Home Drink & Drugs
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Research

JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
Due to popular demand, (well, demand mostly from Bongbudda and Martin B), we have created this thread. Its purpose is to collate the various research papers and bits and pieces that we and your fellow board users find interesting and informative. The articles you can find here may not be readily available on the internet, or are over the file attachment limit, or we refer to them often enough to make it easier to have them readily to hand.

We would like to stress that the research is in the main inconclusive, and can't be taken for fact. More research needs to be done to conclusively prove, or otherwise, most of what you find here. Currently, for many and varied reasons, there is very little funding available for research into the effects of illegal drugs, which in part explains why we still don't know a lot about the effects of drugs on the brain and body, and the long term effects of drug use.

This is a more serious part of the drugs board, and we would like the information to be accurate, verifiable and in context as much as possible. So if you have anything you would like to share in this thread, send one of the drugs board mods a PM and we will go from there.

Comments

  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    First up are two articles that have been on the boards for a while.

    The first one is titled 'How strong is the evidence that brain serotonin neurons are damaged in human users of ecstacy?' This evaluates evidence from the available studies to make a conclusion.

    The second one is titled 'Effects of dose, sex and long-term absention from use on toxic effects of MDMA on brain serotonin neurons'. It looks at whether the damage reported to the neurons of MDMA users is reversible.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Right, here are two more articles for you to have a look at.

    The first one investigates 'Memory Performance in MDMA users who continue or discontinue MDMA use', interesting because serotonin has a recognised role in memory processes.

    The second one is titled 'Impared executive function in male MDMA users' and it assesses the results of a range of cognitive tests.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Thought it would be useful to put a link to the Transform Report - After the War on Drugs - Options for Control up here, as it discusses ways in which legislation and support can move forward.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Occasional Heroin use and Khat use info

    Here are two more reports, courtesy of Blagsta - cheers!

    Occasional and controlled heroin use. Not a problem?
    Hamish Warburton, Paul J. Turnbull and Mike Hough
    Joseph Rowntree Foundation

    Khat use in Somali, Ethiopian andYemeni communities in England:issues and solutions
    A report by Turning Point
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Drug classification & measurement of harm

    Hey there,

    Two more reports for you all to have a look at.

    The first is a report called Drug Classification: making a hash of it?, from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. It says the report
    addresses the relationship between scientific advice and evidence and the classification of illegal drugs.

    Basically, the report concluded that there are significant anomalies in the ABC classification system; they have found no evidence that the classification has a deterrent effect; and
    that the current classification system is not fit for purpose and should be replaced with a more scientifically based scale of harm, decoupled from penaltiesfor posession and trafficking.
    Critical to say the least. (Thanks to Budda for that one).

    The second report is called Monitoring Drug Policy Outcomes: the measurement of drug related harm, by the Beckley Foundation.

    The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme
    is a new initiative dedicated to providing a rigorous, independent review of the effectiveness of national and international drug policies. The aim of this programme of research and analysis is to assemble and disseminate material that supports the rational consideration of complex drug policy issues, and leads to a more effective management of the widespread use of psychoactive substances in the future.

    The report looks at how current policies support harm minimisation.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Here is another report I came across today, on tobacco useage this time, titled Smoking Habits: like father like son, like mother like daughter. This 29-page discussion paper explores the influence of parental smoking habits on their children's smoking decisions.
  • JadedJaded Posts: 2,682 Boards Guru
    Here is a report on Khat, courtesy of Blagsta, from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Its called Khat (Qat): Assessment of Risk to the Individual and Communities in the UK, and is based on research carried out by Turning Point and NACRO.
This discussion has been closed.