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New psychoactive substances (NPS) have been increasingly consumed by people who use drugs in recent years, which pose a new challenge for treatment services. One of the largest groups of NPS is synthetic canna...
This research examines the effectiveness of an Emergency Warming Centre (EWC) in Inuvik, Canada, at reducing rates of morbidity and mortality for homeless persons with concurrent disorders (mental health probl...
Benzodiazepine use is common among patients in opioid agonist therapy; this puts patients at an increased risk of overdose and death. In this study, we examine the impact of baseline and ongoing benzodiazepine...
The Erratum to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2017 14:15
Gambling can cause significant health and social harms for individuals, their families, and communities. While many studies have explored the individual factors that may lead to and minimise harmful gambling, ...
Governmental debate in Ireland on the de facto decriminalisation of cannabis and legalisation for medical use is ongoing. A cannabis-based medicinal product (Sativex®) has recently been granted market authoris...
Due to the popularity of public service announcements (PSAs), as well as the broader health and social harms associated with illicit drug use, this study sought to investigate how drug prevention messages foun...
In Vietnam, like many countries in Southeast Asia, the commonly used approach of center-based compulsory drug treatment (CCT) has been criticized on human rights ground. Meanwhile, community-based voluntary me...
Stigma and discrimination may adversely affect the benefits of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for drug users, especially in disadvantaged settings. This study assessed stigma and discrimination against ...
Drug users’ organizations have made progress in recent years in advocating for the health and human rights of people who use illicit drugs but have historically not emphasized the needs of people who drink alc...
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a risk group for new HIV infections. Drug use among men who have sex with men is often accompanied by risky sexual behaviours. Local AIDS help centres and gay advice centres...
Substance abuse has been considered as a growing challenge in Georgia that is closely linked with human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C transmission due to unsafe injection and other uncontrolled...
Sex trading is a recognized risk factor for human immune deficiency virus infection and other sexually transmitted infections among non-injecting drug users (NIDUs). However, very little research has addressed...
In heroin injectors, there have been a number of outbreaks caused by spore-forming bacteria, causing serious infections such as anthrax or botulism. These are, most likely, caused by injecting contaminated her...
Street-involved youth are known to be an economically vulnerable population that commonly resorts to risky activities such as drug dealing to generate income. While incarceration is common among people who use...
People living with HIV (PLHIV) who are also marginalized by social and structural inequities often face barriers to accessing and adhering to HIV treatment and care. The Dr. Peter Centre (DPC) is a non-profit ...
The mode of medical cannabis delivery—whether cannabis is smoked, vapourized, or consumed orally—may have important implications for its therapeutic efficacy and health risks. However, there is very little evi...
The Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) is a supervised injecting facility (SIF) where people who inject drugs (PWID) can do so legally, under health professional supervision. The majority of c...
While the last decade has seen a growth of support for harm reduction around the world, the availability and accessibility of quality harm reduction services in prison settings is uneven and continues to be in...
Drug consumption rooms (DCRs) have been implemented worldwide as a harm-reducing strategy. In 2012, Denmark passed legislation allowing establishment of DCRs. The aim of this study was to identify characterist...
Community-based HIV, harm reduction, and addiction research increasingly involve members of affected communities as Peer Research Associates (PRAs)—individuals with common experiences to the participant popula...
Injection drug use remains a primary driver of HIV and HCV-related harms globally. However, there is a gap in efforts to prevent individuals from transitioning into injecting. People who inject drugs (PWID) pl...
To date, no studies have examined the extent of knowledge and perceptions of Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) among young adults who engage in non-medical prescription opioid (NMPO) use. We sought to determine aware...
In 2003, a major epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus emerged among injection drug users in Taiwan. In response to the twin epidemics of HIV and intravenous drug addiction, the government implemented compr...
Many misperceptions of both risks and opportunities of e-cigarettes (e-cigs) exist among the general population and among physicians, although e-cigs could be a valuable harm reduction tool for current smokers.
