The report discusses the relative effectiveness of strategies to reduce violence in four different Latin American cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Medellín in Colombia, Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, and Santa Tecla in El Salvador. The four cities are attempting to improve citizen security by combining smart policing strategies and social investment in marginalized communities most affected by crime.
The interventions described in this brief adhere to internationally accepted principles of drug treatment, are evidence based and reflect a public health perspective. These are alternatives proposed to the predominantly law-enforcement approaches to ATS use currently common in the Asia–Pacific region. Medical interventions for the treatment of physical and mental health problems are described, as well as psychosocial treatment approaches including community-based interventions.
The principles of treatment for ATS use are examined in the light of the principles of drug dependence treatment developed by WHO/UNODC in 2008. Recommendations were adapted to the needs of ATS users in Asia and the Pacific.
This brief outlines public health interventions directed at those who use amphetamine-type stimulants. Research indicates that the majority of ATS users are casual/experimental users who do not require intensive treatment interventions. Instead, they require information and counselling to enable them to appreciate the potential risks from ATS use and take measures to mitigate these harms.
This technical brief reviews the patterns and consequences of psychostimulant use. The physiological, medical and psychological consequences of low- or high-dose as well as short- or long-term amphetamine use are described. Amphetamine dependence and the risks for HIV and hepatitis infections are also described.
Over the past 40 years, the number of people in US prisons has increased by more than 600%. On 1 January 2008, one of every 100 adults were behind bars. The medical profession has the chance both to advocate for changes in the criminal justice system to reduce the number of people behind bars who would be better served in community-based treatment and to capitalise on the tremendous public health opportunities for diagnosing and treating disease and for linking patients to care after release.
High rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission are found in samples of people who inject drugs (PWID) throughout the world. The objective of this paper was to meta-analyze the effects of risk-reduction interventions on HCV seroconversion and identify the most effective intervention types.
La guerra globale alla droga è fallita, con conseguenze devastanti per gli individui e le società di tutto il mondo. Cinquanta anni dopo la Convenzione Unica delle Nazioni Unite sugli Stupefacenti, e a 40 anni da quando il presidente Nixon lanciò la guerra alle droghe del governo americano, sono urgenti e necessarie riforme fondamentali nelle politiche di controllo delle droghe nazionali e mondiali.
Since the HIV epidemic was first established in 1986, a total of 65,235 cases of HIV have been cumulatively reported in the Malay Muslim community, which constitute 71% of the total caseload. Recognising the low level of engagement of Islamic religious authorities in the community-based responses to HIV and AIDS, the Malaysian AIDS Council took the pragmatic approach of building strategic partnerships with national and state level religious departments.
