Geographic Differences in Public Opinion on Drug Policy: Understanding Patterns of Support and 'Don't Know' Responses.

Introduction: Policymakers and advocates often rely on public opinion to support or oppose certain policies, with national surveys providing an important data source. Different geographic areas have socio-political specificity and are impacted by drug policies in different ways; yet there has been little analysis of public opinion accounting for geographic specificity. This study aimed to understand geographic differences in policy preferences using the case study of Greater Western Sydney (GWS), New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Why are people with lived and living experience conflicted about the legalisation of drugs? Analysing qualitative data from the UK Drug Policy Voices project using Schwartz's theory of basic values.

Introduction: Emerging research on values and moralities in drug policy research indicates that policy may become stuck because of value conflicts and tensions. To develop new knowledge in this area, this paper seeks to identify the values that emerged in discussions amongst people with lived and living experience about the legalisation of drugs; and examine the relationships between value positions, synergies and tensions within dialogue about legalisation.

Methods: The data derived from the qualitative research collected for the UK Drug Policy Voices project and included workshop, creative and interview data.

Comparing drug policies: An assessment of the validity and reliability of the global drug policy index.

Background: The Global Drug Policy Index (GDPI) is an instrument that attempts to comparatively evaluate national drug policies at a global scale. This paper assesses the validity and reliability of this new Index, speaking to the wider question of whether such a comparative evaluation can be achieved in a methodologically robust manner.

Method: We review the validity of the Index through analysis of the conceptual logic of the GDPI.

Assessing the Processes and Experiences of Using and Implementing a Routine Data Collection System at Two Aboriginal Alcohol and Other Drug Residential Services Located in Rural Queensland.

Introduction: Routine data collection in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services is essential for continuous quality improvement, yet its implementation in Aboriginal residential services remains challenging. This study evaluates the processes and experiences of implementing a routine data collection system at two Aboriginal AOD residential rehabilitation services in rural Queensland, both of which operate under a family-centric model of care.

Methods: A participatory evaluation approach was used, engaging staff and clients to co-design and implement data collection tools.

Hydromorphone Hopes: A Qualitative Study of People Initiating Supervised Short-Acting Injectable Opioid Treatment in Australia.

Introduction: A growing body of qualitative scholarship has drawn attention to aspects of supervised injectable opioid treatment (SIOT) not captured in earlier clinical trial data, identifying treatment initiation as one such area. Crucial questions surrounding people's motivations, expectations and initial experiences of SIOT remain under-explored. This paper examines the first tranche of qualitative findings from participants of Australia's first-ever SIOT trial, the 'Feasibility of Opioid Injectable Treatment' (FOpIT) study.

Biased regulation of protein synthesis and hypoxic death by a conditional raptor mutation.

Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) functions in mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) with raptor to match metazoan metabolism to available nutrients to regulate multiple cellular, physiological, and pathological processes. Hypoxic cellular injury is influenced by the mTORC1 pathway, but whether its activity promotes or prevents injury is unclear, and which mTORC1-regulated mechanisms control hypoxic injury are obscure. Here, we report the discovery of a hypoxia-resistant, temperature-sensitive raptor mutant in an unbiased forward mutagenesis screen in C.

Bridging the evidence and the politics: Implementation trial of supervised injectable opioid treatment (SIOT) in Australia.

Supervised Injectable Opioid Treatment (SIOT) targets people experiencing opioid dependence who have not benefited from existing treatments. In this population, SIOT has been demonstrated to be efficacious and effective, yet this modality of treatment has only been taken up in a few countries. In this commentary we describe the socio-political context and history to the recent establishment of an implementation trial of injectable hydromorphone in Sydney, Australia.

Unmet treatment need: The size of the gap for alcohol and other drugs in Australia.

Introduction: Assessing unmet demand for alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment requires accurately counting those in treatment and determining those in need of treatment. Using updated epidemiological and treatment data, this study sought to provide an updated estimate of the unmet demand for AOD treatment in Australia.

Methods: Australian prevalence rates for alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine and opioid use disorders were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease and research studies.

People who use drugs and the right to health.

Support for a human rights framework for drug policy has been growing for some years. This year, the UNODC published a chapter in the World Drug Report focussed on the right to health. In this paper, we draw attention to the conceptualisation of the right to health for people who use drugs.

Working in a relational way is everything: Perceptions of power and value in a drug policy-making network.

Background: The development of drug policies has been a major focus for policy-makers across North America in light of the ongoing public health emergency caused by the overdose crisis. In this context, the current study examined stakeholders' experiences and perceptions of power and value in a drug policy-making process in a North American city using qualitative, questionnaire, and social network data.

