OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to investigate the illicit drug use patterns of long-distance truck drivers. This population is considered to be a special interest group in terms of drug-driving research and policy due to high rates of use, involvement of drugs in truck accidents, and the link between drug use and work-related fatigue. METHODS Qualitative interview data were collected from...

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 ...

The application of regulatory theory to the problem of illicit drugs has generally been thought about only in terms of 'command and control'. The international treaties governing global illicit drug control and the use of law enforcement to dissuade and punish offenders have been primary strategies. In this paper I explore the application of other aspects of regulatory theory to illicit drugs-p...

Exosomes are important vehicles of intercellular communication that shape host responses to physiologic, tumorigenic, and pathogenic conditions. The composition and function of exosomes are dynamic and depends on the state and condition of the cellular source. In prior work, we found that semen exosomes (SE) from healthy donors who do not use illicit drugs potently inhibit HIV-1. Following seme...

Thailand has traditionally pursued an aggressive enforcement-based anti-illicit drug policy in an effort to make the country "drug-free." In light of this ongoing approach, we sought to assess impacts of enforcement on drug use behaviors among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in Thailand. We examined drug use patterns among IDU participating in a cross-sectional study conducted in Bangkok...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection rates in drug users vary among different regions of China. Drug users who are unaware of their HCV serostatus tend to engage in more risky behaviors. OBJECTIVES This prospective study aimed to assess risk factors of HCV infection in drug users among 11 methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in Xi'an, China. PATIENTS AND METHODS Baseline ch...

This article explores, from a public health perspective, the harm done by Canadian drug laws, to both individuals and society. It challenges the perceived dichotomy of legalization and criminalization of intravenous drugs. The article then expands the discussion by exploring eight legal options for illicit drugs and examines how these options interact with the marginalization of users, the illi...

notwithstanding a century of prohibition, marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in canada. due to the growing public acceptance of recreational marijuana use and ineffectiveness of the existing control system in canada, the issue surrounding legalizing this illicit drug has received considerable public and political attentions in recent years. consequently, the newly elected liber...

Many people diagnosed with mental illnesses struggle with illicit drug addiction. These individuals are often treated with psychiatric medications, yet little is known about how they experience this treatment. Research on the subjective experience of psychiatric medication use highlights the complex, contradictory, and ambiguous feelings often associated with this treatment. However, for those ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence and predictors of illicit drug use among school-going adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe. METHODS We used data from the Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) conducted in 2003 in Harare to obtain frequencies of a selected list of characteristics. We also carried out logistic regression to assess the association between illicit drug use and explanatory vari...