EXAMINING THE GATEWAY HYPOTHESIS OF DRUG USE IN INDONESIA

Background: Drug misuse is a global threat, including in Indonesia. Solving issues of drug use is by understanding the drug patterns. One of the important concepts related to public policy in drug addiction is the gateway hypothesis. However, not all researchers support this theory as the initation of drug use is debatable in terms of how a person starts to consume tobacco and alcohol, marijuana, and then other drugs.Aim: This study identified a initiation sequence of drug use, particularly the gateway from soft to hard drugs and its reverse from hard to soft drug patterns.Methods: This study employed a dataset of drug user patients aged 14–67 years from the Rehabilitation Center of National Narcotics Board in 2014-2018. The dataset was assessed using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Purposive sampling was utilized in the sample selection. The dataset was divided into three subsamples to identify the pattern. The subsamples included regular soft-drug users, regular intermediate-drug users, and regular hard-drug users. This study used a quantitative method and cross-tabulation approach along with descriptive statistics.Results: Most of the drug users began consuming intermediate drugs and then soft drugs. Only early users followed the gateway pattern, while those in the intermediate and hard drug pattern mostly did not have the gateway pattern.Conclusion: A policy about prevention of soft drug use (marijuana) in early use may be effective to reduce harder drug use in the future.Keywords: drug use, gateway hypothesis, reversal pattern

Do Medical Marijuana Laws Increase Hard-Drug Use?

Medical marijuana laws generate significant debate regarding drug policy. For instance, if marijuana is a complement to hard drugs, then these laws would increase the usage not only of marijuana but also of hard drugs. In this paper I study empirically the effects of medical marijuana laws by analyzing data on drug arrests and treatment admissions. I find that medical marijuana laws increase these proxies for marijuana consumption by around 10–15 percent. However, there is no evidence that cocaine and heroin usage increases. From the arrest data, the estimates indicate a 0–15 percent decrease in possession arrests for cocaine and heroin combined. From the treatment data, the estimates show a 20 percent decrease in admissions for heroin-related treatment, although there is no significant effect for cocaine-related treatment. These results suggest that marijuana may be a substitute for heroin, but it is not strongly correlated with cocaine. © 2015 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Do Medical Marijuana Laws Increase Hard-Drug Use?

Medical marijuana laws generate significant debate regarding drug policy. For instance, if marijuana is a complement to hard drugs, then these laws would increase the usage not only of marijuana but also of hard drugs. In this paper I study empirically the effects of medical marijuana laws by analyzing data on drug arrests and treatment admissions. I find that medical marijuana laws increase these proxies for marijuana consumption by around 10–15 percent. However, there is no evidence that cocaine and heroin usage increases. From the arrest data, the estimates indicate a 0–15 percent decrease in possession arrests for cocaine and heroin combined. From the treatment data, the estimates show a 20 percent decrease in admissions for heroin-related treatment, although there is no significant effect for cocaine-related treatment. These results suggest that marijuana may be a substitute for heroin, but it is not strongly correlated with cocaine. © 2015 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

EFFECT OF HARD DRUG ADDICTION ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF PERSONS ATTENDING MAT CLINIC

Purpose: The study, therefore, seeks to establish the effect of hard drug addiction on psychological well-being of persons attending mat clinic.Methodology: This study will adopt a descriptive survey design. The study will employ a population of 450 respondents, that is the, guardians /patients, and nurses of the clinic. The population of the study will include the patients attending and nurses working with the patients at MAT clinic in Kenya. According to Kothari (2004), a sample size of between 10 and 30% is a good representation of the target population, for populations not exceeding 1000. The target sample size for this study, therefore, will be 10% of the total respondents of the clinic, i.e., 45 respondents selected by simple random sampling method. Inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria will be used where the guardians/patients who attended the clinic and the nurses working in the clinic will be included, while the patients who are mentally incapacitated to respond to the questions as well as the nurses not directly involved with the patients will be excluded. The study will use questionnaires, key information and interview guides to collect the primary data. Analysis of data will be done by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software.Findings: The study finds that there is a significant impact of hard drug addiction on psychological well-being of persons attending mat clinic. Unique contribution to theory, policy, and practice: Both psychological well-being and substance abuse are influenced by numerous overlapping and interacting factors and as such, any psychometric scales trying to identify adolescents at risk for psychological problems and substance abuse would have to look at them in interaction. Fortunately, it seems that the Psychological Well-Being Scale used for the purpose of this research can serve this dual purpose, namely to identify adolescents with a negative psychological well-being and consequently identify those adolescents at risk for substance abuse.

