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TAG CLOUD
December 6, 2012
INQUIRY INTO FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER
The federal government have been consulting an inquiry into fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, titled "FASD: The Hidden Harm". The report considers prevention, diagnosis and management issues related to FASD and provides a number of recommendations which are designed to ensure this issue is appropriately addressed. One of the significant issues the report addresses is the diagnosis of FASD. It is suspected that many young people may experience FASD but not be identified and so not receive appropriate supports.
Read more on "FASD: The Hidden Harm"
Posted in: Research
November 30, 2012
EVALUATING DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT INTERVENTIONS FOR METHAMPHETAMINE
The National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund have commissioned a research report considering the impacts of law enforcement interventions on methamphetamine use in Australia. This research report attempts to consider the relative cost-to-impact ratios of different law enforcement interventions for methamphetamine production and distribution. In doing so, it outlines the methamphetamine distribution system in Australia and attempts to consider the illicit profits which are being made from this activity.
Download "Evaluating drug law enforcement interventions directed towards methamphetamine in Australia" (1.6MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
November 30, 2012
INDIGENOUS YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM 2010-11
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have published a bulletin looking at the numbers and characteristics of Indigenous young people involved in the juvenile justice system. It's well known that while only around 5% of young Australians are Indigenous, in 2010-11 39% of young people involved with the youth justice system were Indigenous. This figure is a slight reduction on previous years, with the biggest reduction occurring in the rate ratio for those in detention from 28 to 24. The report considers further strategies to address the over-representation of Indigenous young people in the youth justice system in Australia.
Download "Indigenous young people in the juvenile justice system" (1.6MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
November 23, 2012
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SYNTHETIC CANNABIS?
A recent article on The Conversation website poses the question: "Legal highs: What should we do about synthetic cannabis?". The article by Stephen Bright and Dr Monica Barratt provides an overview of the current situation where legislators are attempting to play "catch-up" by regulating substances once they have been identified. Alternatives include regulating whole classes of substances based on chemical structure or pharmacological activity, although it remains unclear if this could be effective. Another option is regulation via consumer safety or medicine regulations (similar to those used by natural therapies), although again there are potential limits to the effectiveness of this strategy. The authors describe the New Zealand approach, whereby a specific regulatory regime has been developed for new psychoactive substances, requiring manufacturers to establish the safety of their products in order for them to remain on sale. Whatever approach is eventually employed here in Queensland, evidence from overseas indicates that just like the more common illicit drugs, it is likely that many of these new substances will remain in use, despite attempts to regulate their availability.
Go to Legal Highs: What should we do about synthetic cannabis?
Posted in: Research
November 23, 2012
THE STIGMA OF DRUGS: A GUIDE FOR JOURNALISTS
There are very few areas of life left where a journalist could use a pejorative term like "junkie" in a headline without raising any complaints. Yet when drug use is dealt with in the media, we still frequently see stigmatising terminology in use. The shame involved in AOD dependence is well known and this shame forms a significant barrier to help seeking for both the person with an AOD dependence, but also for their families and loved ones. The UK based Society of Editors in conjunction with the UK Drug Policy Commission have developed a resource titled "The Stigma of Drugs: A guide for journalists". The guide provides an overview of the impact of stigma and sets about providing suggestions for good practice reporting of AOD issues. A number of very sensible suggestions are included, such as avoiding stigmatising language such as "junkie" but also suggestions with regards to appropriate images associated with drug related media articles.
Go to "The Stigma of Drugs: A guide for journalists"
Posted in: Research
November 23, 2012
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING NO MORE EFFECTIVE THAN OTHER INTERVENTIONS
A recent article from the UK based "Drug and Alcohol Findings" website provides a great summary of a recent Cochrane Review of the efficacy of motivational interviewing for substance use. The review analysed 55 studies which employed motivational interviewing, covering 13 342 participants. The authors found that while those people who received a Motivational Interviewing intervention improved their substance use more so than people who received no treatment, the Motivational Interviewing did not appear to be any more effective than other interventions such as cognitive behaviour therapy or even a simple assessment with feedback. This adds to the body of evidence which suggests that other factors such as therapeutic alliance have a significant impact on treatment outcome - perhaps more impact than the actual therapeutic technique employed.
Read "Motivational interviewing works but no better than other therapies"
Posted in: Research
November 16, 2012
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE SUPERVISION
The Victorian Dual Diagnosis Initiative have produced a number of useful resources as a part of the "Our Healing Ways" project, focused on enhancing the capacity of Aboriginal workers who are addressing mental health and alcohol and other drug issues. The third resource they have developed is titled "Supervision: A culturally appropriate model for Aboriginal workers" and it contains a range of useful information including a culturally appropriate definition of supervision, an overview of the supervisory relationship, supervision agreements as well as guidelines for working through complex issues. The guide also contains a comprehensive list of resources which workers and supervisors can draw on.
Go to "Supervision: A culturally appropriate model for Aboriginal workers"
Posted in: Research
November 16, 2012
YOUNG WOMEN AND BINGE DRINKING
Back in June this year, Youth Studies Australia published an article which we think is worth re-visiting. Titled "A discrepancy of definitions: Binge drinking and female students at an Australian university", the research involved interviews with 20 female students from an Australian university, to consider their perceptions of binge drinking, including how they define of binge drinking. While the latest National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines avoid the term "binge", they instead refer to "single occasion drinking", with a limit of four standard drinks recommended. The women in the study mostly considered that binge drinking was not so much related to the actual number of drinks consumed, but by the behaviour of an individual while intoxicated. As one study participant states: "Binge drinkers are embarrassing people who make fools of themselves… I think 'binge' has a sort of crappy behaviour attached to it."
Download "A discrepancy of definitions: Binge drinking and female students at an Australian university" here. (1.1MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
November 9, 2012
PODCAST ON THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS
The Australian Drug Foundation have released a podcast featuring Professor Dan Lubman discussing the effects of cannabis on young people. He describes the ways cannabis effects the brain, short and longer term consequences, as well as tips on approaching a friend who might be experiencing problems from their cannabis use. This podcast is part of a series which the Australian Drug Foundation are running addressing cannabis use, with their previous podcast on the topic of "Talking with your child about cannabis" also worth checking out.
Listen to ADF podcasts here.
Posted in: Research
November 9, 2012
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE AOD SECTOR
The Victorian peak body for the alcohol and other drug sector, VAADA, have published a discussion paper on "Social Media and the AOD Sector". The paper provides an overview of the ways that social media could add value to the core business of alcohol and other drug services, but it also considers the potential risks to services and service users. As many agencies are currently looking at better ways to engage with their clients in the online space, this paper will provide a good overview of the issues to consider when establishing agency policy and procedures around this issue.
Download "Social Media and the AOD Sector" (190KB PDF)
Posted in: Research
