Current Issue
November 2020, Volume 39, Issue 7
Volume 39, Issue 7 features an editorial discussing barriers to addressing alcohol‐related harm through planning and licensing systems, with a case study from Victoria, Australia. This issue also includes a special section on ‘Impact of alcohol on mortality in Eastern Europe: Trends and policy responses’. This includes an editorial and research from Russia, Estonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Czechia. There is also Australian research on exploring the physical, mental and social contexts of extramedical pharmaceutical opioid use in Australian paramedic case descriptions; a qualitative study from Tasmania on over‐the‐counter codeine misusers and accounts of recovery; construction workers’ alcohol use, knowledge, perceptions of risk and workplace norms; bidirectional relationships in the development of internalising symptoms and alcohol use in adolescence; and subgroups of adults who drink alcohol at low‐risk levels.
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Editorials
Alcohol marketing and social media: A challenge for public health control
Robin Room, Paula O'Brien
27 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13160
Second, third, fourth COVID‐19 waves and the ‘pancession’: We need studies that account for the complexities of how the pandemic is affecting alcohol consumption in Australia
Cassandra J. C. Wright, Michael Livingston, Robyn Dwyer, Sarah Callinan
12 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13188
For Discussion
The burden of alcohol on health care during COVID‐19
Tim Stockwell, Sven Andreasson, Cheryl Cherpitel, Tanya Chikritzhs, Frida Dangardt, Harold Holder, Timothy Naimi, Adam Sherk
24 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13143
A timely piece that resonates with the South African experience: Commentary on Stockwell et al.
Charles D. H. Parry
7 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13159
Alcohol controls in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic in India: Commentary on Stockwell et al. 2020
Jayant Mahadevan, Lekhansh Shukla, Vivek Benegal
7 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13158
COVID‐19 and alcohol in Mexico: A serious health crisis, strong actions on alcohol in response—Commentary on Stockwell et al.
María E. Medina‐Mora, Martha Cordero‐Oropeza, Claudia Rafful, Tania Real, Jorge A. Villatoro‐Velazquez
7 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13177
Time for carefully tailored set of alcohol policies to reduce health‐care burden and mitigate potential unintended consequences?
Tim Stockwell, Sven Andréasson, Cheryl Cherpitel, Tanya Chikritzhs, Frida Dangardt, Harold Holder, Timothy Naimi, Adam Sherk
7 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13185
The elusiveness of representativeness in general population surveys for alcohol
Jürgen Rehm, Carolin Kilian, Pol Rovira, Kevin D. Shield, Jakob Manthey
24 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13148
The elusiveness of representativeness in general population surveys for alcohol: Commentary on Rehm et al.
Tanya Chikritzhs
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13175
The elusiveness of representativeness in general population surveys for alcohol: Commentary on Rehm et al
Thomas K. Greenfield
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13168
The future of alcohol surveys: Between the devil and the deep blue sea
Pia Mäkelä
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13162
Approaches to triangulation of alcohol data in Scotland: Commentary on Rehm et al
Mark Robinson, Eliud Kibuchi, Linsay Gray, Gerry McCartney
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13164
Future of surveys in the alcohol field
Jürgen Rehm, Carolin Kilian, Jakob Manthey
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13180
Comprehensive Review
Substance use prevalence rates among migrant and native adolescents in Europe: A systematic review
Melissa van Dorp, Albert Boon, Renske Spijkerman, Leontien Los
18 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13154
Shared decision‐making among people with problematic alcohol/other drug use and co‐occurring mental health conditions: A systematic review
Alana Fisher Katherine Mills Maree Teesson Christina Marel
9 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13149
Reviews
Alcohol control policies in Former Soviet Union countries: A narrative review of three decades of policy changes and their apparent effects
Maria Neufeld, Anastacia Bobrova, Kairat Davletov, Mindaugas Štelemėkas, Relika Stoppel, Carina Ferreira‐Borges, João Breda, Jürgen Rehm
5 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13204
A critical scoping review about the impact of music in the lives of young adults who use drugs
Elise Cournoyer Lemaire, Christine Loignon, Karine Bertrand
17 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13136
Original Papers
Alcohol retail privatisation in Canadian provinces between 2012 and 2017. Is decision making oriented to harm reduction?
