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Johnstad PG. Why are the police against drug policy liberalisation? NORDIC STUDIES ON ALCOHOL AND DRUGS 2023; 40:568-576. [PMID: 38045009 PMCID: PMC10688397 DOI: 10.1177/14550725231185417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
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Smyth BP, Davey A, Keenan E. Deterrence effect of penalties upon adolescent cannabis use. Ir J Psychol Med 2023:1-6. [PMID: 36794356 DOI: 10.1017/ipm.2023.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Penalties are used in an effort to curtail drug use by citizens in most societies. There are growing calls for a reduction or elimination of such penalties. Deterrence theory suggests that use should increase if penalties reduce and vice versa. We sought to examine the relationship between changes to penalties for drug possession and adolescent cannabis use. METHOD Ten instances of penalty change occurred in Europe between 2000 and 2014, seven of which involved penalty reduction and three involved penalty increase. We conducted a secondary analysis of a series of cross-sectional surveys of 15-16-year-old school children, the ESPAD surveys, which are conducted every four years. We focused on past month cannabis use. We anticipated that an eight-year time span before and after each penalty change would yield two data points either side of the change. A simple trend line was fitted to the data points for each country. RESULTS In eight cases, the trend slope in past month cannabis use was in the direction predicted by deterrence theory, the two exceptions being the UK policy changes. Using the principals of binomial distributions, the likelihood of this happening by chance is 56/1024 = 0.05. The median change in the baseline prevalence rate was by 21%. CONCLUSIONS The science seems far from settled on this issue. There remains a distinct possibility that reducing penalties could contribute to small increases in adolescent cannabis use and consequently increase cannabis-related harms. This possibility should be considered in any political decision-making influencing drug policy changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bobby P Smyth
- Department of Public Health & Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Aoife Davey
- National Drugs Rehabilitation Coordinator, National Social Inclusion Office, Health Service Executive, Palmerstown, Dublin 20, Ireland
| | - Eamon Keenan
- National Clinical Lead for Addiction Services, National Social Inclusion Office, Health Service Executive, Palmerstown, Dublin 20, Ireland
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Holland A, Stevens A, Harris M, Lewer D, Sumnall H, Stewart D, Gilvarry E, Wiseman A, Howkins J, McManus J, Shorter GW, Nicholls J, Scott J, Thomas K, Reid L, Day E, Horsley J, Measham F, Rae M, Fenton K, Hickman M. Analysis of the UK Government's 10-Year Drugs Strategy-a resource for practitioners and policymakers. J Public Health (Oxf) 2022:6779883. [PMID: 36309802 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdac114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2021, during a drug-related death crisis in the UK, the Government published its ten-year drugs strategy. This article, written in collaboration with the Faculty of Public Health and the Association of Directors of Public Health, assesses whether this Strategy is evidence-based and consistent with international calls to promote public health approaches to drugs, which put 'people, health and human rights at the centre'. Elements of the Strategy are welcome, including the promise of significant funding for drug treatment services, the effects of which will depend on how it is utilized by services and local commissioners and whether it is sustained. However, unevidenced and harmful measures to deter drug use by means of punishment continue to be promoted, which will have deleterious impacts on people who use drugs. An effective public health approach to drugs should tackle population-level risk factors, which may predispose to harmful patterns of drug use, including adverse childhood experiences and socioeconomic deprivation, and institute evidence-based measures to mitigate drug-related harm. This would likely be more effective, and just, than the continuation of policies rooted in enforcement. A more dramatic re-orientation of UK drug policy than that offered by the Strategy is overdue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Holland
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Alex Stevens
- School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NZ
| | - Magdalena Harris
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Dan Lewer
- Public Health Specialty Registrar, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Harry Sumnall
- Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 5UX, UK
| | - Daniel Stewart
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Eilish Gilvarry
- Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Alice Wiseman
- Association of Directors of Public Health, London, EC4Y 0HA, UK
| | - Joshua Howkins
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Jim McManus
- Association of Directors of Public Health, London, EC4Y 0HA, UK
| | | | - James Nicholls
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Jenny Scott
- Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY
| | - Kyla Thomas
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | | | - Edward Day
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT
| | - Jason Horsley
- National Institute for Health Research Evaluation Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Fiona Measham
- Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX
| | - Maggie Rae
- Epidemiological and Public Health Section, Royal Society of Medicine, London, W1G 0AE, UK
| | | | - Matthew Hickman
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
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Sumnall HR. Encouraging a 'generational shift' in the UKs relationship with drugs. A commentary on the new UK drug strategy. What can be achieved with drug prevention? THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2022; 109:103841. [PMID: 36041288 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Harry R Sumnall
- Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
