In this book, the authors present current research in the study of alcohol and substance abuse. Topics discussed in this compilation include the correlation of alcohol misuse and team sport participation; the cutaneous effects of adultered cocaine; foetal alcohol syndrome; cocaine and the affects it has on the kidneys; coping and autonomic dysfunction act in tandem with alcohol-related subclinical atherosclerosis; alcohol consumption and alcoholism mortality in Russia; and oxycodone abuse prevention in cancer patients.

Motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers killed 10,322 people in 2012 and account for almost one third of all traffic fatalities annually. Ignition interlocks are one strategy states use to combat DWI. This book discusses what is known about ignition interlock effectiveness and the extent to which NHTSA has assisted states in implementing ignition interlock programs, including the grant program.

Randol Contreras came of age in the South Bronx during the 1980s, a time when the community was devastated by cuts in social services, a rise in arson and abandonment, and the rise of crack-cocaine. For this riveting book, he returns to the South Bronx with a sociological eye and provides an unprecedented insider's look at the workings of a group of Dominican drug robbers. Known on the streets as "Stickup Kids", these men raided and brutally tortured drug dealers storing large amounts of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and cash. As a participant observer, Randol Contreras offers both a personal and theoretical account for the rise of the Stickup Kids and their violence. He mainly focuses on the lives of neighborhood friends, who went from being crack dealers to drug robbers once their lucrative crack market opportunities disappeared. The result is a stunning, vivid, on-the-ground ethnographic description of a drug robbery's violence, the drug market high life, the criminal life course, and the eventual pain and suffering experienced by the casualties of the Crack Era. Provocative and eye-opening, "The Stickup Kids" urges us to explore the ravages of the drug trade through weaving history, biography, social structure, and drug market forces. It offers a revelatory explanation for drug market violence by masterfully uncovering the hidden social forces that produce violent and self-destructive individuals. Part memoir, part penetrating analysis, this book is engaging, personal, deeply informed, and entirely absorbing.

The title of the book harks back to Michael Dorris's seminal work The Broken Cord (1987) which eloquently brought this hidden' population into the light. However, the metaphorical umbilical cord is not truly broken, and the unique neurodevelopmental disorder resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure will continue to be one ghost in our delivery rooms, nurseries, and lives which haunts us. Why a different knot'? Because management becomes knotted with the origins of the infant's prenatal life, whether they are birthed, fostered, adopted, either same culture or inter-country adopted. The knot' (as in Not it'), also speaks to medical professionals and society's continued ambivalence to acknowledging another inconvenient truth. Maternal drinking in pregnancy causes Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) whether dysmorphic, called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), or non dysmorphic, ARND itself. These are both transgenerational developmental psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of ARND continues to be under-recognised as it is mainly presented as a faceless 'hidden disability' (masquerading as ADHD, Mood Disorder or ASD), rather than a facial dysmorphic disorder. The subtle denial and minimisation of transgenerational alcohol abuse is aided only by diagnosing the far less frequent dysmorphic ARND (FAS). This creates a false security across social classes concerning alcohol's true transgenerational epigenetic effect. Thus, the real financial costs and health care burden of trans-generational ARND , with an international prevalence of 1 in 100 live births, is avoided.

Narcotics, stimulants and hallucinogens . . . these drugs have always affected far more than the perceptions, minds and moods of their users. Writing on Drugs explores the profound and pervasive nature of their influence on contemporary culture. It reads Coleridge on opium, Freud on cocaine, Michaux on mescaline and Burroughs on them all, and with such writers it begins to understand the many ways in which the modern world has found itself on drugs. Psychoactive substances have been integral to its economic history, its politics, media and technologies. They have influenced its poetry and stories, and shaped some of its most fundamental philosophies. They have even exposed the neurochemistry of a human brain which, like its cultures, has never been drug-free.

With debates surrounding the decriminalisation of certain illegal drugs raging in many countries around the world, this new book is a timely and sober reflection on one of the biggest social problems facing the world at large. Of interest not only to economists, but also to criminologists and those involved in policy-making, The Economics of Illegal Drugs is an accessible, comprehensive and international review of the topic and the usefulness of applying microeconomic analysis to drug production and distribution.

In the midst of national concern over illicit drug use and abuse, prescription drug abuse has been identified as the United States' fastest growing drug problem. Nearly all prescription drugs involved in overdoses are originally prescribed by a physician (rather than, for example, being stolen from pharmacies). Thus, attention has been directed toward preventing the diversion of prescription drugs after the prescriptions are dispensed. Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) maintain statewide electronic databases of prescriptions dispensed for controlled substances. This book provides an overview of PDMPs with a focus on supporting access to legitimate medical use of controlled substances; identifying or preventing drug abuse and diversion; facilitating the identification of prescription drug-addicted individuals and enabling intervention and treatment; and outlining and educating the public on drug use and abuse trends to inform public health initiatives.