Norman Giesbrecht, Ashley Wettlaufer, Tim Stockwell, Kate Vallance, Clifton Chow, Nicole April, Mark Asbridge, Russell Callaghan, Samantha Cukier, Geoff Hynes, Robert E. Mann, Robert Solomon, Gerald Thomas, Kara Thompson
14 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13229
Are changes in binge drinking among European adolescents driven by changes in computer gaming?
Torleif Halkjelsvik, Geir S. Brunborg, Elin K. Bye
13 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13226
The value of identification scanner technology in monitoring and detecting banned patrons in entertainment precincts
Dominique de Andrade, Cheneal Puljević, Peter G. Miller, Nicholas Taylor, Ashlee Curtis, Jason Ferris
9 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13225
On‐ and off‐licensed premises drinking behaviour among adults in the city of Tshwane, South Africa: An analysis of data from the International Alcohol Control study
Mukhethwa Londani, Neo K. Morojele, Catherine O. Egbe, Elmarie Nel, Petal Petersen Williams, Nadine Harker, Charles D. H. Parry
1 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13223
Prevalence of drink‐driving in Thimphu, Bhutan: Targeted surveillance at sentinel sites
Tashi Tenzin, Roma Karki, Tashi Duba, Kinga Jamphel, Sonam Dhendup, Dil Kumar Subba, Gampo Dorji, Peter G. Miller, Jennie Connor, Daniel Barker, Kerry S. O'Brien, Kypros Kypri
1 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13224
Online alcohol delivery is associated with heavier drinking during the first New Zealand COVID‐19 pandemic restrictions
Taisia Huckle, Karl Parker, Jose S. Romeo, Sally Casswell
30 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13222
An examination of the extent to which drinking motives and problem alcohol consumption vary as a function of deprivation, gender and age
Derek Heim, Rebecca L. Monk, Adam W. Qureshi
26 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13221
The effect of public opinion and politics on attitudes towards pill testing: Results from the 2019 Australian Election Study
Ian McAllister, Toni Makkai
22 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13211
Public opinion and experiences of crime two and five years following the implementation of a targeted regulation of licensed premises in Newcastle, Australia
John Wiggers, Jenny Tindall, Rebecca K. Hodder, Karen Gillham, Melanie Kingsland, Christophe Lecathelinais
20 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13207
Alcohol‐attributed disease burden in four Nordic countries between 2000 and 2017: Are the gender gaps narrowing? A comparison using the Global Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Factor 2017 study
Emilie E. Agardh, Peter Allebeck, Pär Flodin, Peter Wennberg, Mats Ramstedt, Ann Kristin Knudsen, Simon Øverland, Jonas Minet Kinge, Mette C. Tollånes, Terje A. Eikemo, Jens Christoffer Skogen, Pia Mäkelä, Mika Gissler, Knud Juel, Kim Moesgaard Iburg, John J. McGrath, Mohsen Naghavi, Stein Emil Vollset, Emmanuela Gakidou, Anna‐Karin Danielsson
18 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13217
Study drug use among university students in Western Australia: Results of a web survey and their policy and practice implications
Marina Nelson, Charmaine Jensen, Simon Lenton
15 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13190
The socio‐environmental context of simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use among young adults: Examining day‐level associations
Ashley N. Linden‐Carmichael, Hannah K. Allen, Stephanie T. Lanza
13 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13213
Purchasing, consumption, demographic and socioeconomic variables associated with shifts in alcohol consumption during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Sarah Callinan, Yvette Mojica‐Perez, Cassandra J. C. Wright, Michael Livingston, Sandra Kuntsche, Anne‐Marie Laslett, Robin Room, Emmanuel Kuntsche
10 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13200
Factors associated with hepatitis C and HIV testing uptake among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs
Vivian D. Hope, James McVeigh, Emma Begley, Rachel Glass, Claire Edmundson, Ellen Heinsbroek, Joseph Kean, John Campbell, Mark Whitfield, Gareth Morgan, Dean Acreman, Josie Smith
8 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13198
Crystal methamphetamine use among young people entering custody: Prevalence, correlates and comorbidity
Sharlene Kaye, Amy Lewandowski, Julia Bowman, Michael F. Doyle
5 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13210
Routine outcome measurement in specialist non‐government alcohol and other drug treatment services: Establishing effectiveness indicators for the NADAbase
