Illicit Drugs Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the world today. Some 146 million people, or 3.7% of the population 15–64 years of age, consumed Cannabis in 2001–2003 (1). In the United States, 95 million Americans over the age of... more

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the world today. Some 146 million people, or 3.7% of the population 15–64 years of age, consumed Cannabis in 2001–2003 (1). In the United States, 95 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once. In 2002, an estimated 15 million Americans had used the drug in the month before a survey (2), representing 6.2% of the population age 12 years and older. Marijuana was used either alone or in combination with other drugs by 75% of the current illicit drug users. Approximately 2-3 million new users of marijuana are added each year, with about 1.1% becoming clinically dependent on it (3). In the case of young people, according to a recent survey of high school students known as Monitoring the Future, supported by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and conducted yearly, at least 19% of 8th graders had tried marijuana at least once and 18% of 10th graders were “current” drug users (i.e., had used the drug within the past month before the survey). Among 12th graders, nearly 48% had tried marijuana at least once, and approx 21% were “current”marijuana users (4). Marijuana use by young people has increased or decreased at various times during the last decade, possibly as a result of its potency, which has been on the rise, although nonsignificantly from a 3% concentration of Δ9-tetrahyrocannabinol (THC; marijuana’s active chemical constituent) in 1991 to 4.4% in 1997—possibly because of changes in the perceptions of youths about marijuana’s dangers or other unknown factors. Research suggests that marijuana use usually peaks in the late teens to early 20s, and then declines in later years (5).

A commentary on the special issue: Illicit Economies and State(less) Geographies – The Politics of Illegality. Summarizes the articles in the journal issue and discusses the processuality and complexity of states and illegal practices.... more

A commentary on the special issue: Illicit Economies and State(less) Geographies – The Politics of Illegality. Summarizes the articles in the journal issue and discusses the processuality and complexity of states and illegal practices. Concludes by pointing out the harmful spiraling upward of coercive capacity and suffering at the hands, simultaneously, of state agencies and criminal organizations.

Shadow economy is a concept encompassing various illegal activities, logistical support system and money laundering jurisdictions and institutions that help processing proceeds from illegal activities and re-entering them into regular... more

Shadow economy is a concept encompassing various illegal activities, logistical support system and money laundering jurisdictions and institutions that help processing proceeds from illegal activities and re-entering them into regular lawful economical circulation.
The big five shadow industries are illegal weapons trade, illicit drug trade, human trafficking and prostitution, naval piracy and trafficking of endangered species. In addition, illicit money revenues come from corruption.
Further and indispensable tools of this process are tax havens and various money laundering schemes that allow the proceeds from illegal activities to be legalized to re-enter our legit financial markets. North Korea is a good example where these schemes are being used by a whole nation’s economy.
All these illegal activities take a major toll the quality of life and security of many communities all around the world.

Despite abundant literature the respective roles of psychosomatic status, personality, health perception, family environment, and sport activity in tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use have not been well known. To assess their roles, an... more

Despite abundant literature the respective roles of psychosomatic status, personality, health perception, family environment, and sport activity in tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use have not been well known. To assess their roles, an epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted in 3294 middle and high school adolescents, 2396 (73%) of whom agreed to participate. The standardized questionnaire was filled out by the teenagers under the supervision of the teachers. Strong associations were found between tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. The prevalence of alcohol use and illicit drug use were respectively 7 and 10 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers. On the whole, the potential risk factors for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use were age, psychosomatic status and psychotropic drug consumption, boring family atmosphere, not living with both father and mother, and health perception. Mother being a housewife was a protective factor. No marked role was noted for...

Patterns of drug use, sales and trafficking are profoundly gendered. Most users, dealers and traffickers are men, so women suffer from their " Cinderella status " whereby interventions are aimed at the majority, and neglect to seriously... more

Patterns of drug use, sales and trafficking are profoundly gendered. Most users, dealers and traffickers are men, so women suffer from their " Cinderella status " whereby interventions are aimed at the majority, and neglect to seriously consider their impact on women. Responses to women involved with illicit drugs must take gender into account to produce fair outcomes that ensure international human rights obligations and meet the reality of women's lives. Significance Women and men are impacted by drug policy differently. This is the case not only for drug use, but also with regards to treatment and punishment. Despite being a statistical minority in all aspects of the drug trade, women tend to be most involved in the lower levels of the trade, where the greatest concentration of arrests occur. Women additionally experience greater prejudice and judgement due to gendered social expectations. Since women often are, or are expected to be caregivers, their involvement with drugs has gender specific repercussions. Analysis Drug use and drug cultures Drug use and drug cultures are male dominated. Internationally the level of illicit drug use is about twice the rate for men compared to women. Women tend to try drugs at an earlier age than boys. As a result young women and men may have similar degrees of experience with drugs in early adolescence. Teenage boys 'catch up' quickly and by their late teens are more likely to have tried 'harder' drugs (e.g. cocaine, heroin, and synthetics such as methamphetamine) than women, and be more regular drug users. There are important exceptions, relating to ethnicity, disability, marital status, and so not all women (or men) will fit these general patterns. In the UK, researchers have also noted important demographic changes with young people who are now less likely to try drugs than previous generations.

Summary A major proportion of the disease burden and deaths for young people in developed nations is attributable to misuse of alcohol and illicit drugs. Patterns of substance use established in adolescence are quite stable and predict... more

Summary A major proportion of the disease burden and deaths for young people in developed nations is attributable to misuse of alcohol and illicit drugs. Patterns of substance use established in adolescence are quite stable and predict chronic patterns of use, mortality, and morbidity later in life. We integrated fi ndings of systematic reviews to summarise evidence for interventions aimed at prevention and reduction of harms related to adolescent substance use. Evidence of effi cacy was available for developmental prevention interventions that aim to prevent onset of harmful patterns in settings such as vulnerable families, schools, and communities, and universal strategies to reduce attractiveness of substance use. Regulatory interventions aim to increase perceived costs and reduce availability and accessibility of substances. Increasing price, restricting settings of use, and raising legal purchase age are eff ective in reducing use of alcohol and tobacco and related harms. Scree...

Although recent years have witnessed an increasingly honest and sophisticated discourse on the measurement of illicit drug markets, metrics relating to drug policy outcomes remain dominated by the activities of law enforcement agencies.... more

Although recent years have witnessed an increasingly honest and sophisticated discourse on the measurement of illicit drug markets, metrics relating to drug policy outcomes remain dominated by the activities of law enforcement agencies. This owes much to the underlying philosophy of the extant UN based international drug control system and an approach that has delivered few sustained and geographically widespread successes. Current metrics are resilient in part because they provide politically useful certainty within a complex , fluid and ultimately problematic policy domain. This is the case even though traditional indicators are increasingly at odds with policy shifts seeking to reduce the overall harm of illicit drug markets. While alert to the need for national, even local, specificity, more appropriate and holistic indicators at the multilateral level could be developed around the core purpose and principles of the UN itself and the security and health of citizens and the social and economic development of communities.