Drug Abuse

Drug Abuse: Concepts, Prevention, and Cessation serves as a comprehensive source of information on the topography of, causes of, and solutions to drug problems. The text covers conceptual issues regarding definitions of drug use, misuse, abuse, and dependence. Importantly, the text addresses a variety of theoretical bases currently applied to the development of prevention and cessation programs, specific program content from evidence-based programs, and program processes and modalities. Information regarding etiology, prevention, and cessation is neatly delineated into (a) neurobiological, (b) cognitive, (c) micro-social, and (d) macro-social/physical environmental units. The book is ideally suited as a primary source for students and professionals in chemical dependence programs, clinical and health psychology, public health, preventive medicine, nursing, sociology, and social work, among other fields, on the nature, causes, prevention, and cessation of the abuse of legal and illegal drugs.

Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach in its coverage of current drug issues, Maisto/Galizio/Connors' DRUG USE AND MISUSE, 9th Edition, weaves historical, social, psychological, cultural, biological and medical perspectives as it emphasizes the idea that a drug's effects depend not only on its properties, but also on the psychological and biological characteristics of its user. Thoroughly updated with the latest research, social trends and legal changes, the new edition includes current survey data on patterns of drug use nationally and internationally as well as recent data from the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Timely essays and critical thinking questions help you focus on the real-world application of chapter concepts, while the MindTap digital learning solution equips you with anywhere, anytime study tools.

A guide to the techniques and analysis of clinical data. Each of the seventeen sections begins with a drawing and biographical sketch of a seminal contributor to the discipline. After an introduction and historical survey of clinical methods, the next fifteen sections are organized by body system. Each contains clinical data items from the history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations that are generally included in a comprehensive patient evaluation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

Drug abuse and addiction are common in clinical practice. Often they interfere with patient treatment or require an alternative approach. Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment is a major contribution to the literature, a gold standard title offering a comprehensive range of topics for those who care for patients with addiction, conduct research in this area, or simply have an interest in the field. Offering state-of-the-art information for all those working with drug abusing or addicted patients, or for those interested in this topic from other research perspectives, the volume is a first of its kind book -- rich, comprehensive, yet focused, addressing the needs of the very active theoretical, basic, and clinical research in the field. Comprised of 46 chapters organized in four sections and developed by the leading international experts, Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment covers virtually every core, as well as contemporary, topic on addiction, from the established theories to the most modern research and development in the field. Enhancing the educational value of the volume, every chapter includes an abstract and two boxes summarizing learning objectives and directions for future research. Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment discusses the topic in a authoritative, systematic manner and is an indispensable reference for all clinicians and researchers interested in this rapidly changing field.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge concerning neuropathologies resulting from drug abuse. The first chapters offer readers detailed information on the neurobiological basics of drug abuse and the results of neuroimaging studies in drug abusers. The focus of the book is on neuropathological findings in drug abusers for the predominant substances, which include cannabis, opiates, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and a broad spectrum of designer drugs. These findings are supported by histological illustrations and discussed in connection with recent scientific publications. A chapter specifically addressing clinicians is also included, and highlights the implications for further therapy. The book is essential reading for neuropathologists, neurologists, neuroradiologists and psychiatrists, as well as other health professionals and scientists interested and engaged in the problem of drug abuse. Although a great deal of data has been derived from animal models and from human neuroimaging studies, little is known about the morphological effects of drug abuse on the human brain. In recent years, fundamental drug-induced effects on the cellular elements of the brain have been detected. These alterations might not only be the substrate of the neuroimaging data but might also have implications for clinical research and therapy. In addition, drug abuse may induce premature neurodegeneration.