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Changes in cannabis policy and prevalence of recreational cannabis use among adolescents and young adults in Europe-An interrupted time-series analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261885. [PMID: 35020763 PMCID: PMC8754285 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cannabis policy varies greatly across European countries, but evidence of how such policy impacts on recreational cannabis use among young people is conflicting. This study aimed to clarify this association by investigating how changes in cannabis legislation influenced cannabis use. Methods Available data on self-reports of recreational cannabis use among individuals aged 15–34 years was retrieved from EMCDDA. Information on cannabis policy changes was categorized as more lenient (decriminalisation or depenalisation) or stricter (criminalisation, penalisation). Countries that had implemented changes in cannabis legislation or had information on prevalence of use for at least eight calendar years, were eligible for inclusion. We used interrupted time-series linear models to investigate changes in country-specific trajectories of prevalence over calendar time and in relation to policy changes. Results Data from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom, for 1994–2017 was available for analyses. Cannabis use varied considerably over the study period and between countries. On average, use was stable or weakly increasing in countries where legislation was not changed or changed at the extremes of the study period (+0.08 percent per year [95% CI -0.01, 0.17 percent]). In contrast, the pooled average use decreased after changes in legislation, regardless of whether it had become more lenient (-0.22 [-1.21, 0.77]) or stricter (-0.44 [-0.91, 0.03]). Conclusions Our findings do not support any considerable impact of cannabis legislation on the prevalence of recreational cannabis use among youth and young adults in Europe.
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Zamengo L, Frison G, Zwitser G, Salomone A, Freeman TP. Cannabis knowledge and implications for health: Considerations regarding the legalization of non-medical cannabis. MEDICINE, SCIENCE, AND THE LAW 2020; 60:309-314. [PMID: 32600171 DOI: 10.1177/0025802420934255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cannabis contains over a hundred of different cannabinoids, of which Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most well studied. The use of high-potency cannabis, containing high concentrations of THC and low concentrations of CBD, has been linked to adverse health outcomes, particularly for adolescents and young adults. Recently, an increase in cannabis potency has been observed in jurisdictions that legalized the sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes. Moreover, an increase of cannabis use and cannabis-related emergency treatment have also been observed in these jurisdictions. At the same time, risk perception regarding cannabis use has decreased in these populations. Trivializing language and an increased appearance of commercial cannabis in the public space may lead to a generalized underestimation of the risks of cannabis use. New regulation models principally focus on the creation of a legal cannabis market economy, the diversion of profits from illegal markets, and the reduction of costs associated with prohibition. However, an approach that specifically focuses on the rights to the health and safety of the individual should be considered in order to reduce the risks associated with cannabis legalization. Such an approach should promote and protect individual and social health and safety, establish a strict quality control of legal cannabis products regulated according to THC and CBD content, and eliminate all sorts of incentives to use, thus providing a more consistent, sustainable, and ethical framework for the legalization of non-medical cannabis use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Zamengo
- Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene and Forensic Toxicology (LIATF), DMPO Department, AULSS 3, Italy
| | - Giampietro Frison
- Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene and Forensic Toxicology (LIATF), DMPO Department, AULSS 3, Italy
| | | | | | - Tom P Freeman
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, United Kingdom
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Bijlsma L, Bade R, Been F, Celma A, Castiglioni S. Perspectives and challenges associated with the determination of new psychoactive substances in urine and wastewater - A tutorial. Anal Chim Acta 2020; 1145:132-147. [PMID: 33453874 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.08.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
New psychoactive substances (NPS), often designed as (legal) substitutes to conventional illicit drugs, are constantly emerging in the drug market and being commercialized in different ways and forms. Their use continues to cause public health problems and is therefore of major concern in many countries. Monitoring NPS use, however, is arduous and different sources of information are required to get more insight of the prevalence and diffusion of NPS use. The determination of NPS in pooled urine and wastewater has shown great potential, adding a different and complementary light on this issue. However, it also presents analytical challenges and limitations that must be taken into account such as the complexity of the matrices, the high sensitivity and selectivity required in the analytical methods as a consequence of the low analyte concentrations as well as the rapid transience of NPS on the drug market creating a scenario with constantly moving analytical targets. Analytical investigation of NPS in pooled urine and wastewater is based on liquid chromatography hyphenated to mass spectrometry and can follow different strategies: target, suspect and non-target analysis. This work aims to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different data acquisition workflows and data exploration approaches in mass spectrometry, but also pays attention to new developments such as ion mobility and the use of in-silico prediction tools to improve the identification capabilities in high-complex samples. This tutorial gives an insight into this emerging topic of current concern, and describes the experience gathered within different collaborations and projects supported by key research articles and illustrative practical examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Bijlsma
- Environmental and Public Health Analytical Chemistry, Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, 12071, Castellón, Spain.
