This document presents witness testimony and supplemental materials from a Congressional hearing called to examine Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, a cartoon designed to teach children about the danger of substance abuse. Opening statements are included by Senator Joseph Biden, Jr., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and by Senators Strom…

This paper selectively reviews current knowledge about the effects of alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. Highlights of the review include findings that: (1) gender differences in alcohol and polysubstance users are reflected in epidemiological, biobehavioral, and neuroendocrine factors; (2) women and men exhibit different patterns of alcohol…

This study examined the differential effects of a higher level inpatient therapy group as compared with a structured didactic group on adult substance abusers' unresolved grief reactions in an inpatient hospital setting. It was hypothesized that, compared to control group subjects, subjects participating in the two treatment groups would…

The third in a series of four articles, this discusses the legal implications of the use of medical tests to prevent drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace and to reduce absenteeism, tardiness, reduced productivity, and accidents that result from employee substance abuse. Cites recent cases. (JOW)

Describes voluntary testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a residential substance abuse treatment program; highlights discussion group involving 5 clients who tested positive for HIV. Notes that clients in HIV groups dropped out of treatment at significantly lower percentages than clients in general, indicating HIV identification…

Research has found mixed results when comparing the extent of substance use among Hispanic youths with use among non-Hispanic youths. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks persons aged 12 or older about their use of illicit drugs and alcohol, including binge alcohol use, in the past month. Binge alcohol use is defined as drinking…

As a result of stereotypes and limited research, many people perceive substance use, abuse, and dependence as problems resulting from the use of so called "street drugs " like crack and heroin, used primarily by poor black and Hispanic populations. In reality, America's substance use problem encompasses not only these illegal drugs, but also the…

Every day, youth with mental health, substance use and co-occurring disorders come in contact with the juvenile justice system. The reasons for this contact are varied. Sometimes youth come in contact with the system as the result of behavior that draws the police and culminates in an arrest. Other times, the youth is referred by school officials…

This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) addresses substance abuse treatment in the context of family therapy. TIPs are best-practice guidelines for the treatment of substance use disorders that make the latest research in substance abuse treatment available to counselors and educators. The content was generated by a panel of experts in the…

The purpose of the Physician Consortium on Substance Abuse Education is to promote the role of physicians in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and after-care referral for substance abuse by improving medical education and training. This policy report is the product of 2 years of work and a national conference of the consortium and presents in full…

Frequently, firearm fatalities occur in the context of domestic violence, suicide, or acts committed under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. Because gun violence is related to these other social problems, it must be considered more than just a criminal justice issue. It is also a public health issue that should be addressed by domestic…

Males are more likely to use, abuse, and be dependent on alcohol or illicit drugs than females. The 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asked questions of persons aged 12 or older to assess their use of alcohol and illicit drugs, as well as their symptoms of substance dependence or abuse during the past year. NSDUH defines "any…

Proposes a psychoeducational model of intervention for use with drug abusers. Claims that the model may be particularly helpful during the early stages of intervention in reducing resistance to change since it addresses the eight thinking styles believed to shield the drug "lifestyle" from forces that would otherwise lead to change. (RJM)

How log-linear models for multiwave longitudinal data can be used to test hypotheses relating to stagelike relationships between variables is demonstrated using data from research on adolescent cigarette and marijuana experimentation. Results with 2,658 adolescents show that the multiwave analyses allow the testing of several hypotheses. (SLD)

Defines community level interventions for prevention and health promotion, describing their appeal, offering examples of community level interventions that demonstrate their promise, summarizing literature reviews that document that the promise is not realized regularly, and proposing that models to bridge the gap between science and practice via…