Confirmed reports of bupropion sold as crack cocaine in the illicit drug supply

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Rachel S. Wightman ◽  
Earth Erowid ◽  
Fire Erowid ◽  
Sylvia Thyssen ◽  
Mary Wheeler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Supply

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.

Auras of Detection: Power and Knowledge in Drug Prohibition

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110354
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
Epistemic Authority ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Drug Checking

Drug checking is an evidence-based strategy for overdose prevention that continues to operate (where it operates) in a legal “gray zone” due to the legal classification of some drug checking tools as drug paraphernalia—the purview of law enforcement, not public health. This article takes the emergence of fentanyl in the U.S. drug supply as a starting point for examining two closely related questions about drug checking and drug market expertise. First, how is the epistemic authority of law enforcement over the material realities of the drug market produced? Second, in the context of that authority, what are the socio-political implications of technologically advanced drug checking instruments in the hands of people who use drugs? The expertise that people who use drugs maintain about the nature of illicit drug market and how to navigate the illicit drug supply has long been discounted as untrustworthy, irrational, or otherwise invalid. Yet, increased access to drug checking tools has the potential to afford the knowledge produced by people who use drugs a technological validity it has never before enjoyed. In this article, I engage with theories of knowledge production and ontological standpoint from the field of science, technology, and society studies to examine how law enforcement produces and maintains epistemic authority over the illicit drug market and to explore how drug checking technologies enable new forms of knowledge production. I argue that drug checking be viewed as a form of social resistance against law enforcement’s epistemological authority and as a refuge against the harms produced by drug criminalization.

The Evolving Overdose Epidemic: Synthetic Opioids And Rising Stimulant-Related Harms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Jones ◽  
Faraah Bekheet ◽  
Ju Nyeong Park ◽  
G Caleb Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Prescription Opioids ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Synthetic Opioids ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Concomitant Exposure ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Key Questions

Abstract The opioid overdose epidemic is typically described as having occurred in three waves, with morbidity and mortality accruing over time principally from prescription opioids (1999-2010), heroin (2011-2013) and illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids (2014-present). However, the increasing presence of synthetic opioids mixed into the illicit drug supply, including with stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as rising stimulant-related deaths, reflects the rapidly evolving nature of the overdose epidemic posing urgent and novel public health challenges. We synthesize the evidence underlying these trends, consider key questions such as where and how concomitant exposure to fentanyl and stimulants is occurring, and identify actions for key stakeholders regarding how these emerging threats, and continued evolution of the overdose epidemic, can best be addressed.

scholarly journals Increasing presence of xylazine in heroin and/or fentanyl deaths, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2010–2019

2021 ◽  
pp. injuryprev-2020-043968
Author(s):  
Jewell Johnson ◽  
Lia Pizzicato ◽  
Caroline Johnson ◽  
Kendra Viner
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Active Drug ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The Usa

Reports from active drug users state that xylazine, the veterinary tranquilliser, has been increasing in the illicit drug supply in Philadelphia. To describe trends and characteristics of unintentional deaths from heroin and/or fentanyl overdose with xylazine detections occurring in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health analysed data on deaths from unintentional heroin and/or fentanyl overdose from the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office over a 10-year period (2010–2019). Xylazine went from being detected in less than 2% cases of fatal heroin and/or fentanyl overdose between 2010 and 2015 to 262 (31%) of the 858 fatal heroin and/or fentanyl overdose cases in 2019. Currently, information is limited on the presence of xylazine in continental United States. Xylazine’s association with adverse outcomes in other locations indicates that potential health consequences should also be monitored in the USA. Whenever possible, jurisdictions should consistently test for xylazine.

scholarly journals The variable and evolving nature of ‘cuckooing’ as a form of criminal exploitation in street level drug markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Spicer ◽  
Leah Moyle ◽  
Ross Coomber
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Dominant Narratives ◽  
The Impact

