Use of gelatine capsules for application of methamphetamine: A new harm reduction approach

Mravčík, Viktor; Škařupová, Kateřina; Orlíková, Barbora; Zábranský, Tomáš; Karachaliou, Krystallia; Schulte, Bernd

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2010.12.001

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Since naïve, young and relatively inexperienced drug users are those most at risk not only in terms of deaths, but also in terms of other health hazards such as blood-borne infections related to drug use (23,24). Thus, our findings further stress the public health's need to develop interventions targeting this group of new injectors in order to protect their lives and health in general, such as active support for switching from injecting to other patterns of drug use with similar perceived drug effects (25), or the safe injecting rooms/facilities that are increasingly being introduced in the cities of the EU, Australia and the Americas (26).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Mortality of Cohort of Very Young Injecting Drug Users in Prague, 1996-2010

Zábranský

Csémy²,

Grohmannová³

et al. 2011

Cent Eur J Public Health

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Aim: To determine the mortality in a cohort of very young injecting drug users (IDUs), and the factors associated with it. Design: A database linkage prospective (follow-up) cohort study. Setting: A convenience sample of clients of 2 low-threshold facilities, 1 drug treatment clinic, and one special facility for children with severe behavioural disorders, who were all younger than 19 and older than 15, was interviewed one or more times in 1996-8 and asked to agree with their being interviewed again after 10 or more years. Participants: 151 (65 male, 86 female) IDUs recruited in October 1996-December 1998. Measurement: Database linkage study compared unique identifiers (IDs) of the recruited subjects with the general register of deaths to determine the life status, and the causes of death of those deceased. Where necessary, we examined the death protocols directly. Findings: Altogether, 8 deaths were registered between recruitment and 31st December 2008 (1,660 person-years). All the deceased were male, and all their deaths were "unnatural"-that is, caused by drug overdose or accident. This translates into the crude mortality rates for the whole cohort being 4.8 deaths per 1,000 person-years (PY), and into a specific mortality ratio in the males SMR=14.4 with the peak at the age of 15-20 (SMR=60.1), declining to SMR=8.2 at the age of 25-30. Except gender, we found no "predictors of death" in this high-risk cohort. Conclusion: The overall mortality in the cohort was substantially higher than in the general population; in the male part of the cohort of young injecting drug users it was excessively high in the first three years after recruitment, and caused by external causes exclusively; the mortality in the female sub-cohort was zero, i.e. lower than in the general population of the same age range. Our findings suggest a need to develop targeted prevention of overdoses and other unnatural deaths in young male drug injectors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Mortality of Cohort of Very Young Injecting Drug Users in Prague, 1996-2010

Zábranský

Csémy²,

Grohmannová³

et al. 2011

Cent Eur J Public Health

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“…Using gel caps can be a proven cost-effective measure as large quantity are available for purchase on the internet or through pharmacies for approximately $40 for 1,000 empty capsules [26].This method has been tested in the Czech Republic by questionnaire assessing how they use the gel capsules as a method of harm reduction and how popular the method has become in treatment practice. The target populations consisted of primarily intravenous methamphetamine users whose veins have been damaged and users that wanted to quit injecting methamphetamine.…”

Section: Utilizing Empty Gel Capsules As a Methods Of Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it was discovered that continual ingestion per this method could cause extensive stomach damage, but as most methods of harm reduction; this is not meant to be an end-all to the physiological side effects of ingesting methamphetamine [26].This has proven to be effective in the Czech Republic as a method of harm reduction that could potentially be beneficial for the United States, especially in rural America, where resources are very limited and socioeconomic gaps are more apparent.…”

Section: Utilizing Empty Gel Capsules As a Methods Of Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harm Reduction Treatment Interventions for Rural Methamphetamine Abuse

Gere¹,

Blessing²

2017

J Drug Abuse

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Rural methamphetamine abuse has reached epidemic levels. Methamphetamine causes detrimental consequences to its users such as severe psychological distress, socioeconomic hardship, physical health issues, legal problems and even prison time. Because rural areas have less access to treatment and other preventative methods, more effective solutions should be introduced to help make methamphetamine abuse a more manageable disorder. The primary focus of this article is to review existing approaches and suggest some innovative evidence-based harm reduction treatment and preventative education methods to individuals who abuse methamphetamine.

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“…For example, the numbers of needles and syringes exchanged have been rising in recent years (see Table 1) and complex issues, such as collaborating with pharmacies and reinforcing the network of HR programmes by their involvement in the programmes, have been opened. [3] Additional innovative interventions, including the distribution of gelatine capsules intended primarily for people who use pervitin as an oral alternative to riskier injecting practices, have also been developed [60,61].…”

Section: Czech-slovak Differences In Developing Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Crisis in Harm Reduction Funding in Central and Eastern Europe

Miovský

Miklíková

Mravčík

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND: The harm reduction (HR) approach to injecting drug use was rapidly adopted in Central Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain. The associated social and economic transformationhad significant consequences for drug policies in the region. A large number of the emerging services have been dependent on funding from a wide range of national and/or local funding programmes, which continue to be unstable,and closelyassociated with political decisions and insufficient institution building. A sharp distinction is made between health and social services, often without regard to client input.The main objectiveof the paper is to identify the causes of the funding problems currently faced by HR services in the context of their history of institution buildingwhich represents a major threatto the future of HR services in the region. METHODS: Qualitative content analysis of documents was conducted in the development of two case studies of the Czech and Slovak Republics. The body of documentation under study comprised policy documents, including National Drug Strategies, Action Plans, ministerial documents, and official budgets and financial schedules, as well as documents from the grey literature and expert opinions.RESULTS: The insufficient investments in finalising the process of the institution building of HR services has resulted in a direct threat to their sustainability. An unbalanced inclination to the institutionalisation of HR within the domain of social services has led to a misperception of their integrity, as well as to their funding and long-term sustainability being endangered. In addition, this tendency has had a negative impact on the process of the institutionalisation of HR within the system of healthcare. CONCLUSION:The case study revealed a lack of systemic grounding of HR services as interdisciplinary health-social services. The aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008 fully revealed the limitations of the funding system established ad hoc in the 1990s,which remains present until today, togetherwith all its weak points. The entire situation is responsible for the dangerous erosion of the interpretation of the concept of harm reduction, which is supported by various stereotypes and false, or ideological, interpretations of the concept.

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Use of gelatine capsules for application of methamphetamine: A new harm reduction approach

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

Mortality of Cohort of Very Young Injecting Drug Users in Prague, 1996-2010

Mortality of Cohort of Very Young Injecting Drug Users in Prague, 1996-2010

Harm Reduction Treatment Interventions for Rural Methamphetamine Abuse

Understanding the Crisis in Harm Reduction Funding in Central and Eastern Europe

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