Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and arrest history: Differential association of clinical characteristics by sex.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often cited as a risk factor for criminality. However, many studies do not take other criminogenic variables into account when reporting on this relationship. It is even less clear whether models that include ADHD as a potential risk factor for criminality consider the importance of sex differences.

Examining the effect of social bonds on the relationship between ADHD and past arrest in a representative sample of adults.

Background: Several studies have found a connection between attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and criminal behaviour in clinical and prison samples of adults, but there is a lack of representative general population data on this.

Aim: To test relationships between histories of ADHD and arrest. Our main research question was whether any such relationship is direct or best explained by co-occurring variables, especially indicators of social bonds.

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptom profiles and concurrent problems with alcohol and cannabis: sex differences in a representative, population survey.

Background: Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) shows a robust association with alcohol and cannabis misuse, and these relationships are expressed differently in males and females. Manifestation of specific ADHD symptom profiles, even in the absence of the full disorder, may also be related to problems with alcohol and cannabis, although these relationships have not been investigated in epidemiological studies. To address this question, we studied the sex-specific associations of ADHD symptomatology with problematic alcohol and cannabis use in a representative sample of adults aged 18 years and older residing in Ontario, Canada.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms, Comorbidities, Substance Use, and Social Outcomes among Men and Women in a Canadian Sample.

Background. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can persist in adolescence and adulthood. Aim.

Problems with the identification of 'problematic' cannabis use: examining the issues of frequency, quantity, and drug use environment.

Considerable recent attention has focused on how harmful or problematic cannabis use is defined and understood in the literature and put to use in clinical practice. The aim of the current study is to review conceptual and measurement shortcomings in the identification of problematic cannabis use, drawing on the WHO ASSIST instrument for specific examples. Three issues with the current approach are debated and discussed: (1) the identification of problematic cannabis use disproportionately relies on measures of the frequency of cannabis consumption rather than the harms experienced; (2) the quantity consumed on a typical day is not considered when assessing problematic use, and (3) screening tools for problematic use employ a 'one-size-fits-all approach' and fail to reflect on the drug use context (networks and environment).

Whither RDS? An investigation of Respondent Driven Sampling as a method of recruiting mainstream marijuana users.

Background: An important challenge in conducting social research of specific relevance to harm reduction programs is locating hidden populations of consumers of substances like cannabis who typically report few adverse or unwanted consequences of their use. Much of the deviant, pathologized perception of drug users is historically derived from, and empirically supported, by a research emphasis on gaining ready access to users in drug treatment or in prison populations with higher incidence of problems of dependence and misuse. Because they are less visible, responsible recreational users of illicit drugs have been more difficult to study.

Normalization and harm reduction: research avenues and policy agendas.

An affinity between the evidence and arguments for drug normalization and the policy and programme directions favoured by harm reduction is often assumed but seldom critically examined. This commentary looks at parallels and contradictions emerging with respect to different cultures, social settings, types of problems and responses where the match is less than perfect. Mounting evidence of normalization has also led to backlash in some countries and the mobilization of forces reaffirming prohibition.

How much for a dime bag? An exploration of youth drug markets.

Relatively little is known about how youth obtain marijuana and other drugs. The Drugs, Alcohol and Violence International (DAVI) study explored youthful drug markets among samples of school students, detained youth, and school dropouts (ages 14-17 years) in the greater metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, and Amsterdam. Students frequently reported sharing drugs, either getting them from others or giving them to others for free.

Girls and weapons: an international study of the perpetration of violence.

The purpose of this study was to describe delinquent girls' weapons preferences where and how often they carried weapons and to identify the most important factors that explained four different weapon-related violent outcomes. A large, high-risk sample of female adolescents consisting of 510 girls aged 14-17 in four cities were interviewed using the same questionnaire and methods. Tabular and logistic regression analyses were applied.

The probable impacts of the removal of the addiction disability benefit in Ontario.

In Ontario, those dependent on substances are no longer eligible for welfare payments based on an addiction disability. While the impact of this program has not been assessed, evidence from a similar policy shift in the USA suggests deleterious effects on the health and social functioning of about half of those who lose this form of social support. A review of the research on the chronic-illness view of addiction, the fostering of stigma by exclusionary social policies, and the negative effects on mental health and homeless status associated with the loss of welfare benefits leads to the conclusion that this is an ill-advised policy for Ontario.

Temporal trends in rates of dual diagnoses at a Canadian addictions hospital over a five-year period.

Objectives: Dual diagnosis refers to co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders. The principal aims of this investigation were two-fold: 1) to identify aspects of patients' drug use and prior treatment histories associated with their receiving a dual diagnosis upon admission to the Donwood Institute, a residential drug treatment facility located in Toronto, Canada; 2) to track temporal trends in the rates of diagnosed comorbidities over a five-year period at this same institution.

Methods: We conducted an analysis of the intake assessment forms and hospital records of 159 patients who had been admitted to a drug treatment facility during the month of September for each of the years between 1998 and 2002 inclusive.

How does the Canadian juvenile justice system respond to detained youth with substance use associated problems? Gaps, challenges, and emerging issues.

Despite a juvenile justice system that, since its inception in 1908, has been predicated on meeting the rehabilitative needs of youth, Canada has few specialized programs for substance misusing young offenders, preferring more holistic approaches. This is in keeping with an addictions treatment system that has evolved recently in the direction of more integrated services within the general health care and social services delivery systems. In addition, Canada has tended to emphasize community-based over institutional treatment programs.

Meeting the health care needs of female crack users: a Canadian example.

Canada is an egalitarian society committed to accessible and comprehensive health care. Although there has been a tendency to assume that its various social welfare programs have improved health conditions for lower income citizens, Canada's record in ensuring health equality remains poorer than expected (Humphries and van Doorslaer, 2000; Wasylenki, 2001). The Canadian Health Act stipulates that all residents of Canada are to have access to medically necessary hospital and physician services based on need and not the ability to pay.

Drug treatment courts--a viable option for Canada? Sentencing issues and preliminary findings from the Toronto court.

The first drug treatment court in Canada began operation in Toronto in December of 1998. This paper describes some aspects of the evolution, structure, and operation of this court. In addition, the federally-funded evaluation of the new program has produced data from the first 18 months of its full operation when 198 drug-dependent individuals were admitted.