American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Background: Researchers need accurate measurements of cannabis consumption quantities to assess risks and benefits. Survey methods for measuring cannabis flower and concentrate quantities remain underdeveloped. Objective: We examined "grams" and "hits" units for measuring flower and concentrate quantities, and calculating milligrams of THC (mgTHC). Methods: Online survey participants ( n  = 2,381) reported preferred unit (hits or grams), past-week hits and grams for each product, and product %THC...

Background: Currently, the capacity to provide buprenorphine treatment (BT) is not sufficient to treat the growing number of people in the United States with opioid use disorder (OUD). We sought to examine participant retention in care rates of primary care delivered BT programs and to describe factors associated with retention/attrition for participants receiving BT in this setting. Objectives: A PRISMA-guided search of various databases was performed to identify the articles focusing on efficacy of BT treatment and OUD...

The rise in drug overdoses and harms associated with the use of more than one substance has led to increased use of the term "polysubstance use" among researchers, clinicians, and public health officials. However, the term retains no consistent definition across contexts. The current authors convened from disciplines including sociology, epidemiology, neuroscience, and addiction psychiatry to propose a recommended definition of polysubstance use. An iterative process considered authors' formal and informal conversations, insights from relevant symposia, talks, and conferences, as well as their own research and clinical experiences to propose the current definition...

Background: Research in psychedelic medicine has focused primarily on civilian populations. Further study is needed to understand whether these treatments are effective for Veteran populations. Objectives: Here, we examine the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy among trauma-exposed Special Operations Forces Veterans (SOFV) seeking treatment for cognitive and mental health problems in Mexico. Methods: Data were collected from an ibogaine and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) clinical treatment program for SOFV with a history of trauma exposure...

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Background: The transition to college is associated with a sharp increase in alcohol binge drinking. Family history (FH) of alcohol use disorder (AUD), childhood maltreatment (CM), and adolescent binge drinking are each associated with heightened impulsivity and greater alcohol misuse. Objectives: We hypothesized that FH, CM, and adolescent binge drinking synergistically increase impulsivity and lead to binge drinking increases over the first year of college. Methods: Overall, 329 first-semester college students (18-19 years old, 70% female) with varying degrees of FH (Family History Assessment Module), CM (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and adolescent binge drinking (Carolina Alcohol Use and Patterns Questionnaire) completed an online study that included a computerized delay discounting task and surveys...

Background: Vaping is an increasingly popular mode of cannabis use. Few studies have characterized the role of flavors in cannabis e-liquids. Objectives: To explore the prevalence of flavored vaping liquids, including differences between countries and correlates of use. Methods: Data were from Wave 4 (2021) of the International Cannabis Policy Study with national samples aged 16-65 in Canada, the United States (US), Australia, and New Zealand. The sample comprised 52,938 respondents, including 6,265 who vaped cannabis e-liquids in the past 12-months (2,858 females, 3,407 males)...

Background: A set of evidence-based alcohol control policy measures was adopted in the period 2016-2020 in Lithuania. The present study fills a knowledge gap on how changes in alcohol control policy are associated with attitudes toward different alcohol policy measures. Objective: This study aims to explore whether support for key alcohol control policy measures in Lithuania declined following implementation of alcohol control measures. Methods: Data came from the Standard European Alcohol Survey. Two representative surveys with the same questionnaire, were conducted in Lithuania in 2015 ( N  = 1513, 51...

Background: There is currently no format-independent method to determine delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in milligrams for self-report studies. Objectives: Validate self-report method for quantifying mg THC from commercially available cannabis products using product labeling, which includes both net weight and product potency. Methods: 53 adult cannabis users (24 M, 29F), 21-39 years of age ( M  = 28.38, SD = 4.15), were instructed to report daily use via a weekly survey for two consecutive weeks, provide product label photographs, abstain from use for 24 h, submit a urine sample and complete the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test - Revised (CUDIT-R) and the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire - Short Form (MCQ-SF)...

Background: A better understanding of factors associated with not ready to stop using substances may inform provider engagement with clients who have an unmet treatment need. Objectives: This study explores how treatment barriers, the number of SUD symptoms, and types of substances used are associated with not ready to stop using substances among adults with an unmet treatment need. Methods: The data came from the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Eligible adults met DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse and dependence and reported an unmet need for treatment...

