Despite intensive efforts to eradicate it, addiction to both legal and illicit drugs continues to be a major worldwide medical and social problem. Anti-addiction vaccines can produce the antibodies to block the effects of these drugs on the brain, and have great potential to ameliorate the morbidity and mortality associated with illicit drug intoxications. This review provides a current overvie...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between the consumption of psychoactive substances (tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs) and demographic variables, mental health and family context among school-aged children. METHODS The National Adolescent School-based Health Survey was held with a national sample of 109,104 students. Data regarding demographic variables, family background and mental he...

OBJECTIVE Illicit drug use is identified in Healthy People 2010 as a leading health indicator because it is associated with multiple deleterious health outcomes, such as sexually transmitted diseases, human immunodeficiency virus, viral hepatitis, and numerous social problems among adolescents and adults. Improved understanding of the influence of stressful or traumatic childhood experiences on...

This study examined the relationship between sexual orientation and substance use among a nationally representative sample of U.S. college and university students. Data from the 1999 College Alcohol Survey were analyzed to compare marijuana and other illicit drug use among heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual students. Findings indicate no significant differences in either marijuana or other ...

The use of illicit drugs has been on the rise in America. It is very detrimental on society, as fatal overdose is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (about the same as motor vehicle crashes). Of all illicit drugs, one drug that has an severe adverse effect on a community as a whole is heroin. This paper will discuss two mathematical modelsthe White and Comiskey model and a n...

Researchers project a threefold increase in substance abuse, inclusive of alcohol, prescription, and illicit drugs, for adults aged 50 or older by 2020, when an estimated 5 million older adults will need treatment for substance abuse problems (Gfroerer, Penne, Pemberton, & Folsom, 2003). This suggests a need for heightened awareness among clinical mental health counselors as they treat this pop...

Alcohol policy and illicit drugs policy are typically presented as separate and different in academic discussion. This is understandable, to a degree, as the criminal law upholds a 'great regulatory divide' (Seddon, 2010: 56) separating the licit trade in alcohol from the illicit trade in substances classified as either class A, B or C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This paper takes a diff...

BACKGROUND In North America, the harms of illicit drug use have been responded to primarily through law enforcement interventions. This strategy has resulted in record populations of addicted individuals being incarcerated in both Canada and the United States. The incarceration of non-violent drug offenders has become increasingly controversial as studies demonstrate the harms, including elevat...

BACKGROUND DSM-IV criteria for illicit drug abuse and dependence are largely based on criteria developed for alcohol use disorders and there is a lack of research evidence on the psychometric properties of these symptoms when applied to illicit drugs. METHOD This study utilizes data on abuse/dependence criteria for cannabis, cocaine, stimulants, sedatives, tranquilizers, opiates, hallucinogen...

We evaluate the effect of alcohol access on drug-related crime and mortality using detailed information on access laws in Texas between 1978 and 1996. Counties with alcohol access have higher average levels of drug-related crimes. However, after controlling for both county and year fixed effects, we find that having local alcohol access decreases crime associated with illicit drugs. This basic ...