Methods: We interviewed 18 people who participated in the development of a drug policy proposal between October 2021 and March 2022.

Implementation of time-limited parenteral hydromorphone in people with treatment-resistant injecting opioid use disorder: a protocol for a single-site, uncontrolled, open-label study to assess feasibility, safety and cost.

Introduction: Supervised injectable opioid treatment (SIOT) is an evidence-based intervention targeting opioid-dependent people for whom existing treatments have been ineffective. This project will primarily assess the feasibility and the acceptability of time-limited SIOT using injectable hydromorphone delivered in an existing Australian public opioid treatment programme, with secondary outcomes of safety, cost, changes in drug use and other health outcomes. If feasible, the goal is to scale up the intervention to be more widely available in Australia.

"It's going to get pretty tippy": Stakeholder perspectives on the (dys)function of a four pillars drug strategy.

A 'drug strategy' is a policy document that structures the priorities and directions for interventions for drug related issues within a particular jurisdiction and/or context. A 'pillars' drug strategy concentrates efforts through clustering separated columns of activity, such as law enforcement, harm reduction, treatment, and prevention. In this study, we examined drug policy stakeholders' perspectives on the structure, function, and fit of a four pillar drug strategy framework in Vancouver, Canada.

Exploring the relationship between solitary drinking and living without other adults on alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic presents the opportunity to learn about solitary drinking as many people were forced to spend time at home. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between solitary drinking and living without other adults on alcohol consumption.

Methods: A longitudinal study with four survey waves (between May and November 2020) obtained seven-day drinking diary data from Australian adults living in New South Wales.

When self-direction meets conformity: Surfacing Schwartz's 10 basic human values in drug policy dialogue with lived/living experience participants.

Background: Research on values is gaining in popularity within drug policy scholarship. To date, research has focused on analysing values within policy, through documentary analysis and interviews with key stakeholders. We extend this research enquiry to investigate the values that emerge from drug policy debate with those who have lived and/or living experience of using drugs.

Post-retirement enlightenment syndrome: Worthy of investigation.

Post-Retirement Enlightenment Syndrome is a term used by some in illicit drug policy to reflect the experience of having politicians "come out" in favour of drug policy reform only after retirement. To date, the phenomenon has not been examined in any systematic manner. While discussions of the phenomenon on social media tend to be playful, they nevertheless express real frustration with the reluctance of privately supportive sitting politicians and policing officials to speak out in favour of non-punitive and/or harm reduction-oriented policies.

An overlooked effect: domestic violence and alcohol policies in the night-time economy.

Background And Aims: Restrictive late-night alcohol policies are aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence but, to date, no evaluations of their impact on family and domestic violence have been conducted. This study aimed to measure whether modifying the drinking environment and restricting on-site trading hours affected reported rates of family and domestic violence.

Design, Setting And Participants: This study used a non-equivalent control group design with two treatment sites and two matched control sites with pre- and postintervention data on rates of family and domestic violence assaults within local catchment areas of four late-night entertainment precincts in New South Wales, Australia, covering a population of 27 309 people.

Sociometric network analysis in illicit drugs research: A scoping review.

Background: Sociometric or whole network analysis, a method used to analyze relational patterns among social actors, emphasizes the role of social structure in shaping behaviour. Such method has been applied to many aspects of illicit drug research, including in the areas of public health, epidemiology, and criminology. Previous reviews about social networks and drugs have lacked a focus on the use of sociometric network analysis for illicit drugs research across disciplines.

Piloting a classification framework for the types of evidence used in alcohol policymaking.

Introduction: Most studies of alcohol policy have focussed on the role of industry. However, little is known about the evidence base used in alcohol policymaking or policymakers' actions in the field. Here, we mapped the different evidence types used in a case study to construct a classification framework of the evidence types used in alcohol policymaking.

"It's professional but it's personal": Participation, personal connection, and sustained disagreement in drug policy reform.

While there is widespread agreement as to the importance of increasing participation in drug policy design, drug policy literature contains limited reflection on the practices that may support inclusion and collaboration amongst policy actors, particularly when disagreement and difference are an intrinsic part of participation. Drawing on qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with actors engaged in an Australian illicit drug policy reform campaign, this paper examines how particular modes of personal connection mattered in establishing and maintaining working relationships between a range of differently situated actors. Through engagement with this case study, we argue that modes of personal connection marked by qualities such as being frank; engaged; not forcing consensus; enacting respect; listening in order to understand; and acting in ways that respected the obligations and limits that came with people's roles while also recognising one another as more than those roles, were particularly important qualities that supported connection across difference.