Background: In the US, seventy percent of drug-related deaths are attributed to opioids. In response to the ongoing opioid crisis, New Jersey's (NJ) Medicaid program implemented the MATrx model to increase treatment access for Medicaid participants with opioid use disorder (OUD). The model's goals include increasing the number of office-based treatment providers, enhancing Medicaid reimbursement for certain treatment services, and elimination of prior authorizations for OUD medications. Objectives: To explore office-based addiction treatment providers' experiences delivering care in the context of statewide policy changes and their perspectives on treatment access changes and remaining barriers...

Drug checking services provide individuals who use drugs with the ability to test samples of their drugs for the presence of highly potent substances. However, there has been recent concern about whether the existing repertoire of point-of-care drug checking technologies, such as immunoassay strips and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), are adequate in identifying substances in the unregulated drug supply. Carfentanil and nitazene opioids, substances that are even more potent than fentanyl in vitro , have been found in the unregulated supply in North America and pose a challenge to our existing drug checking strategy...

Background: Explicitly expressing the hidden opportunity cost in intertemporal choice significantly reduces healthy participants' delay discounting - a phenomenon named the "hidden-zero effect," which is undetermined in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether the hidden-zero effect occurs among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and the degree to which this effect differs between the OUD group and healthy controls. Methods: In two different experiments, Exp#1) 29 male individuals with OUD (13...

Background: An exemption to existing U.S. regulation of methadone maintenance therapy after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic permitted increased take-home doses beginning March 2020. Objectives: We assessed the impact of this exemption on opioid use. Methods: A pre/post study of 187 clients recruited from an OTP who completed a survey and consented to share their urine drug testing (UDT) data. Use of fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone, codeine, and heroin was assessed via UDT. Receipt of take-home methadone doses was assessed from clinic records for 142 working days pre- and post-COVID exemption...

Background: Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has experienced significant cultivation, use, and online marketing growth in recent years. Objectives: This study utilized natural language processing on Twitter data to examine trends in public discussions regarding this novel psychoactive substance. Methods: This study analyzed the frequency of #Delta8 tweets over time, most commonly used words, sentiment classification of words in tweets, and a qualitative analysis of a random sample of tweets containing the hashtag "Delta8" from January 1, 2020 to September 26, 2021...

Background: Illicit drug use has become a global epidemic, yet it is unclear if drug smoking increases the risk of tobacco-related cancers. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate hypothesized associations between smoking three drugs - opium, phencyclidine (PCP) and crack cocaine and lung and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers. Methods: A population-based case-control study with 611 lung cancer cases (50% male), 601 UADT cancers cases (76% male), and 1,040 controls (60% male) was conducted in Los Angeles County (1999-2004)...

Background: Neighborhood-, school-, and peer-contexts play an important role in adolescent alcohol use behaviors. Methodological advances permit simultaneous modeling of these contexts to understand their relative and joint importance. Few empirical studies include these contexts, and studies that do typically: examine each context separately; include contexts for the sole purpose of accounting for clustering in the data; or do not disaggregate by sex. Objectives: This study takes an eco-epidemiologic approach to examine the role of socio-contextual contributions to variance in adolescent alcohol use...

Background: Buprenorphine is a partial mu opioid agonist medication that has been shown to decrease non-prescribed opioid use, cravings, and opioid related morbidity and mortality. There is an assumption that full adherence is needed to achieve ideal treatment outcomes, and that non-adherence is associated with ongoing opioid use. However, literature documenting the strength of that assertion is lacking. Objectives: Evaluate the association between daily buprenorphine adherence and illicit opioid use. Methods: Secondary analysis of a 12-week randomized controlled trial of adults with opioid use disorder who recently initiated buprenorphine...

MATERIALS: Patients with alcoholic acute pancreatitis in our hospital were recruited from Jan 2019 to July 2022 and divided into IAAP and RAAP groups. All patients underwent Contrast-Enhanced Computerized Tomography (CECT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) after administration. Imaging manifestations, local complications, severity scores on the Modified CT/MR Severity Index (MCTSI/MMRSI), Extrapancreatic Inflammation on CT/MR (EPIC/M), clinical severity [Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE-II)], and clinical prognosis were compared between the two groups...

Background: The numbers of days people consume alcohol and other drugs over a fixed interval, such as 28 days, are often collected in surveys of substance use. The presence of an upper bound on these variables can result in response distributions with "ceiling effects." Also, if some peoples' substance use behaviors are characterized by weekly patterns of use, summaries of substance days-of-use over longer periods can exhibit multiple modes. Objective: To highlight advantages of ordinal models with a separate level for each distinct survey response, for bounded, and potentially multimodal, count data...