Factors related to the low-risk perception of driving after cannabis use.

Introduction: Modifying risk perceptions related to driving after cannabis use (DACU) could deter individuals from enacting this behavior, as low-risk perception is associated with DACU engagement. This study identified sociodemographic characteristics, substance use, other driving behaviors, peer norms, and psychological characteristics that are associated with lower risk perception regarding DACU.

Methods: Canadian drivers aged 17-35 who have used cannabis in the past year (n = 1,467) completed an online questionnaire.

Typologies of Canadian young adults who drive after cannabis use: A two-step cluster analysis.

Young adults that drive after cannabis use (DACU) may not share all the same characteristics. This study aimed to identify typologies of Canadians who engage in DACU. About 910 cannabis users with a driver's license (17-35 years old) who have engaged in DACU completed an online questionnaire.

Met and unmet needs of homeless individuals at different stages of housing reintegration: A mixed-method investigation.

This study aimed to identify and compare major areas of met and unmet needs reported by 455 homeless or recently housed individuals recruited from emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent housing in Quebec (Canada). Mixed methods, guided by the Maslow framework, were used. Basic needs were the strongest needs category identified, followed by health and social services (an emergent category), and safety; very few participants expressed needs in the higher-order categories of love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization.

Le marché légal du cannabis suite à sa légalisation au Canada : pistes de réflexion pour un encadrement efficace.

The upcoming legalization of cannabis in Canada poses several challenges in which each province will have to respond with effective regulation. Studies show that policies alone have little impact on use rates. However, regulatory approaches and modalities seem important to reduce the possible negative consequences that may result from legalization.

Formal and Informal Control of Cannabis: Regular Users' Experience.

Background: The debate on recreational use of cannabis, recently relaunched by the election of the Liberal Party of Canada that intends to legalize and regulate its use and access, implies a better understanding of social control mechanisms that are in place, and their influence on users' behaviors.

Objective: This study addresses the issue of formal and informal controls by providing, first, a theoretical perspective of this concept, and, second, by illustrating its operation from the users' perspective.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 164 regular, adult cannabis users recruited in four large Canadian cities (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax).

Efficacy of extensive intervention models for substance use disorders: A systematic review.

Issues: Despite a growing trend towards considering addiction as a chronic disease, the development of intervention models addressing the chronicity of substance use disorder is relatively new, and no literature review on this topic is available. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of intervention models designed within the perspective of addiction as a chronic disease and those tailored to persons with substance use disorder who revolve in and out of treatment.

Approach: Electronic databases were searched to identify articles published between 2000 and 2015 reporting an empirical study of an intervention model with data on its effectiveness.

Addiction severity index profile of persons who reenter treatment for substance use disorders.

Background: Despite a growing interest in persons with multiple treatment reentries, few studies have defined their clinical profile. The aim of this study was to compare the severity profile of substance use disorder and related problems of persons who reenter treatment with the profile of those who come in for treatment for the first time.

Methods: A data bank containing 6651 Addiction Severity Index (ASI) interviews from 3 rehabilitation centers was used for the analyses.

Initiation of Addiction Treatment and Access to Services: Young Adults' Accounts of Their Help-Seeking Experiences.

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population's access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults' initiation of substance misuse treatment.

Implementing Key Strategies for Successful Network Integration in the Quebec Substance-Use Disorders Programme.

Background: Fragmentation and lack of coordination often occur among organisations offering treatment for individuals with substance-use disorders. Better integration from a system perspective within a network of organisations offering substance-use disorder services can be developed using various integration strategies at the administrative and clinical levels. This study aims to identify integration strategies implemented in Quebec substance-use disorder networks and to assess their strengths and limitations.

Lower Cortisol Activity is Associated with First-Time Driving while Impaired.

Driving while impaired (DWI) is a grave and persistent high-risk behavior. Previous work demonstrated that DWI recidivists had attenuated cortisol reactivity compared to non-DWI drivers. This suggests that cortisol is a neurobiological marker of high-risk driving.

Traumatic brain injury and early life experiences among men and women in a prison population.

This study examined the proportion of men and women reporting previous traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an Ontario (Canada) prison sample by demographic characteristics; adverse life experiences; and criminal, drug, and alcohol use history. Using data from The Cost of Substance Abuse in Canada study based on a random sample from four Ontario prisons, this study found 50.4% of males and 38% of females reporting previous TBI.

Implementing an indoor smoking ban in prison: enforcement issues and effects on tobacco use, exposure to second-hand smoke and health of inmates.

Objectives: To describe the issues encountered during the implementation of an indoor smoking ban in prison and its effects on self-reported tobacco use, perceived exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) and perceived health status of inmates in Quebec's provincial correctional facilities.

Methods: Quantitative data were obtained from 113 inmates in three provincial correctional facilities in the province of Quebec, Canada. Qualitative data were obtained from 52 inmates and 27 staff members.

