(s):  
Carlo Cipolli ◽  
Ivan Galliani
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Intellectual Functioning ◽  
Rorschach Test ◽  
Intellectual Impairment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
Heroin Users

Rorschach test scores for male heroin users and nonusers ( ns = 15 each) were compared, to ascertain whether use of heroin influences intellectual impairment (as measured by such indicators of intellectual functioning as F+% and W+% responses). While the results show intellectual impairment to be greater in heroin users than in nonusers, the parametric and nonparametric indicators do not consistently show more marked impairment in long-term (4 to 5 yr. of addiction) than in short-term users (1 to 2 yr.). While intellectual functioning clearly seems influenced by heroin use, further research is required to ascertain the effect of the length of use either by comparing test and retest scores over a substantial interval or by matching samples including subjects with even longer careers of addiction.

scholarly journals Illicit Drug Use in Canada and Implications for Suicidal Behaviors, and Household Food Insecurity: Findings from a Large, Nationally Representative Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6425
Author(s):  
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi ◽  
Dan Beamish ◽  
Jude Dzevela Kong ◽  
Jianhong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Illicit Drug Use ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Suicidal Attempts ◽  
Nationally Representative

Background and Aims: Illicit drug use is an ongoing health and social issue in Canada. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of illicit drug use and its implications for suicidal behaviors, and household food insecurity in Canada. Design: Cross-sectional population survey. Setting: Canada, using the 2015–2016 Canadian Community Health Survey, a nationally representative sample selected by stratified multi-stage probability sampling. Participants: A total of 106,850 respondents aged ≥ 12 years who had completed information on illicit drug use. Measurements: Illicit drug use was assessed through a series of questions about illicit drug use methods. Respondents who reported lifetime illicit drug use but no past-year use were considered to have prior illicit drug use. In this survey, illicit drug use included cannabis use. Findings: Overall, the prevalence of lifetime, past-year, and prior illicit drug use was 33.2% (9.8 million), 10.4% (3.1 million), and 22.7% (6.7 million), respectively. In models adjusting for sociodemographic covariates, prior illicit drug use was significantly associated with increased odds of past-year suicidal ideation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.21, 95% CI 1.04–1.40), and plans (1.48, 1.15–1.91), and past-year household food insecurity (1.27, 1.14–1.41), and the odds were much higher among prior injecting drug users than prior non-injecting drug users. No significant correlation was found between prior illicit drug use and past-year suicidal attempts, but there was a strong association between past-year illicit drug use and past-year suicidal attempts. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that even after people have stopped taking illicit drugs, prior illicit drug use, especially for prior injecting drug use, continues to be associated with increased risks of subsequent suicidal ideation, and plans, and household food insecurity.

scholarly journals The Deterministic Evolution Of Illicit Drug Consumption Within a Given Population

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 139-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusra Bibi Ruhomally ◽  
Nabeelah Banon Jahmeerbaccus ◽  
Muhammad Zaid Dauhoo
Keyword(s):  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Consumption ◽  
Dynamic Evolution ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Epidemic Threshold ◽  
Drug Usage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Reproduction Numbers

We study the NERA model that describes the dynamic evolution of illicit drug usage in a population. The model consists of nonusers (N) and three categories of drug users: the experimental (E) category, the recreational (R) category and the addict (A) category. Two epidemic threshold term known as the reproduction numbers, R0 and μ are defined and derived. Sensitivity analysis of R0 on the parameters are performed in order to determine their relative importance to illicit drug prevalence. The local and global stability of the equilibrium states are also analysed. We also prove that a transcritical bifurcation occurs at R0 = 1. It is shown that an effective campaign of prevention can help to fight against the prevalence of illicit drug consumption. We demonstrate persistence when R0 > 1 and conditions for the extinction of drug consumption are also established. Numerical simulations are performed to verify our model. Our results show that the NERA model can assist policy makers in targeting prevention for maximum effectiveness and can be used to adopt evidence-based policies to better monitor and quantify drug use trends.

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