Peter J. Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Esther L. Davis, Suzie Hudson, Laura D. Robinson, Carol A. Keane, Emma L. Hatton, Briony Larance
5 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13191
The influence of child maltreatment on substance or alcohol use in 30‐year‐old adults: A birth cohort study
Steve Kisely, Lane Strathearn, Jake Najman
1 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13192
Facilitators and barriers to integrating physical health care during treatment for substance use: A socio‐ecological analysis
Briony Osborne, Peter J. Kelly, Laura D. Robinson, Rowena Ivers, Frank P. Deane, Briony Larance
23 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13197
Trends in the psychosocial characteristics of 11–15‐year‐olds who still drink, smoke, take drugs and engage in poly‐substance use in England
Melissa Oldham, Michael Livingston, Victoria Whitaker, Sarah Callinan, Hannah Fairbrother, Penny Curtis, Petra Meier, John Holmes
22 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13201
Severe harm from others' drinking: A population‐based study on sex differences and the role of one's own drinking habits
Erica Sundin, Maria Rosaria Galanti, Jonas Landberg, Mats Ramstedt
20 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13202
The prevalence of mental health disorders among young adults who use amphetamine‐type stimulants, compared to young adults who do not
Malithi R. Thoradeniya, Ellen L. Wessel, Davoud Pourmarzi, Jake M. Najman, Andrew Smirnov
19 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13196
Use as directed: do standard drink labels on alcohol containers help consumers drink (ir)responsibly? Real‐world evidence from a quasi‐experimental study in Yukon, Canada
Nour Schoueri‐Mychasiw, Ashini Weerasinghe, Tim Stockwell, Kate Vallance, David Hammond, Thomas K. Greenfield, Jonathan McGavock, Erin Hobin
19 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13165
Beverage‐specific situational norms: Evidence from the Dutch electronic appropriate beverage task
Megan Cook, Sandra Kuntsche, Koen Smit, Carmen Voogt, Emmanuel Kuntsche
9 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13189
Monitoring the sentiment of cannabis‐related tweets in the lead up to New Zealand's cannabis referendum
Benjamin C. Riordan, Jacques Raubenheimer, Rose Marie Ward, Jennifer E. Merrill, Taylor Winter, Damian Scarf
6 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13184
Investigating the need for alcohol harm reduction and managed alcohol programs for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorders in Scotland
Hannah Carver, Tessa Parkes, Tania Browne, Catriona Matheson, Bernie Pauly
1 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13178
Quality of life as a predictor of time to heroin relapse among male residents following release from compulsory rehabilitation centres in Vietnam
Thu Vuong, Alison Ritter, Marian Shanahan, Robert Ali, Nhu Nguyen, Khue Pham Minh
28 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13176
Industry views about the Banned Drinker Register in the Northern Territory: Early lessons from a qualitative evaluation
Elizabeth Adamson, Sarah Clifford, Tessa Wallace, James A. Smith
24 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13174
Medical cannabis and cognitive performance in middle to old adults treated for chronic pain
Sharon R. Sznitman, Simon Vulfsons, David Meiri, Galit Weinstein
22 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13171
Moderating effect of illicit drug use on the relationship between sexual behaviours and prevalence of HIV or sexually transmitted infections
Lian‐Yu Chen Shang‐Chi Wu Nai‐Ying Ko
20 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13170
Exploring views on alcohol consumption and digital support for alcohol reduction in UK‐based Punjabi‐Sikh men: A think aloud and interview study
Karamjeet Taak, Jamie Brown, Olga Perski
16 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13172
Impacts of confounding roadway characteristics on estimates of associations between alcohol outlet densities and alcohol‐related motor vehicle crashes
Robert Lipton, Aniruddha Banerjee, William R. Ponicki, Paul J. Gruenewald, Christopher Morrison
26 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13156
Self‐perception of assisting with future injection drug initiation: The influence of relationships in the process of drug injecting initiation
Brittnie E. Bloom, Sonia Jain, Xiaoying Sun, Richard S. Garfein, Steffanie A. Strathdee, M‐J Milloy, Kanna Hayashi, Kora DeBeck, Ricky Bluthenthal, Dan Werb, Claudia Rafful
24 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13145
Less adolescent alcohol and cannabis use: More deviant user groups?