AbstractA form of criminal exploitation rarely mentioned in the academic literature has recently emerged, evolved and taken meaningful hold in the UK. Hundreds of cases of ‘cuckooing’ have been reported, where heroin and crack cocaine dealers associated with the so-called ‘County Lines’ supply methodology have taken over the homes of local residents and created outposts to facilitate their supply operations in satellite locations. Dominant narratives surrounding this practice have stressed its exploitative nature and the vulnerabilities of those involved. Combining qualitative data from two studies, this paper critically analyses the model of cuckooing and the experiences of those affected. In turn it explores the impact of County Lines on affected areas and local populations, a topic that has received little academic scrutiny. Four typologies of cuckooing are constructed, highlighting its variance and complexity. Findings also suggest it to be a growing method of criminal exploitation beyond drug supply with a possible burgeoning presence being realised internationally.

scholarly journals Opioid Agonist Treatment and Risk of Mortality During an Opioid Overdose Public Health Emergency: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay A Pearce ◽  
Jeong Eun Min ◽  
Micah Piske ◽  
Haoxuan Zhou ◽  
Fahmida Homayra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Risk ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Opioid Agonist ◽  
Opioid Agonist Treatment ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Synthetic Opioids ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Stopping Treatment

IntroductionOpioid agonist treatment (OAT) is a safe and effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). However, people commonly stop and start OAT and their risk of death is high immediately after stopping. The prevalence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids have increased in the illicit drug supply globally. Yet, there is limited evidence examining the relationship between OAT and mortality when these contaminants are widely available in the illicit drug supply. Objectives and ApproachWe aimed to compare the risk of mortality on and off OAT in a setting with a high prevalence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids in the illicit drug supply. We linked five health administrative datasets in British Columbia, Canada, creating a cohort of 55,347 people with OUD who received OAT during a 23-year period (1996 to 2018). We compared the risk of mortality on and off treatment over time, and according to time since starting or stopping treatment and by medication type. Results7,030 of 55,347 (12.7%) OAT recipients died during follow-up. All-cause SMR was substantially lower on OAT (4.6 [4.4 to 4.8]) compared to off OAT (9.7 [9.5 to 10.0]). In a period of increasing prevalence of fentanyl, the relative risk of mortality off OAT was 2.1 [1.8 to 2.4] times higher than on OAT prior to the introduction of fentanyl, and increased to 3.4 [2.8 to 4.3] at the end of the study period (65% increase in relative risk). Conclusion / ImplicationsThe protective effect of OAT on mortality increased as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids became common in the illicit drug supply, while the risk of mortality remained high off OAT. As fentanyl becomes more widespread globally, these findings highlight the importance of interventions that improve retention on opioid agonist treatment and prevent recipients from stopping treatment.

Amount of naloxone used to reverse opioid overdoses outside of medical practice in a city with increasing illicitly manufactured fentanyl in illicit drug supply

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Bell ◽  
Alex S. Bennett ◽  
T. Stephen Jones ◽  
Maya Doe-Simkins ◽  
Leslie D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Medical Practice ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Supply

Sub-lethal combined effects of illicit drug and decreased pH on marine mussels: A short-time exposure to crack cocaine in CO2 enrichment scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 112735
Author(s):  
Lorena da Silva Souza ◽  
Estefanía Bonnail ◽  
Luciane Alves Maranho ◽  
Fabio Hermes Pusceddu ◽  
Fernando Sanzi Cortez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Co2 Enrichment ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Time Exposure ◽  
Marine Mussels ◽  
Short Time

scholarly journals The Rise of Drug Dealing in the Life of the North American Street Gang

Societies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Robert McLean ◽  
Grace Robinson ◽  
James Densley
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Street Gangs ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Drug Dealing ◽  
Street Gang ◽  
The North

Historical gang literature traditionally perceived street gangs as boisterous outfits occasionally engaged in delinquency. In recent decades however, street gang behavior has come to be seen ever more as encroaching upon criminality, primarily due to its involvement in drug supply. This article aims to provide a brief historical review as to how the practice of drug supply entered into the life of the street gang, with specific emphasis on The War on Drugs in the 1970s and the rise of the crack cocaine economy in the 1980s.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document