Adolescents in Public Housing incorporates data from multiple public-housing sites in large U.S. cities to shine much-needed light on African American youth living in non-HOPE VI public-housing neighborhoods. With findings grounded in research, the book gives practitioners and policy makers a solid grasp of the attitudes toward deviance, alcohol and drug abuse, and depressive symptoms characterizing these communities, and links them explicitly to gaps in policy and practice. A long-overdue study of a system affecting not just a minority of children but the American public at large, Adolescents in Public Housing initiates new, productive paths for research on this vulnerable population and contributes to preventive interventions that may improve the lives of affected youth.

Synthetic drugs, as opposed to natural drugs, are chemically produced in a laboratory. Their chemical structure can be either identical to or different from naturally occurring drugs, and their effects are designed to mimic or even enhance those of natural drugs. When produced clandestinely, they are not typically controlled pharmaceutical substances intended for legitimate medical use. Designer drugs are a form of synthetic drugs. They contain slightly modified molecular structures of illegal or controlled substances, and they are modified in order to circumvent existing drug laws. While the issue of synthetic drugs and their abuse is not new, the 112th Congress has demonstrated a renewed concern with the issues. This book provides an overview of current trends in select synthetic cannabinoids and stimulants, and reviews relevant legislation in the 112th Congress as well as issues for policy-makers.

It has long been known that some people, usually those with eating disorders, or on their way to having one, abuse drugs that are specifically designed for, or have a side effect that leads to, weight loss. It appears that there is an increased prevalence for people to take pharmacological treatments to aid weight loss or maintenance. These people are not like our previous sample as they have no form of psychopathology. What was once thought to be the remit of the eating disordered individual and a sign of serious psychological dysfunction has become the playground of the norm. This book discussed the reasons behind why people are taking them and how they work. Moreover, the author aims to arm people with the knowledge that will defend them from the diet drug vendors who are now pervasive across the Internet and thus our society.

Methamphetamine abuse is a significant problem in the United States. It is used by nearly 530,000 Americans ages 12 and older, but the effects are devastating to family and friends of addicts. In this book, the authors present topical research on the abuse, health effects and treatment options of methamphetamine. Some of the topics discussed include the effects of methamphetamine exposure during brain development on cognition and markers of cognitive function; what rodent activity can tell us about methamphetamine abuse; sigma receptors as a potential target for methamphetamine abuse and dependence and methods for confirmatory analysis of methamphetamine in biological samples.

In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the pharmacology, effects, and abuse prevention in heroin. Topics discussed in this compilation include opiate sensitivity and gender; the role of heroin biomarkers in heroin abuse; dynamic behaviour for heroin epidemic models; current controversies in the assessment and treatment of heroin addiction and heroin addiction in pregnancy.

Charles Monroe-Kane is a natural raconteur, and boy, does he have stories to tell. Born into an eccentric Ohio clan of modern hunter-gatherers, he grew up hearing voices in his head. Over a dizzying two decades, he was many things-teenage faith healer, world traveler, smuggler, liberation theologian, ladder-maker, squatter, halibut hanger, grifter, environmental warrior, and circus manager-all the while wrestling with schizophrenia and self-medication. From Baby Doc's Haiti to the Czech Velvet Revolution, and from sex, drugs, and a stabbing to public humiliation by the leader of the free world, Monroe-Kane burns through his twenties and several bridges of youthful idealism before finally saying: enough. In a memoir that blends engaging charm with unflinching frankness, Monroe-Kane gives his testimony of mental illness, drug abuse, faith, and love. By the end of Lithium Jesus there may be a voice in your head, too, saying "Do more, be more, live more. And fear less."

This book presents current research in the study of substance abuse. Topics discussed include cocaine-dependent patients with antisocial personality disorder; drug abuse and neuro-AIDS; alcohol and substance abuse among older adults; sexual abuse in men with substance abuse problems; cognitive dysfunction in cocaine abuse; current controversies in the assessment and treatment of heroin addiction; psychotropic analgestic nitrous oxide (PAN) for substance abuse withdrawal; carisoprodol withdrawal syndrome and new research on methamphetamine abuse.

This book presents and discusses research in the study of drug policies, the effects of substance abuse and addiction and the efforts being made to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Topics discussed include the International Drug Control Policy; Mexico's drug cartels; U.S. assistance to curve the flow of illicit drugs being brought into the country; self-regulation in the alcohol industry and alcohol treatment.

