Objective: Substance abuse is a socio-psychological disorder. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy with 12-steps Narcotics Anonymous on psychological well-being of opiate dependent individuals in addiction treatment centers in Shiraz, Iran. Method: This was a randomized controlled trial. Data were collected at entry into the study and at po...

BACKGROUND In recent years the recreational use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has increased. NPS are considered a threat to public health and the main response to this threat is to make the selling and buying of these substances illegal. In Sweden, during the last 5 years, 62 new substances have been classified as narcotics but little is known of the effects of making a particular substa...

OBJECTIVE Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an abstinence-based fellowship with more than 58,000 groups worldwide. There has, however, been little research reported on its members. This study was designed to clarify the nature of the participants in NA who are primarily abstinent, long-term members. METHOD A protocol was implemented to survey members at 10 NA group meetings in three different state...

OBJECTIVE Therapeutic interventions can be classified into two distinct approaches: abstinent and maintenance method. Currently, there are no clear criteria for referring addicted patients to one of these modalities. We aimed to compare the personality characteristics of individuals with addiction who attended narcotics anonymous sessions with those who received methadone maintenance therapy. ...

The crack epidemic was devastating to poor American communities in part because of the destruction wrought by the system of exchanging sex for drugs, which was a key feature of the crack-use culture. Sex-for-drugs exchanges were often conducted under unsafe circumstances and were linked to the spread of AIDS and other STDs, as well as unplanned pregnancies. The existence of this alternative sys...