Hilde Pape, Ingeborg Rossow
18 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13146
Feasibility and acceptability of take‐home naloxone for people released from prison in New South Wales, Australia
Banafsheh Moradmand‐Badie, Lucy Tran, Noora Oikarainen, Louisa Degenhardt, Suzanne Nielsen, Jillian Roberts, Stephen Ward, Julia Bowman, Sarah Larney
17 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13144
Characterisation of presentations to a community‐based specialist addiction neuropsychology service: Cognitive profiles, diagnoses and comorbidities
James R. Gooden, Catherine A. Cox, Vanessa Petersen, Ashlee Curtis, Victoria Manning, Dan I. Lubman
12 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13135
Smoking behaviours and other substance use among Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australian secondary students, 2017
Christina Heris, Nicola Guerin, David Thomas, Catherine Chamberlain, Sandra Eades, Victoria M. White
11 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13130
Are the well‐off youth in Sweden more likely to use cannabis?
Isabella Gripe, Anna‐Karin Danielsson, Patrik Karlsson, Siri Thor, Mats Ramstedt
10 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13139
E‐cigarette use and cigarette smoking initiation among Australian women who have never smoked
Alemu Melka, Catherine Chojenta, Elizabeth Holliday, Deborah Loxton
4 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13131
Investigation of tobacco and alcohol co‐consumption in Thailand: A joint estimation approach
Nopphol Witvorapong, Polathep Vichitkunakorn
4 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13128
Commentaries
An innovative acute care based intervention to address the opioid crisis in a Canadian setting
Sameer Imtiaz, Kanna Hayashi, Seonaid Nolan
12 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13193
Decriminalising public drunkenness: Accountability and monitoring needed in the ongoing and evolving management of public intoxication
Amy Pennay, Michael Savic, Kate Seear, Isabelle Volpe, Victoria Manning, Robin Room
24 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13169
New frontiers in alcohol and gender: The role of health promotion policy and practice in Australia
Anthony Merlino, Sarah Clifford, James A. Smith
21 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13166
Alcohol industry arguments for putting profit before health in the midst of a pandemic: The Western Australian experience
Danica Keric, Julia Stafford
27 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13147
Brief Reports
Prevalence of drink‐driving in Thimphu, Bhutan: Targeted surveillance at sentinel sites
Tashi Tenzin, Roma Karki, Tashi Duba, Kinga Jamphel, Sonam Dhendup, Dil Kumar Subba, Gampo Dorji, Peter G. Miller, Jennie Connor, Daniel Barker, Kerry S. O'Brien, Kypros Kypri
1 December 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13224
Contingency management for tobacco smoking during opioid addiction treatment: Implementation challenges
Tom S. Ainscough, Leonie S. Brose, John Strang, Ann McNeill
24 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13216
Patterns of methamphetamine production among an international sample of methamphetamine ‘cooks’
Cheneal Puljević, Renee Zahnow, Isabella Benfer, Adam R. Winstock, Larissa J. Maier, Monica J. Barratt, Jason Ferris
10 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13205
The acute and repeated effects of cigarette smoking and smoking‐related cues on impulsivity
Suky Martinez, Jermaine D. Jones, Nehal P. Vadhan, Laura Brandt, Sandra D. Comer, Adam Bisaga
2 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13206
The impact of nationwide alcohol ban during the COVID‐19 lockdown on alcohol use‐related internet searches and behaviour in India: An infodemiology study
Swarndeep Singh, Pawan Sharma, Yatan Pal Singh Balhara
8 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13187
Describing the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on alcohol‐induced blackout tweets
Rose Marie Ward, Benjamin C. Riordan, Jennifer E. Merrill, Jacques Raubenheimer
6 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13186
Opioid overdose risk during and after drug treatment for heroin dependence: An incidence density case–control study nested in the VEdeTTE cohort
Fabrizio Faggiano, Federica Mathis, Roberto Diecidue, Federica Vigna‐Taglianti, Maria Paola Caria, Samantha Colledge, Matthew Hickman, Annamaria Bargagli, Marina Davoli
23 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13173
A trial of Criminal Infringement Notices as an alternative to criminal penalties for illicit drug offences in New South Wales, Australia: Estimated savings
Rachel Sutherland, Don Weatherburn, Louisa Degenhardt