Takes the recent wave of German autobiographical writing on illness and disability seriously as literature, demonstrating the value of a literary disability studies approach. In the German-speaking world there has been a new wave - intensifying since 2007 - of autobiographically inspired writing on illness and disability, death and dying. Nina Schmidt's book takes this writing seriously as literature,examining how the authors of such personal narratives come to write of their experiences between the poles of cliche and exceptionality. Identifying shortcomings in the approaches taken thus far to such texts, she makes suggestions as to how to better read their narratives from the stance of literary scholarship, then demonstrates the value of a literary disability studies approach to such writing with close readings of Charlotte Roche's Schossgebete(2011), Kathrin Schmidt's Du stirbst nicht (2009), Verena Stefan's Fremdschlafer (2007), and - in the final, comparative chapter - Christoph Schlingensief's So schoen wie hier kanns im Himmel gar nicht sein! Tagebuch einer Krebserkrankung (2009) and Wolfgang Herrndorf's blog-cum-book Arbeit und Struktur (2010-13). Schmidt shows that authors dealing with illness and disability do so with an awareness of their precarious subject position in the public eye, a position they negotiate creatively. Writing the liminal experience of serious illness along the borders of genre, moving between fictional and autobiographical modes, they carve out spaces from which they speak up and share their personal stories in the realm of literature, to political ends. Nina Schmidt is a postdoctoral researcher in the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies at the Freie Universitat Berlin.

Substance dependence, or addiction, is a relapsing disorder characterised by the loss of control of drug or alcohol intake, or a compulsion to take the substance, associated with the appearance of a withdrawal syndrome after a discontinuation of its long-term use. This book presents and discusses research in the study of substance abuse, including drug abuse and education; binge drinking; the treatment of heroine and cocaine abuse; women and addictions; anabolic steroid abuse and alcoholism and pregnancy.

The cannabis sativa plant, more commonly known as marijuana, has been used medicinally for millenia and continues to play a significant role in medical treatment today. This book presents topical research in the study of marijuana; its uses, effects and legal issues. Topics discussed include measurement of cannabis consumption to assess the role of drug potency in rising rates of cannabis misuse disorders; the influence of marijuana legislation on vulnerable populations; marijuana use among adolescents and its effects and recreational marijuana use in a bariatric clinic population.

This book presents current research in the study of drug abuse, drug trade and various policies surrounding these issues. Topics discussed include NIDA informational facts regarding steroids; anabolic steroid use and federal efforts to prevent and reduce the use of steroids among teenagers; international drug control policy; illicit drug trafficking and U.S. counterdrug programs in Latin America and the Caribbean; illegal drug trade in Africa and the background, effectiveness and policy issues for Congress regarding drug courts.

"The Economics of Excess" discusses both standard and behavioral economics as they apply to addiction, indulgence, and social policy.
Chapter One provides a thorough discussion of economic models of addiction. The model developed in most detail takes into account both standard and behavioral approaches. The next three chapters examine specific indulgences: smoking, drinking, and overeating. The heart of this book is its comprehensive discussion of what is often referred to as the "new paternalism." Many economists are now challenging the more traditional belief that, unless they are harming others, people should be left to their own indulgences. As more and more economists are arguing for policies that are designed to protect people from themselves, this book offers a serious, yet accessible, discussion of the pros and cons of such interventions.
Written in an approachable style, this book will serve researchers who are new to the economics of addiction and students in a variety of economics and policy courses alike.

This book examines the impact of different doses of cocaine on three interrelated measures related to affective behaviours between adolescent and adult mice in order to assess the range of affective and rewarding responses, measure of despair, activity, and reward were used. Such methods included the forced swim test (FST), motor activity (MA), and the conditioned place preference (CPP) tests, respectively. Cocaine was selected, in part, because of its robust psychostimulant properties, its use by millions of substance abusers world-wide, and its well understood mechanism of action. This study may help explain some of the neurobiological underpinnings of these finding because cocaine was especially effective in reducing despair-related behaviour in adolescence compared with adults, yet less effective in as an euphoric agent.

Many adolescents and young adults engage in drinking behaviour, which result in acute and chronic negative consequences (eg: unintentional injuries, arguments, unplanned and/or unprotected sexual activities, trouble with police/authorities, poor academic/work performance, suicide, and death), and alcohol dependence. Social influence is foremost among the causes attributed to the initiation and maintenance of alcohol use during this period. This book reviews a number of prominent theories of social influence that are directly relevant to drinking behaviour among adolescents and young adults.

"Julia" nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe's most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingomez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control.