Although targeted interventions in India require all high-risk groups, including injecting drug users (IDUs), to test for HIV every 6 months, testing uptake among IDUs remains far from universal. Our study estima...
Drug use contributes to higher rates of morbidity and mortality among people who use drugs compared to the general population. In 2012, Danish politicians passed a law that allowed drug consumption rooms (DCRs...
The role of peers (former or current drug users) in reducing risky behavior within methamphetamine and crack smokers has not been well described or researched. The current study not only explores the role of p...
Despite high levels of equipment distribution through Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSPs) in Australia, the levels of reuse of equipment among people who inject drugs remain concerning. This paper used an exp...
The British Columbia take-home naloxone (BCTHN) program has been in operation since 2012 and has resulted in the successful reversal of over 581 opioid overdoses. The study aims to explore BCTHN program partic...
There is a higher prevalence of alcohol use and severe alcohol dependence among homeless populations. The combination of alcohol use and lack of housing contributes to increased vulnerability to the harms of s...
Managed alcohol programs (MAPs) are a harm reduction strategy for people with severe alcohol dependence and unstable housing. MAPs provide controlled access to alcohol usually alongside accommodation, meals, a...
Copious evidence indicates that syringe exchange programs (SEPs) are effective structural interventions for HIV prevention among persons who inject drugs (PWID). The efficacy of SEPs in supporting the public h...
Several home-produced substances such as krokodil and boltushka are prevalent in many Eastern European countries. Anecdotal reports of its use have been circulating in Germany and Norway; however, this has not be...
Cocaine use is frequent in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and can jeopardize their treatment response. Identifying clinical predictors of cocaine use during methadone treatment can po...
In response to the spread of HIV caused by needle sharing among injection drug users (IDUs), the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control implemented a pilot harm reduction program in 2005 that expanded nationwide i...
Blood contained in needles and injection equipment has been identified as a vector for HIV and HCV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID). Yet, there is often a wide discrepancy in prevalence for bo...
The editors of Harm Reduction Journal would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 12 (2015).
Outcomes of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in the management of opioid dependency can be impaired by poor adherence and retention, concomitant drug use, poor adjustment of methadone dosage, and low leve...
This study aimed to investigate the development of opioid tolerance in patients receiving long-term methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).
Vietnam is among those countries with the highest drinking prevalence. In this study, we examined the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and its associations with HIV risky behaviors, health care utili...
The aim of the study was to assess potential barriers and challenges to the implementation of take-home naloxone (THN) across ten prisons in one region of England.
Integrating HIV/AIDS and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) services with existing health care delivery system is critical in sustaining efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in large injection-driven epidemics. Howeve...
In Central Asia, there is a need to update information about the situation of people who use (opioid) drugs (PWUD), especially regarding their access to and utilization of health care services. The aim of the ...
Assisted injecting has been associated with increased risk of blood-borne infections, overdose, and other harms among people who inject drugs (PWID), particularly women. Given the changing availability of rele...
High-dose benzodiazepine dependence constitutes a major clinical concern. Although withdrawal treatment is recommended, it is unsuccessful for a significant proportion of affected patients. More recently, a be...
There are few studies of mortality amongst people who inject drugs (PWID) in Australia. In this study, we estimate mortality in a cohort of PWID in Melbourne and examine predictors of mortality including healt...
Out of 20,887 persons who use drugs that came into contact with the National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA) officials in the year 2013, 3.2 % were women. Because women who use drugs (WWUD) are often a hidden populat...
Fentanyl-detected illicit drug overdose deaths in British Columbia (BC) recently increased dramatically from 13 deaths in 2012 to 90 deaths in 2014, signaling an emerging public health concern. Illicit fentany...
Recent exposes of drug use in sports suggest that doping might be more problematic than doping-control test results reveal. A zero-tolerance (ZT) model, which aims to eliminate the use, has dominated the think...
This is a brief report on the establishment of a new program in New York State prisons to prepare prisoners to avoid the increased risks of drug overdose death associated with the transition to the community b...
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