14 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13142
Improved rates of treatment success following alcohol and other drug treatment among clients who quit or reduce their tobacco smoking
Hugh Piercy, Joshua B. B. Garfield, Dan I. Lubman, Tina Lam, Victoria Manning
31 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13150
Special Issue - Beyond self-reports: ways to obtain more comprehensive insights into substance use events
Shooting shots: Estimating alcoholic drink sizes in real life using event‐level reports and annotations of close‐up picturesShooting shots: Estimating alcoholic drink sizes in real life using event‐level reports and annotations of close‐up pictures
Florian Labhart, Thanh‐Trung Phan, Daniel Gatica‐Perez, Emmanuel Kuntsche
17 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13212
Combining transdermal and breath alcohol assessments, real‐time drink logs and retrospective self‐reports to measure alcohol consumption and intoxication across a multi‐day music festival
Thomas Norman, Amy Peacock, Stuart G. Ferguson, Emmanuel Kuntsche, Raimondo Bruno
10 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13215
Feasibility and reliability of continuously monitoring alcohol use among female adolescents and young adults
Julie M. Croff, Micah L. Hartwell, Ashleigh L. Chiaf, Erica K. Crockett, Isaac J. Washburn
17 March 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13045
Special Section - Alcohol in international trade policies and negotiations: commercial interests and public health
Editorial - Alcoholic beverages in trade agreements: Industry lobbying and the public health interest
Robin Room, Deborah Gleeson, Mia Miller
12 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13214
Industry submissions on alcohol in the context of Australia's trade and investment agreements: A content and thematic analysis of publicly available documents
Mia Miller, Claire Wilkinson, Robin Room, Paula O'Brien, Belinda Townsend, Ashley Schram, Deborah Gleeson
23 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13219
Harnessing trade and investment agreements to promote public health
Sparsha Janardhan
24 August 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13153
Alcohol labelling rules in free trade agreements: Advancing the industry's interests at the expense of the public's health
Deborah Gleeson, Paula O'Brien
2 April 2020 | DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.13054
Special Section - Alcohol trends and policies in the wider world
Alcohol industry, corporate social responsibility and country features in Latin America
Karina Conde, Raquel Inés Peltzer, Daniela Pantani, Ilana Pinsky, Mariana Cremonte
6 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13208
Alcohol consumption in India: A rising burden and a fractured response
Gopalkrishna Gururaj, Melur S. Gautham, Banavaram A. Arvind
30 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13179
Special Issue - Methamphetamine
A prospective cohort of people who use methamphetamine in Melbourne and non‐metropolitan Victoria, Australia: Baseline characteristics and correlates of methamphetamine dependence
Brendan Quinn, Bernadette Ward, Paul A. Agius, Rebecca Jenkinson, Matthew Hickman, Keith Sutton, Cristal Hall, Rebecca McKetin, Michael Farrell, Reece Cossar, Paul M. Dietze
11 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13194
Parent and child co‐resident status among an Australian community‐based sample of methamphetamine smokers
Bernadette Ward, Rebecca Kippen, Andrea Reupert, Darryl Maybery, Paul A. Agius, Brendan Quinn, Rebecca Jenkinson, Matthew Hickman, Keith Sutton, Rachael Goldsmith, Paul M. Dietze
8 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13155
Clinical and demographic characteristics of people who smoke versus inject crystalline methamphetamine in Australia: Findings from a pharmacotherapy trial
Rebecca McKetin, Brendan Quinn, Peter Higgs, Michael Berk, Olivia M. Dean, Alyna Turner, Peter J. Kelly, Dan I. Lubman, Gregory Carter, Amanda L. Baker, Victoria Manning, Tamsin Thomas, Ramez Bathish, Dayle Raftery, Lucy Saunders, Anna Wrobel, Alcyone Meehan, Barbara Sinclair, David Reid, Shalini Arunogiri, Harry Hill, Frank Cordaro, Paul M. Dietze
6 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13183
Letters to the Editor
Keeping the alcohol and other drug workforce resilient after the COVID‐19 emergency
Hoiyan Karen Li
20 November 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13218
Acute tramadol withdrawal: An unusual cause of severe acute behavioural disturbance
Keith Harris, Georgia R. Harburg, Katherine Z. Isoardi
26 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13203
The alcohol industry ‘smart affordability’ strategy is to reach the poor