| | - R Bade
- University of South Australia, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, Health and Biomedical Innovation, South Australia, 5000, Australia.
| | - F Been
- KWR Water Research Institute, Chemical Water Quality and Health, 3430 BB, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | - A Celma
- Environmental and Public Health Analytical Chemistry, Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, 12071, Castellón, Spain
| | - S Castiglioni
- Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri - IRCCS, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 20156, Milan, Italy
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Hondebrink L, Nugteren‐van Lonkhuyzen JJ, Hunault CC, van den Berg J, van der Gouwe D, van Riel AJHP. New psychoactive substances (NPS) in the Netherlands: occurrence in forensic drug samples, consumer drug samples and poisons center exposures between 2013 and 2017. Addiction 2020; 115:716-725. [PMID: 31656050 PMCID: PMC7079152 DOI: 10.1111/add.14868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Hondebrink
- Dutch Poisons Information Center, University Medical Center UtrechtUtrecht Universitythe Netherlands
| | | | - Claudine C. Hunault
- Dutch Poisons Information Center, University Medical Center UtrechtUtrecht Universitythe Netherlands
| | | | - Daan van der Gouwe
- Department of Drug Monitoring and PolicyTrimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and AddictionUtrechtthe Netherlands
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Yu B, Chen X, Chen X, Yan H. Marijuana legalization and historical trends in marijuana use among US residents aged 12-25: results from the 1979-2016 National Survey on drug use and health. BMC Public Health 2020; 20:156. [PMID: 32013937 PMCID: PMC6998313 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-8253-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. More and more states legalized medical and recreational marijuana use. Adolescents and emerging adults are at high risk for marijuana use. This ecological study aims to examine historical trends in marijuana use among youth along with marijuana legalization. Method Data (n = 749,152) were from the 31-wave National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 1979–2016. Current marijuana use, if use marijuana in the past 30 days, was used as outcome variable. Age was measured as the chronological age self-reported by the participants, period was the year when the survey was conducted, and cohort was estimated as period subtracted age. Rate of current marijuana use was decomposed into independent age, period and cohort effects using the hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) model. Results After controlling for age, cohort and other covariates, the estimated period effect indicated declines in marijuana use in 1979–1992 and 2001–2006, and increases in 1992–2001 and 2006–2016. The period effect was positively and significantly associated with the proportion of people covered by Medical Marijuana Laws (MML) (correlation coefficients: 0.89 for total sample, 0.81 for males and 0.93 for females, all three p values < 0.01), but was not significantly associated with the Recreational Marijuana Laws (RML). The estimated cohort effect showed a historical decline in marijuana use in those who were born in 1954–1972, a sudden increase in 1972–1984, followed by a decline in 1984–2003. Conclusion The model derived trends in marijuana use were coincident with the laws and regulations on marijuana and other drugs in the United States since the 1950s. With more states legalizing marijuana use in the United States, emphasizing responsible use would be essential to protect youth from using marijuana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Yu
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Xinguang Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Xiangfan Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Hong Yan
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
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Smyth BP, Cannon M, Molodynski A, Curran HV, Eastwood N, Winstock AR. Would decriminalising personal use of cannabis lead to higher rates of mental illness? BMJ 2020; 368:l6975. [PMID: 31941646 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l6975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mary Cannon
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
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