Does Drug Use Lower Wages?

This study, using microdata from the 1980 and 1984 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, examines the effects of drug use on wages and employment. Contrary to most previous researchers' findings that illegal drug use negatively affects earnings, this analysis suggests that, once an allowance is made for self-selection effects (that is, unobservable factors simultaneously affecting wages and the decision to use drugs), drug users actually received higher wages than non-drug users. A similar analysis of employment effects shows that the sample of all drug users (which included users of “hard” and “soft” drugs) had lower employment levels than non-drug users, but the smaller sample consisting only of users of hard drugs, surprisingly, did not.

Download Full-text

Self-reported harm from others’ alcohol, cigarette and illegal drug use in Norway

Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs ◽

10.1177/1455072519836372 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 413-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Inger Synnøve Moan ◽

Elin K Bye ◽

Elisabet E Storvoll ◽

Ingunn Olea Lund

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Drug Use ◽

Drug Users ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Population Surveys ◽

Illegal Drug Use

Aims: While it is documented that substance use harms others than the user, less is known about which substances people experience most harm from, and who the victims and perpetrators are. The aims were: (i) to estimate the prevalence of and overlap in self-reported harm from others’ alcohol, cigarette, and illegal drug use; (ii) to examine potential differences in the prevalence of harm from close relations’ and strangers’ use; and (iii) to examine how the prevalence of harm varies according to demographics and the respondents’ substance use. Methods: Population surveys conducted among 16–64-year-old Norwegians in 2012 and 2016 ( N = 3407) assessed self-reported harm from others’ alcohol, cigarette and illegal drug use with identical measures, demographic variables and the respondents’ substance use. Results: Experience of harm from others’ alcohol use was most common, followed by others’ smoking. For all three substances, a higher proportion experienced harm from close relations’ use. Nearly half had experienced harm from others’ use of at least one substance. Women and younger participants were more likely to report harm from others’ alcohol and cigarette use. While alcohol and illegal drug users were more often harmed by others’ use of these substances, smokers reported being less often harmed by others’ smoking. Conclusions: Self-reported harm from others’ alcohol, cigarette and illegal drug use corresponds with the prevalence of use of these substances in Norway. For all three substances, close relations’ use accounted for more harm than strangers’ use. Own substance use was an important correlate of experienced harm.

Download Full-text

Estimation of Mortality Rates, Life Expectancy, and Life Potential of Illegal Drug Users

Journal of Drug Issues ◽

10.1177/0022042617753628 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 285-294

Author(s):

Zofia J. Mielecka-Kubień

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Drug Users ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

Social Costs ◽

Preventive Effect ◽

Illegal Drug Use ◽

The Social ◽

Negative Effect

The study presents proposed methods of estimation for mortality rates of illegal drug users and nonusers and their application in estimation of the life expectancy and the life potential loss of the users in Poland. Mortality rates for male users were in Poland in 2013, as an average, 4 times higher for male illegal drug users than for nonusers, and 7 times as high for females. For male illegal drug users, the loss of more than 12 years of life can be expected, whereas for females the figure stands at about 8 years. Similar losses of life potential of the users can be expected. The applied methods can be particularly useful in estimation of the social costs of illegal drug use. The results strongly underline the negative effect of the drug use which may have a preventive effect.

Download Full-text

Illegal Drug Use and Risk of Hearing Loss in the United States: A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182211945 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (22) ◽

pp. 11945

Author(s):

Po-Ting Lin ◽

I-Hsun Li ◽

Hui-Wen Yang ◽

Kuan-Wei Chiang ◽

Chih-Hung Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Drug Use ◽

High Frequency ◽

Drug Users ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

Illegal Drugs ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

High Frequency Hearing Loss ◽

Illegal Drug Use ◽

Health And Nutrition

The use of illegal drugs may be a risk factor of hearing loss. However, very few studies with large sample size have investigated the relationship between illegal drug use and hearing loss. Therefore, to evaluate the association between illegal drug use and hearing loss, this cross-sectional population-based study collected data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011. The study included 1772 participants aged 20 to 59 years who underwent the Drug Use Questionnaire and Audiometry Examination. Of the 1772 participants in this study, 865 were men (48.8%) and 497 were illegal drug users. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 40.0 (11.4) years. After considering age, sex, and comorbidities, the participants who used illegal drugs were found to have higher risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.35–2.10) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.36–2.12) as compared with the nonusers. In the second analysis, the participants who used ≥ 2 types of illegal drugs were associated with higher risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.06–2.32) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.08–2.37). In the third analysis, cocaine use was associated with increased risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01–1.77) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.04–1.82). The adjusted OR for overall hearing loss in the methamphetamine users was 1.54 (95% CI, 1.05–2.27) as compared with that in the nonusers. This study shows that illegal drug users might have a higher risk of overall hearing loss than nonusers. In addition, the analysis results demonstrated that the more kinds of illegal drugs used, the higher the risk of hearing loss. Further experimental and longitudinal research studies are required to confirm the causal relationship between illegal drug use and hearing loss.

Download Full-text

Justifications for Decriminalizing Drugs

International Journal of Social Science Research and Review ◽

10.47814/ijssrr.v3i1.30 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 15-26

Author(s):

Theodor Ernst

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Drug Users ◽

War On Drugs ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Central Feature ◽

Illegal Drug Use ◽

Production And Distribution ◽

The Government ◽

Drug Decriminalization

Drug decriminalization calls for reduced control and penalties compared to existing laws. Proponents of drug decriminalization generally support the use of fines or other punishments to replace prison terms, and often propose systems whereby illegal drug users who are caught would be fined, but would not receive a permanent criminal record as a result. A central feature of drug decriminalization is the concept of harm reduction. Drug decriminalization is in some ways an intermediate between prohibition and legalization, and has been criticized as being "the worst of both worlds", in that drug sales would still be illegal, thus perpetuating the problems associated with leaving production and distribution of drugs to the criminal underworld, while also failing to discourage illegal drug use by removing the criminal penalties that might otherwise cause some people to choose not to use drugs. In 2001 began treating use and possession of small quantities of drugs as a public health issue. This also decreases the amount of money the government spends fighting a war on drugs and money spent keeping drug users incarcerated. A number of countries have similarly moved to reduce the penalties associated with drug use and personal possession.

Download Full-text

Questions on the Interpretation of Drug Users' Autobiographies in a Country in the “Early” Phase of Drug Use

Contemporary Drug Problems ◽

10.1177/009145090603300105 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 99-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jozsef Rácz

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Alcoholics Anonymous ◽

Drug Users ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

The Political ◽

Master Narrative ◽

Construction Work ◽

Illegal Drug Use ◽

Dialogical Relationship ◽

Individual Self

Illegal drug use in Hungary became a mass phenomenon after the political changes of 1990. It is only recently that autobiographies of recovered drug users and their family members have been written and published. The present author suggests that since the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) approach has no traditional roots in Hungary, recovery stories are obliged to follow another master narrative. All of these stories were published in book form. The author analyzes the various narratives partly through the lens of Frank-style illness narratives and partly using self-pluralistic theories. The latter (primarily using Hermans notion of the dialogic self) provide a good theoretical basis for analyzing the processes active in the personality of a drug user and for showing the “retrospective” construction work that accompanies recovery (which in fact takes place at the same time as recovery). In this case, the spatial interpretation of individual self-positions and the dialogical relationship that developed between them proved particularly useful.

Download Full-text