[The impact of opening a heroin-assisted treatment clinic on the surrounding neighborhood].

Objectives: Heroin-assisted treatment clinics are currently the focus of a social debate. In spite of the clinics’ effectiveness in reducing illicit opiate use, some decision-makers refuse to set them up because of their possible negative impact. These clinics could attract new drug users into the neighbourhood which could lead to an accumulation of injection debris and to a decrease in the sense of security in the community.

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.

A heroin prescription trial: case studies from Montreal and Vancouver on crime and disorder in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Background: This study evaluates whether the instauration of a heroin prescription trial ('NAOMI') generated an impact on the occurrence of crime and disorder in surrounding areas. The clinical trial was initiated in Vancouver and Montreal in 2005, with the aim of assessing the benefits of heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) in Canada. While experiences from other jurisdictions where HAT trials have been implemented clearly demonstrate substantial crime reduction effects for trial participants, there is overall concern that HAT clinics - similar to other interventions aiming at problematic street drug users - may induce a 'honeypot' effect, leading to increases in crime and/or disorder problems in the vicinity of interventions.

[The place of syringe exchange programs in reducing harm in Canadian prisoners].

The prevalence rates of illicit drug consumption within the prison system are much higher than those in the Canadian population in general. Of the substances used in detention, those of most concern to prison and public health authorities are injection drugs, as the sharing of injection drug equipment may be responsible for the high prevalence of blood-borne diseases in prison facilities. Faced with this situation, the Correctional Service of Canada put in practice a number of harm reduction strategies targeting injection drug users, such as methadone maintenance programs and access to bleach.

Does the transtheoretical model predict attrition in domestic violence treatment programs?

Attrition in intervention programs for domestically violent men is considered to be a serious and enduring problem. Researchers have found a number of sociodemographic variables that partially explain this phenomenon; however, models based on these variables have a limited predictive power. Scott (2004) argues that a firm theoretical base is needed in future investigations of the problem and suggests the use of the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM), which was found to predict dropout with accuracy in other areas of behavioral change.

Therapeutic alliance, patient behaviour and dropout in a drug rehabilitation programme: the moderating effect of clinical subpopulations.

Aim: Treatment dropout is an important concern for professionals working in mental health. While this problem is common, the highest attrition rates have been observed in drug rehabilitation programmes. The present study focuses on the therapeutic alliance, a process variable that has been associated repeatedly with positive treatment outcome in the scientific literature.

The costs of alcohol, illegal drugs, and tobacco in Canada, 2002.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate costs attributable to substance use and misuse in Canada in 2002.

Method: Based on information about prevalence of exposure and risk relations for more than 80 disease categories, deaths, years of life lost, and hospitalizations attributable to substance use and misuse were estimated. In addition, substance-attributable fractions for criminal justice expenditures were derived.

Understanding treatment impact on drug-addicted offenders.

This study examines variables that could predict treatment perseverance and impact for offenders (N = 124) admitted to one of five rehabilitation centers for alcoholics/drug addicts representing different regions of the province of Quebec. Information was collected on time spent in treatment, alcohol/drug use-related problems, motivation to change, criminal profile, subject's perception of judicial pressure, subjective assessment of importance/probability of judicial consequences tied to treatment dropout or substance use, quality of the therapeutic relationship, assessment of client commitment to treatment, and social support. Results indicate that judicial pressure only have impact on retention into treatment for those who are not already sentenced but this "forced" retention is not linked with positive results.

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.

Health and social services accessed by a cohort of Canadian illicit opioid users outside of treatment.

Objective: To examine the use of social and health services by illicit opioid users outside of treatment in five Canadian cities ('OPICAN' cohort).

Methods: 677 eligible participants completed an interviewer-administered protocol and 584 supplied saliva samples for HIV and HCV antibody-testing. Chi-squared tests and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were carried out in order to determine the associations between use of services and specific factors.

Comorbid depression among untreated illicit opiate users: results from a multisite Canadian study.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe patterns of major depression (MDD) in a cohort of untreated illicit opiate users recruited from 5 Canadian urban centres, identify sociodemographic characteristics of opiate users that predict MDD, and determine whether opiate users suffering from depression exhibit different drug use patterns than do participants without depression.

Method: Baseline data were collected from 679 untreated opiate users in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City. Using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form for Major Depression, we assessed sociodemographics, drug use, health status, health service use, and depression.

Juvenile drug use and delinquency: youths' accounts of their trajectories.

This study focuses mainly on youths' opinions about their delinquency and drug use trajectories. A qualitative approach was taken for this phenomenological research. The life account method was used to conduct a total of 62 interviews: 36 boys and 26 girls recruited in youth detention and addiction treatment centers, youth centers, high schools, and on the streets of three cities in Quebec between 1996 and 2002.