Drug addiction as a negative social deviation

The article examines the causes and conditions of crimes in the sphere of illegal drug trafficking, as well as measures to prevent crimes of this group.

Organizational foundations for operational and search prevention of crimes committed in the sphere of illegal drug trafficking and psychotropic substances

High level of drug criminality has a negative impact on economic and social stability, harms the national security of the state. Only operational and investigative activities, which have a complex structure of interconnected organizational and tactical elements, ensure in the face of the opposition from the criminal environment timely detection, prevention, suppression and disclosure of latent and camouflaged crimes committed in the sphere of illegal drug trafficking and psychotropic substances. The issues of organizing the activities of officers of operational units for the prevention and suppression of these crimes are the least regulated in departmental regulations. With the adoption of Federal Law, No. 182-FZ dated 23.06.2016 «About the basis of the crime prevention system in the Russian Federation» it is required to specify the tasks of operational search prevention and suppression of crimes under consideration. Taking into account the special nature of operational search information about persons involved in the illicit trafficking of narcotic substances, methods for identifying this information, in order to solve specified tasks, it is necessary to form an appropriate management system for the activities of officers of the operational units. Structurally, the management system provides for a set of mandatory elements and functional relationships that ensure a sufficient level of a separate unit efficiency. Priority tasks for the prevention of crimes committed in the field of illegal trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances are highlighted in the article on the basis of the theoretical and legal analysis of the modern organization of the operational units’ activities of territorial bodies.

Practice Patterns for the Acceptance of Medically Complex Living Kidney Donors with Hematuria, Sickle Cell Trait, Smoking, Illegal Drug Use, or Urological Issues: A Multinational Survey

Background To review the practice patterns for the acceptance of medically complex living kidney donors (MCLKD) among the transplant providers of the international transplant community. Methods We distributed a survey globally, through major international transplantation societies, among nephrologists and transplant surgeons (TS). The survey contained questions regarding potential donors with microscopic hematuria, sickle cell trait, renal cysts, kidney stones, smoking, or illegal drug use. Results There were 239 respondents from 29 countries, including nephrologists (42%) and TS (58%). Although most respondents would investigate microscopic hematuria, one-third of them indicated they would decline these potential donors without investigation. Interestingly, most respondents accepted heavy smokers, intermittent illegal drug users (with advice to quit), and those with incidentally identified kidney stones, remote history of renal colic or simple renal cysts. We found multiple areas of consensus in practice with some interesting differences between nephrologists and TS. Conclusions This survey highlights the practice patterns of the acceptance of MCLKDs among the international community. In the absence of clear guidelines, this survey provides additional information to counsel kidney donors with microscopic hematuria, sickle cell trait, renal cysts, kidney stones, heavy smoking, or illegal drug use.

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

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.

Legitimation of Illegality in Authoritarian States: The Case of Transnational Illegal Drug Brokerage in China

This paper analyzes how illegality can be legitimized in authoritarian states by examining a contested case of transnational illegal drug brokerage in China. Triangulating news articles, legal documents, and interviews, the study distinguishes between two pathways of illegality legitimation: depoliticized and politicized. I argue that the depoliticized pathway is made possible through pragmatic, moral, and legalistic frames, whereas the politicized pathway builds upon an institutional frame. I also identify the media as essential agents of illegality legitimation. While illegal-practice participants and the legal authority tend to only mobilize depoliticized frames, the media make both depoliticized and politicized efforts. Through this in-depth analysis, the paper deepens our understanding of the social construction of illegality and the intricate relation between law, media, and society within authoritarian states.

Illegal drug trafficking on the internet

The relevance of the study is due to the change of activity of organized criminal groups involved in the circulation of psychoactive substances towards the organization of the mentioned activity through the Internet. The purpose of this work is to investigate the current problems of combating drug trafficking by using the worldwide web through contactless sale of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. It is necessary to strengthen the analytical component of law enforcement activities in the detection and analysis of content on the Internet through the introduction of information technology in law enforcement activities, the dissemination of knowledge about OSINT. The materials of the article are of practical value for the higher education graduates of police specialties, police officers of the criminal block and specialists in the field of operational search activities.

Participation of Employees of the Penitentiary System as a Condition for Illegal Drug Trafficking in Prisons

The research featured the causes of drug traffic in prisons. The hypothesis is that this crime would be impossible without the participation of employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service. The paper introduces an analysis of statistical data on drug trafficking in Russian prisons. The statistics showed that the level of drug trafficking in prisons remains stable for the last five years, despite the ongoing anti-drug policy of the state, which confirms the abovementioned hypothesis. The study highlighted the role of an employee of the Federal Penitentiary Service in various types of criminal activities related to drug trafficking in prisons. The author analyzed the legal practice of qualifying the actions of prison employees in the field of drug trafficking during their official duties and proposed to introduce uniformity in the qualification of these actions. The paper contains a comparative analysis of a Criminal Investigation Department employee engaged in drug trafficking and a citizen involved in the same crime outside the Criminal Investigation Department. The composition of crimes related to drug trafficking needs an additional qualifying feature for employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Influence of Prevalence of Psychoactive Substance Use in Mexican Municipalities on Early Childhood Development

Children’s early development is influenced by characteristics of the child, family, and environment, including exposure to substance abuse. The aim was to examine the association of early childhood development (ECD) with the prevalence of psychoactive substance use in Mexican municipalities. We obtained ECD data from the 2015 Survey of Boys, Girls, and Women (ENIM, for its Spanish acronym), measured with the ECD Index. The prevalence of psychoactive substance use was estimated at the municipal level, using the 2016 National Survey of Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use (ENCODAT, for its Spanish acronym). Multilevel logistic models were fitted to evaluate the association between drug use and inadequacies in ECD overall and in four specific ECD domains: socio-emotional, literacy-numeric, learning, and physical. Inadequate ECD was directly associated with illegal drug use (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.17). For the specific ECD domains, inadequate socio-emotional development was directly associated with illegal drug use (OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.15). These findings suggest that exposure to illegal drug use may influence ECD, and especially can lead to socio-emotional problems, although this cannot be considered the unanimous determinant of the problems presented. The implementation of evidence-based interventions to prevent drug abuse is necessary.