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Monthly Archives: April 2009

Drug policing, harm reduction and health: Directions for advocacy

We are long past the day when anyone doubts that drug laws and law enforcement policies can have a powerful, negative impact on the risks of infection, injury and death among drug users (). Police and corrections staff through their day-to-day interactions with drug users shape “the risk environment” by making it more or less feasible to obtain or carry sterile injection equipment, and to take the time to safely conduct an injection ().

HIV infection and risk behaviour of primary fentanyl and amphetamine injectors in Tallinn, Estonia: Implications for intervention

Conclusion: The injection of fentanyl is associated with elevated injecting risk behaviour derived from injection practice and situational risk factors, and needs urgently targeted interventions. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)

A qualitative inquiry into methadone maintenance treatment for opioid-dependent prisoners in Tehran, Iran

Conclusion: MMT constitutes one of the main components of the Iran Prison Organization’s comprehensive HIV prevention package and is becoming increasingly accessible to opioid-dependent prisoners in Iran. Our findings indicate that the MMT program in Ghezel Hesar prison has been helpful for many opioid-dependent prisoners to reduce their risk of drug-related harm and to ease social and financial burden over their families. Meanwhile, existing barriers against provision of MMT should be properly addressed before further scale up of the program.

Theorizing “Big Events� as a potential risk environment for drug use, drug-related harm and HIV epidemic outbreaks

Abstract: Political-economic transitions in the Soviet Union, Indonesia, and China, but not the Philippines, were followed by HIV epidemics among drug users. Wars also may sometimes increase HIV risk.

Theorizing “Big Events” as a potential risk environment for drug use, drug-related harm and HIV epidemic outbreaks

Abstract: Political-economic transitions in the Soviet Union, Indonesia, and China, but not the Philippines, were followed by HIV epidemics among drug users.

Heroin in brown, black and white: Structural factors and medical consequences in the US heroin market

Conclusion: Source and type of heroin are structural factors in the risk environment of heroin users: source dictates distribution and type predicts practice. How specific types of heroin are used and with what risk is therefore distributed geographically. Continued flux in the heroin market and its effects on the risk environment for drug users deserves further attention.

Social and structural aspects of the overdose risk environment in St. Petersburg, Russia

Conclusion: Local social and structural elements influence risk environments for overdose. Interventions at the community and structural levels to prevent and respond to opioid overdoses are needed for and integral to reducing overdose mortality in St. Petersburg

Mapping the experience of drug dealing risk environments: An ethnographic case study

Conclusion: Drug dealers shape, and are shaped by, their risk environments.

The mutual extraction industry: Drug use and the normative structure of social capital in the Russian far north

Conclusions: Social networks are central to young people’s management of the risk environment associated with post-Soviet economic transformation.

Cannabis use and ‘safe’ identities in an inner-city school risk environment

Conclusion: Inner-city schools may both reflect and reproduce existing patterns of drug use. The concept of risk hierarchies may be important when designing and evaluating school-based drug-prevention strategies. (Source: International Journal of Drug Policy)