Health considerations in regulating marijuana in Vermont.

This article delineates the current efforts of the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) to address the potential health impact of legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana for use by adults at least 21years of age. To this end, VDH and key stakeholders developed and published a Health Impact Assessment with specific recommendations should legislation that legalized and regulated marijuana be passed into law. Although the legalization legislation failed in 2016 and was vetoed by the Governor in 2017, it is unclear what will happen in the future.

Using interactive voice response to enhance brief alcohol intervention in primary care settings.

Objective: Self-monitoring is recommended following brief alcohol intervention (BI). We have previously demonstrated that self-monitoring with an automated telephone system (interactive voice response; IVR) is associated with a steady reduction in alcohol consumption in the absence of BI. In this study we explore the feasibility and efficacy of IVR as a possible therapeutic enhancement for BI.

Stress and alcohol consumption in heavily drinking men: 2 years of daily data using interactive voice response.

Background: The relationship between stress and alcohol consumption has been shown in recent research to be more complex than originally thought. Cross-sectional and short-term longitudinal studies may not provide adequate data to address subtle but important relationships that impact consumption frequency and/or quantity.

Methods: Participants were 33 males recruited from local bars who reported their alcohol consumption, stress, and other related variables every day for 2 years.

Comparison of embedded and isolated administrations of the California Psychological Inventory's Socialization subscale.

Alternate administration methods were tested for the Socialization (So) subscale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; H. G. Gough, 1994; H.

Decline in alcohol consumption during two years of daily reporting.

Objective: We conducted a formal analysis of the potential effects on alcohol consumption of daily reports to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system over a 2-year period.

Method: Thirty-three white men who had been recruited from bars were invited to call a toll-free number daily to answer a 2-minute questionnaire regarding alcohol consumption the previous day, reasons for drinking or not drinking, mood and stress levels, and a few other relevant items. A recorded voice asked the questions and callers responded using the telephone keypad.

Concurrent and retrospective reports of alcohol consumption across 30, 90 and 366 days: interactive voice response compared with the timeline follow back.

Objective: To compare near-concurrent and retrospective reports of alcohol consumption and to determine whether a simple adjustment function could be applied to the retrospective reports to correct any distortions in reporting.

Method: Reports of daily alcohol consumption collected via an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system were aggregated over 30, 90 and 366 days and compared with the corresponding retrospective reports gathered with the Timeline Follow Back (TLFB). Comparisons of the IVR and TLFB reports for five consumption variables were made for each time period for 33 men.