Kratom is a traditional drug from Southeast Asia that has been an emerging new substance in the United States. On August 30, 2016, the DEA announced the intention to emergency schedule kratom into Schedule I. To support this decision, the DEA cited an increase in drug seizures of kratom and an increase in calls to poison control concerning kratom. However, a short time later, on October 12, 2016, the DEA withdrew the intent to schedule kratom after public and congressional backlash. The withdrawal by the DEA was somewhat unprecedented. To better understand both decisions, the current article examines the evidence the DEA cited to support their decision to emergency schedule kratom and the degree and type of media coverage of kratom to determine if a media-driven drug panic occurred.
Microdosing classic psychedelics (e.g., LSD [lysergic acid diethylamide] and psilocybin) is the practice of taking small amounts of these substances to bring about various positive life changes. Little is known about the subjective experiences and perceptions of those who engage in the practice. Accordingly, we use the sociology of accounts as a theoretical framework to explore the ways that those who microdose excuse or justify their practice. Using data from semistructured interviews with 30 people who had microdosed, we find that none provided excuses for their microdosing, but all offered one or more justifications. When discussing their microdosing, participants emphasized six key justifications: denial of injury, self-sustaining, self-fulfillment, appeal to normality, appeal to loyalties, and knowledgeableness. Findings provide insights into the subjective experiences of those who microdose, including the ways that they attempt to align their actions with societal expectations.
Perceived discrimination is a significant problem among ethnic minority adolescents and has been consistently linked to negative outcomes, including substance use, although few studies examine this relation with more than one time point. The present study adds to the literature by examining whether ethnic-racial socialization moderates the effects of perceived discrimination at time 1 on recent substance use six months later in a sample of ethnic minority, public high school students in Southern California. The results from analyses of survey data showed that perceived discrimination did not predict the likelihood of the outcomes, and they suggest that discrimination based on attributes other than ethnicity, such as immigration or documentation status, may be operating in the sample. Future research should simultaneously analyze effects of discrimination by type of attribute as well as level (e.g., intragroup, intergroup, and structural).With regard to ethnic-racial socialization in the multivariate models, cultural socialization was negatively related to the likelihood of the outcomes. Preparation for bias was positively related to the likelihood of the outcomes. Promotion of mistrust was not statistically significantly related to the likelihood of the outcomes. Although the socialization variables did not moderate the effect of perceived discrimination, they were clearly related to substance use in multiple ways, suggesting that future research continue to distinguish the effects of socialization by type to better understand how they can be addressed to optimize youth outcomes.
We examined event organizers’ understandings and management of alcohol-related risk and accommodation of people in recovery from substance use disorders and other non-drinkers, when organizing alcohol-permitted events that primarily involved faculty, staff, and graduate students. We interviewed 31 event organizers at a large, public university in California. Organizers were most concerned about avoiding legal liabilities, were less concerned about promoting responsible drinking among drinkers, and often failed to consider the needs of non-drinkers. Their actions were informed by problematic beliefs about alcohol (e.g., people need alcohol to relax and socialize), drinkers (e.g., only undergraduate students engage in risky alcohol consumption), and people in recovery (e.g., they lack self-control). Organizers over-relied on informal control to shape attendees’ behavior, failing to acknowledge contextual factors. They need education on how they can shape the event context to better promote healthy behaviors, avoid exclusively focusing on informal control and prevention of unhealthy behaviors, and promote better inclusion of people who do not drink alcohol. There is fertile ground for infusing a culture of health into events in higher education.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among inmates housed in state prisons across the United States. Research has shown that the inmates most prone to suicide typically are white, male, between the ages of 25 and 34, have been convicted of a property crime, and are serving prison sentences of less than 10 years. Inmates who commit suicide typically suffer from depression or other psychosocial disorders, and have had prior suicidal thoughts or attempts. Prisoner suicide is typically preceded by life events such as new criminal charges, marital or relationship issues, or a conflict with other inmates. The suicide act most commonly involves hanging or overdosing on medications or other drugs. Research regarding the prevention of suicide in prison has advocated for coordination between mental health counselors and correctional staff, use of suicide risk assessment measures, avoiding segregated housing of suicidal inmates, designing cells that make hanging more difficult, and improving communication with correctional staff about suicidal inmates.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.