The consequences of knowing: Ethical and legal liabilities in illicit drug research

Fitzgerald, John; Hamilton, Margaret

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00055-x

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Mindful of the sensitive nature of the research, the chief investigator first advised the local HREC that the pending application for ethics approval would address certain ethical-legal dilemmas already considered by Australian researchers in studies of illicit drug use . 5,7,8 As these kinds of considerations were new to the HREC, it formed a subcommittee to conduct its own investigations. This subcommittee sought advice from experienced researchers and the NT Attorney-General's Department (NTAG).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with the published work, the NTAG concluded that legislation in some form would be required to guarantee confidentiality to study participants and to ensure researchers did not risk prosecution if they refused to disclose confidential information about participants. 5,7,8 Because of the time required, legislative change is of little practical value to most studies. The NTAG advised the HREC to use a risk-management approach.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managing confidentiality in illicit drugs research: ethical and legal lessons from studies in remote Aboriginal communities

Clough

Conigrave

2008

Internal Medicine Journal

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Assuring participant confidentiality in illicit drugs research has raised legal questions and challenges both for researchers and ethics committees. There are similar challenges for clinicians. To study cannabis use in Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land (Northern Territory), a risk-management approach was successful. Aboriginal participants were informed in their own language that confidentiality could not be assured if they disclosed information about illegal behaviours. Researchers avoided questions of intrinsic interest to law enforcement. Relationships between researchers and study participants and the integrity of the study were preserved. These considerations have relevance for clinicians as well as researchers dealing with the influence of illicit behaviours on health.As illicit drugs have been used at least once in their lifetimes by up to 38% of Australians (aged more than or equal to 14 years), clinicians and researchers need to be aware of their ethical and legal responsibilities when they come to know about illegal behaviours associated with illicit drug use in their patients and study participants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing confidentiality in illicit drugs research: ethical and legal lessons from studies in remote Aboriginal communities

Clough

Conigrave

2008

Internal Medicine Journal

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“…At a minimum, they receive a medical examination by a health professional in a supportive environment. Ideally, they also receive information about and referral to treatment services, along with educational material about their drug of choice (Adler, 1995, Carter and Hall, 2008and Fitzgerald and Hamilton, 1996.…”

Section: Studies Of Craving In Drug Dependent Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical implications of research on craving

Carter

Hall

2013

Addictive Behaviors

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Cravings, intense desires to experience the effects of a drug, are widely regarded as significant impediments to overcoming addiction, although their role in relapse may be overstated. Scientists and clinicians wish to better understand the neurobiological and cognitive basis of craving so that they may develop psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and other medical methods to reduce craving and thereby drug use. The conduct of such research raises significant ethical issues. When recruiting individuals and conducting this research, scientists need to ensure that substance dependent participants have the capacity to provide free and uncoerced consent. This is especially the case in studies in which dependent participants are given their drug of addiction or provided with other inducements to participate (e.g. financial incentives) that may undermine their ability to fully consider the risks of participation. Treatments for addiction that seek to reduce cravings may also carry risks. This includes psychotherapeutic approaches, as well as pharmacological and medical treatments. Clinicians need to consider the risks and benefits of treatment and carefully communicate these to patients. The desire to reduce urges to use drugs should not be employed to justify potentially harmful and ineffective treatments. The safety and effectiveness of emerging treatments should be assessed by well conducted randomized controlled clinical trials.

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“…The small but growing literature on the attitudes of marginalized groups to nonintervention research on illicit drug use and HIV risk has focused on issues of trust between drug users and research recruiters, perceived risks and benefits of research participation and the effect of monetary inducements on motives to participate (Barratt, Norman, and Fry, 2007; Fisher and Ragsdale, 2006; Fisher et al, in press; Fry and Dwyer, 2001). This research suggests that recruitment of historically marginalized populations may be compromised by participants’ mistrust of the scientific establishment in general (Herek and Blunt, 1988; Shaw, 2005; Singer, 1993; Stevenson, DeMoya, and Boruch, 1993; Swanson and Ward, 1995) and of researchers’ motives, competence, and commitment to confidentiality and participant’s welfare in particular (Fairchild and Gayer, 1999; Fisher and Wallace, 2000; Fisher et al, 2008; Fitzgerald and Hamilton, 1996). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers and Opportunities for Recruitment for Nonintervention Studies on HIV Risk: Perspectives of Street Drug Users

Oransky

Fisher²,

Mahadevan³

et al. 2009

Substance Use & Misuse

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This study used focus-group discussions in response to a video vignette to examine attitudes toward recruitment for nonintervention research involving HIV testing. Participants were 100 ethnically diverse, economically disadvantaged urban drug users, who were recruited from New York City and Hartford, Connecticut in the spring and summer of 2006. Content analyses revealed themes including (1) fears of stigma and legal trouble balanced by trustworthiness of the recruiter; (2) fears of learning one’s HIV status balanced by prospects for health benefits, and (3) the right to receive fair monetary compensation balanced by risks of coercion during periods of cravings. Limitations and implications for recruitment practices have been discussed here.

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The consequences of knowing: Ethical and legal liabilities in illicit drug research

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

Managing confidentiality in illicit drugs research: ethical and legal lessons from studies in remote Aboriginal communities

Managing confidentiality in illicit drugs research: ethical and legal lessons from studies in remote Aboriginal communities

Ethical implications of research on craving

Barriers and Opportunities for Recruitment for Nonintervention Studies on HIV Risk: Perspectives of Street Drug Users

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