Unstructured Socializing with Peers, Low Self-Control, and Substance Use

Research consistently finds that unstructured socializing with peers and low self-control are both positively associated with substance use among adolescents. However, largely absent from the literature is a consideration of whether unstructured socializing with peers and low self-control have differential and interactive effects when predicting usage of different classifications of drugs. The current study addresses these issues using data collected on a statewide sample of middle school and high school students who participated in the 2017 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. Results indicate that (1) unstructured socializing with peers is a stronger predictor of soft drug use than low self-control, (2) low self-control is a stronger predictor of hard drug use than unstructured socializing with peers, and (3) the effect of unstructured socializing on both soft and hard drug use is diminished among adolescents who are lower in self-control.

The Causes of Kidnapping and its Implications on Nigeria

The incessant incidences of kidnapping in Nigeria have grown into a severe National threat to its society and is ravaging the country’s socioeconomic wellbeing. The study aims to explore the national security and socioeconomic implications of this menace. The study applied the functionalism theoretical assumptions and employed Qualitative Document Analysis (QDA) based on the previous studies review conducted on kidnapping such as current literature, media reports, and newspaper to figure out the gap and come up with new findings on the causes of this menace. The study found that the government's reluctance to address such challenges is the force igniting heinous crimes in the country. It is due to the negligence of the Nigerian government to address the root-causes of the phenomenon such as; youth unemployment, quick-money syndrome, hard-drug influence, and others. The study suggests some measures such as public awareness programs, a synergic approach between the security forces and community police, appropriate sanctions, phone sim-card registration, quit ransom payment, and job creation.

The Effect of Marijuana Legalization on the Trajectories of Hard Drug–Related Hospitalizations: A Growth Curve Analysis of the County-Level State Inpatient Database in Washington, 2009–2015

Two antithetical arguments have raised controversies over the effect of recreational marijuana legalization on hard drug use. The gateway perspective posits that marijuana use diffuses hard drug use; however, recent studies argue that marijuana legalization displaces hard drug use. This study examines these conflicting arguments by investigating temporal patterns of hard drug–related hospitalizations (HDHs) before and after marijuana legalization. Using county-level State Inpatient Database data from Washington State for the years 2009–2015, along with other federal data sources, this study assesses temporal changes in HDH using growth curve modeling. Initial findings show support for the displacement perspective, though controlling for other county-level factors (education and economic change) indicates that the legalization of recreational marijuana may be a gateway toward harder drugs. Considering the economic situation of the United States during the study period, this study concludes that marijuana legalization functioned as a gateway toward increased hard drug use.

Spiritual Wounding and Affliction

This paper explores the writings of metaphysical philosopher and social activist Simone Weil on spiritual wounding and affliction, as well as implications for the development of a spiritually-grounded and -sensitive social work practice. The nature of spiritual affliction is considered, challenges to discerning spiritual trauma discussed, and barriers to receiving help for those in the midst of such wounding revealed. A framework for social work practice based on a spiritual foundation is articulated, which embraces social justice as focused on human needs and social obligations, toward the goal of spiritual transformation in cases of spiritual wounding. The perspective of those experiencing spiritual affliction in the area of hard drug addiction is discussed as a case study.