Addiction Rehab: Bipolar Disorder and Co-Occurring Cannabis Use Disorders: Characteristics, Co-Morbidities and Clinical Correlates.

Bipolar disorder and co-occurring cannabis use disorders: Characteristics, co-morbidities and clinical correlates.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Psychiatry Res. 2013 Jan 9;
Lev-Ran S, Le Foll B, McKenzie K, George TP, Rehm J

This study examines rates of co-morbid mental disorders and indicators of the course of illness among individuals with bipolar disorder and cannabis use disorders (CUD). Data were drawn from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC Wave 1, 2001-2002), a nationally representative sample of adults living in the United States. Among individuals with lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder (N=1905) rates of CUD in the past 12 months were 7.2%, compared to 1.2% in the general population. Logistic regression models adjusting for sociodemographic variables indicated that individuals with bipolar disorder and co-occurring CUD were at increased risk for nicotine dependence (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=3.8), alcohol (AOR=6.6) and drug (AOR=11.9) use disorders, as well as antisocial personality disorder (AOR=2.8) compared to those without CUD. Among individuals with co-occurring CUD, age of onset of bipolar disorder was significantly lower and median number of manic, hypomanic and depressive episodes per year was significantly greater compared to individuals without CUD. Co-occurring CUD is associated with significant co-morbidities and a more severe course of illness among individuals with bipolar disorder. Comprehensive evaluation of patients with bipolar disorder should include a systematic assessment of CUD.
HubMed – addiction

 

Working memory and impulsivity predict marijuana-related problems among frequent users.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Jan 8;
Day AM, Metrik J, Spillane NS, Kahler CW

BACKGROUND: Although marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in the US, only a small portion of users go on to develop dependence, suggesting that there are substantial individual differences in vulnerability to marijuana-related problems among users. Deficits in working memory and high trait impulsivity are two factors that may place marijuana users at increased risk for experiencing related problems. METHODS: Using baseline data from an experimental study that recruited 104 frequent marijuana users (M=71.86% of prior 60 days, SD=22%), we examined the associations of working memory and trait impulsivity with marijuana-related problems. RESULTS: Lower working memory, as measured by Trail Making Test B, but not short-term memory capacity, predicted more marijuana-related problems. Higher trait impulsivity scores were independently associated with greater number of problems. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that marijuana users with reduced executive cognitive ability are more susceptible to developing problems related to their use. Trait impulsivity and executive working memory appear to be independent risk factors for experiencing marijuana-related problems.
HubMed – addiction

 

Interdisciplinary mixed methods research with structurally vulnerable populations: Case studies of injection drug users in San Francisco.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Jan 8;
Lopez AM, Bourgois P, Wenger LD, Lorvick J, Martinez AN, Kral AH

Research with injection drug users (IDUs) benefits from interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological innovation because drug use is illegal, socially sanctioned and often hidden. Despite the increasing visibility of interdisciplinary, mixed methods research projects with IDUs, qualitative components are often subordinated to quantitative approaches and page restrictions in top addiction journals limit detailed reports of complex data collection and analysis logistics, thus minimizing the fuller scientific potential of genuine mixed methods. We present the methodological logistics and conceptual approaches of four mixed-methods research projects that our interdisciplinary team conducted in San Francisco with IDUs over the past two decades. These projects include combinations of participant-observation ethnography, in-depth qualitative interviewing, epidemiological surveys, photo-documentation, and geographic mapping. We adapted Greene et al.’s framework for combining methods in a single research project through: data triangulation, methodological complementarity, methodological initiation, and methodological expansion. We argue that: (1) flexible and self-reflexive methodological procedures allowed us to seize strategic opportunities to document unexpected and sometimes contradictory findings as they emerged to generate new research questions, (2) iteratively mixing methods increased the scope, reliability, and generalizability of our data, and (3) interdisciplinary collaboration contributed to a scientific “value added” that allowed for more robust theoretical and practical findings about drug use and risk-taking.
HubMed – addiction

 

Designer Drug (DD) abuse in Poland; a review of the psychoactive and toxic properties of substances found from seizures of illegal drug products and the legal consequences thereof. Part 1 – Cannabinoids and Cathinones.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Ann Agric Environ Med. 2012 Dec 31; 19(4): 857-70
Bili?ski P, Ho?ownia P, Kapka-Skrzypczak L, Wojty?a A

Faced with the rapidly growing increase of designer drug abuse, particularly amongst the younger generation, various legislative strategies are currently employed world-wide for tackling this problem – however with mixed results. The key issue is that the producers of DDs are able to either exploit existing legal substances intended for other uses, but which have been found to possess psychoactive properties, or to synthesise new psychoactive substances by introducing chemical modifications, often very minor ones, thereby avoiding the prohibited use of chemicals included on any banned lists. Some countries opt to ban new drugs as and when shown or considered to be harmful, while others introduce sweeping bans based on chemical structure. Nevertheless, an ever increasing diversity of new DDs are constantly appearing on domestic and Internet markets. Poland, together with the UK and Eire, has placed temporary bans on all DDs whenever they have been identified, thus enabling sufficient time for assessing their potential hazards to health. Part of this ‘holding’ strategy entails a thorough review of the scientific literature, including expert opinion when direct evidence is lacking, as well as information received from EU support organisations Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). This paper, in two parts, therefore aims to provide an up-to-date summary review of available scientific evidence on the harm caused by the six main chemical groupings of DDs found in drug seizures of illegal products recently made in Poland. The first part is devoted to Cannabinoids and Cathinones derivatives. Ensuing legislation can therefore be rapidly formulated to make the bans permanent as appropriate.
HubMed – addiction

 

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