Daniela Pantani, Zila M. Sanchez, Claire Greene, Ilana Pinsky
19 October 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13195
The development and implementation of a rapid‐access long‐acting injectable buprenorphine clinic in metropolitan Melbourne during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Adam Straub, Adam Pastor, Martyn Lloyd‐Jones, Helen O'Neill, Yvonne Bonomo
8 September 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13161
Clinician's Corner - December 2020
Clinician's Corner | December 2020
Among people with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving oral (e.g. methadone) or injectable (i.e. diacetylmorphine or hydromorphone) opioid agonist treatment (iOAT), illicit stimulant use (i.e. cocaine and/or methamphetamine) is prevalent, and has been shown to be associated with early treatment dropout and continued opioid use. Research on iOAT has focus on the effectiveness of the opioid medications, studying primary outcomes such as the use of illicit opioids and treatment retention. Less attention however has been paid to patterns of illicit stimulant use and patients’ experiences of stimulant use while engaged in iOAT.
To partly address this gap, we conducted one-on-one interviews with 31 patients who reported the use of cocaine and/or methamphetamine, and who were receiving iOAT at a community clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia. Participants taking part in the study had been regularly injecting illicit opioids and injecting or smoking illicit stimulants for approximately 15 years prior to being engaged in iOAT, and had multiple prior oral OAT attempts. Interviews were conducted at a time when dextroamphetamine was beginning to be prescribed at the clinic for the treatment of stimulant use disorder, and the few patients that had attempted this medication were invited to take part in this study. Data collection and analysis followed an iterative approach of coding, searching for meaning, and returning to data collection to saturate categories and explicate relationships between them.
These interviews revealed that iOAT provided access to a safe and stable source of opioids, and connection to care. This served as a foundation from which participants developed new goals around their stimulant use, with most desiring to either reduce or stop their use. The central study finding focused on how participants worked toward these goals, through the process of “self-managing illicit stimulant use”, which was made up of two key areas of effort pursued by participants:
- “Taking control” of stimulant use”, by practicing strategies to regulate their use (e.g. developing rules around timing or frequency of use), and by engaging in meaningful alternative activities (e.g. employment, leisure); and
- “Mobilising support”, in the form of both social and treatment support. In the context of a contaminated illicit drug supply and criminalisation of drug use, participants outlined significant concern for harm, and desired support in the form of access to safe alternatives to illicit stimulant use. Some patients had accessed dextroamphetamine and reported that it helped to reduce their craving for and use of illicit stimulants, while others desired alternative prescribed stimulant options.
Self-management models derive from the chronic disease literature, and have long emphasized the role of simultaneous patient efforts and system-level support, for example in the form of medication or treatment. In the context of COVID-19, where individual-level efforts (e.g. access to alternative activities and connection with peers) have been greatly limited by physical distancing restrictions, the imperative for system-level support is even greater. As the evidence supporting prescription stimulants (e.g. dextroamphetamine) for the treatment of stimulant use disorder continues to grow, patients who desire access to these medications cannot be left behind. Efforts to incorporate dextroamphetamine and other stimulant medications into care can be guided by patients, recognising them as experts in the management of their stimulant use.
Heather Palis1,2 and Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes1,2
1Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, Providence Health Care, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
2School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
A complimentary PDF of the article is available to APSAD members by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Palis H, Harrison S, MacDonald S, Marsh DC, Schechter MT, Oviedo‐Joekes E. Self‐managing illicit stimulant use: A qualitative study with patients receiving injectable opioid agonist treatment. Drug Alcohol Rev 2020;39:914-23. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.13117