Lifeworld: socio-environmental influence on crack cocaine use by teenagers

Almanac for preventing the use of alcohol and other drugs among adolescents: construction and validity

OBJECTIVES

to build and validate an almanac to prevent the use of alcohol and other drugs among adolescents.

METHODS

a methodological study, based on the adaptation of Echer's stages and on Culture Circles. The Content Validity Index and the Concordance Index were used for validity.

RESULTS

problematization in Culture Circles and literature review supported the elaboration of an almanac. In validity with eleven health judges, the material obtained a global Content Validity Index of 0.73 in the first version and 0.84 in the second version, with validation with five judges. In terms of concordance, the 95% value was obtained with four technical judges and 86.2% with nine participants from the target audience.

CONCLUSIONS

the constructed and validated almanac has playful, dialogic and problematizing potential.

Almanaque para prevenção do uso de álcool e outras drogas entre adolescentes: construção e validação

RESUMO Objetivos: construir e validar um almanaque para prevenção do uso de álcool e de outras drogas entre adolescentes. Métodos: estudo metodológico, pautado na adaptação das etapas de Echer e na realização dos Círculos de Cultura. Utilizaram-se o Índice de Validade de Conteúdo e o Índice de Concordância para validação. Resultados: a problematização nos Círculos de Cultura e a revisão da literatura embasaram a elaboração do almanaque. Na validação com onze juízes da saúde, o material obteve Índice de Validade de Conteúdo global de 0,73 na primeira versão e de 0,84 na segunda versão, com a validação junto a cinco juízes. Em relação à concordância, obteve-se o valor de 95% com quatro juízes técnicos e de 86,2% com nove participantes do público-alvo. Conclusões: o almanaque construído e validado tem potencial lúdico, dialógico e problematizador.

Personal Doses of Cocaine and Coca Paste are Adulterated in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia)

Knowledge of drug composition consumed on the streets and the identification and quantification of their adulterants is essential for understanding unexpected side effects, tracking routes, and drug profiling. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the purity and to identify and quantify the main adulterants found in personal doses of cocaine (perico) and coca paste (bazuco) in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). The data collected in this study describe a first attempt to introduce the qualitative and quantitative analyses of adulterants present in street drugs in Cartagena de Indias to improve surveillance. Through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the purity and adulterants were quantified in 45 personal doses of cocaine powder and coca paste. 100% of the personal doses in the city were adulterated; caffeine, phenacetin, and levamisole were the main adulterants identified in cocaine. Besides the above, lidocaine was also found in coca paste. The purity of cocaine varied from 8% to almost 70%, with caffeine ranging from 6% to 42%. In the case of coca paste, the maximum content of cocaine found was 60%, while some samples contained as little as 14%. The results are consistent with other research in terms of the widespread use of caffeine as an adulterant, but they also follow the growing trend of the use of levamisole and phenacetin. The wide range of cocaine content in samples sold in the illicit market could cause undesirable effects on cocaine users who do not know the exact intended dose for consumption; so, this study intends to make these results available not only to academic, public health, and national security agencies but also to tourists entering Cartagena de Indias, so that they are aware of what they are consuming and the risks to which they are exposed.