BACKGROUND Multiple studies have documented the incidence of illicit drug use and abuse of opioids. Over the years, several hypotheses have been proposed. Short-acting opioids such as hydrocodone are generally considered to predispose patients to poor pain management, dependency, misuse, or abuse; whereas long-acting opioids such as methadone are thought to provide sustained pain management wit...

Illicit drug use is the practice of consuming a legally restricted substance in a manner contrary to the moral or traditional practices of a particular culture. In 2005/2006, over 10% of adults between 16 and 59 years of age had used illicit drugs in the previous year (Home Office 2006). The use of ‘Class A drugs’ (usually heroin or cocaine) was over 3%, mainly because of the rise in cocaine us...

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...

Problem gambling, substance use disorders, and their cooccurrence are serious public health concerns. We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to understand the present state of the evidence on these coaddictions. Our main focus was illicit drug use rather than misuse of legal substances. The review covers issues related to gambling as a hidden problem in the illicit drug use commu...