Welcome to the WhyProhibition Research Archive


Here you will find an ever increasing number of research studies, in full text, maintained by our research editorial board.

We endeavour to only provide the best research available, and unless otherwise noted, only use peer-review research.

The goal of this website is to make the evidence (i.e. peer reviewed journal articles and significant reports) that supports the drug policy reform movement, available to all. Our society as a whole needs to move away from the illusion that drug prohibition is either effective or helpful in any way and our goal is to show you the research evidence to prove this. The research articles available on this site document, with great clarity and repetition, both the failures of drug prohibition and the way forward. You are encouraged to download all these research articles, just articles on specific topics, or single documents.

The pleasure in context

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 2:40pm
in

Published: International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 19, Issue 5, Pages 384-392

Author: C. Duff

Abstract

The pleasures associated with the use of illicit drugs are rarely acknowledged in contemporary drug policy debates. Where they are, these pleasures are almost always attributed to the specific physiological and/or sensory effects of individual substances.

Methods

Drawing on qualitative research recently completed in Melbourne, Australia, this paper argues that the pleasures associated with illicit drug use extend well beyond the purely physiological to include a host of properly contextual elements as well.

Results Read more »

Volatile bodies: Stories of corporeal pleasure and damage in marginalised young people's drug use

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 2:31pm
in

Published: Volatile bodies: Stories of corporeal pleasure and damage in marginalised young people's drug use
International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 19, Issue 5, Pages 375-383

Author: S. MacLean

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between meaning and corporeal pleasure in drug use experience through considering accounts of inhalant use made by marginalised young people in Melbourne, Australia. Inhalants (also known as volatile substances or solvents) have a reputation internationally as drugs of desperation rather than enjoyment. Corporeal pleasure as a motive for inhalant use is generally overlooked in policy, drug research literature and health education—as is frequently the case also in relation to other forms of drug use practiced by marginalised peoples. In contrast, harms such as brain damage and death are strongly emphasised.

Methods Read more »

Four groups of illicit substance users amongst the adult ‘hidden' non-problematic community

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 2:15pm
in

Author: Notley, Caitlin1

Source: Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, Volume 12, Number 4, August 2005 , pp. 279-290(12)

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

Abstract: Read more »

Evidence for controlled heroin use? Low levels of negative health and social outcomes among non-treatment heroin users in Glasgow (Scotland)

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 1:53pm
in

Authors: Shewan, David; Dalgarno, Phil

Source: British Journal of Health Psychology, Volume 10, Number 1, February 2005 , pp. 33-48(16)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

Abstract:
Objectives. This longitudinal study focused on 126 long-term heroin users who had never been in specialist treatment for use of any drug. The primary aim of the study was to assess whether this `hidden' population resembled heroin users identified with drug treatment agencies, or alternatively, to test whether heroin could indeed be used in a controlled, non-intrusive fashion for an extended period of time.

Design and methods. Recruitment was achieved through chain-referred purposive sampling methods, and data were collected through two semi-structured interviews. 67% of participants were re-recruited for follow-up. Read more »

A strategy for controlling the marketing of tobacco products: a regulated market model

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 07/23/2009 - 3:31pm
in

SPECIAL COMMUNICATION

R Borland

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Ron Borland
VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, Cancer Control Research Institute, The Cancer Council Victoria, 1 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, Vic 3053, Australia; Ron.Borland{at}cancervic.org.au

Objective: To outline a novel strategy for controlling the tobacco market. Read more »

Assessing the impact of cannabis use on trends in diagnosed schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 8:49am
in

By. Martin Frisher, Ilana Crome, Orsolina Martino, Peter Croft

Abstract Read more »

INCARCERATION AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:24am
in

April M. W. Young, PhD

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to April M. W. Young, PhD, Collins Center for Public Policy, 150 SE 2nd Ave, Suite 709, Miami, FL 33131 (e-mail: ayoung{at}collinscenter.org).

Thank you for the special issue dedicated to prisons and health (October 2005). In addition to calling attention to the many complex health and social issues relevant to the experience of imprisonment, this issue calls upon us to recast incarceration as the public health crisis it is. Read more »

Recent incarceration independently associated with syringe sharing by injection drug users.

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:21am
in

Evan Wood, Kathy Li, Will Small, Julio S Montaner, Martin T Schechter, and Thomas Kerr Read more »

HIV risks in incarcerated injection-drug users

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 12:41pm
in

“I’ve known syringes that have gone through 30–40 people’s hands. I swear to God. They have been used by that many different people”, so said an inmate referring to syringe sharing in a Canadian prison.

HIV risks associated with incarceration among injection drug users: implications for prison-based public health strategies

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 12:14pm
in

Daniel Werb, Research Assistant
Thomas Kerr, Research Scientist
Will Small, Ethnographic Researcher
Kathy Li, Senior Statistician
Julio Montaner, Director
Evan Wood, Research Scientist
Journal of Public Health 2008 30(2):126-132

Background Recent policy announcements in Canada and the United States may potentially affect the risk environment for HIV transmission among incarcerated injection drug users (IDU). We sought to evaluate the potential impact of incarceration on HIV risk behaviour among the IDU enrolled in a prospective cohort study.

Methods We examined patterns of incarceration among 1247 IDU participants enrolled in a 6-year prospective cohort study in Vancouver, Canada, and tested for potential associations between HIV risk behaviour and incarceration. Correlates of incarceration were identified using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Read more »