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Showing papers by "Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse published in 2015"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A scoping review of the sport literature (2000–2014) on psychological and social outcomes relevant to youth alcohol and illicit drug use suggests a number of directions for future research that might improve the understanding of how sport impacts psychological andsocial outcomes along with alcohol and drug use.
Abstract: This article presents the results of a scoping review of the sport literature (2000–2014) on psychological and social outcomes relevant to youth alcohol and illicit drug use. Prior reviews report that sport is related to increased alcohol use and reduced illicit drug use among youth, yet provide little guidance regarding the mechanisms that can explain this relationship. We reviewed the literature on sport participation and psychological and social outcomes to identify factors that could help explain this link. Psychological and social factors were selected as they play a paramount role in understanding youth alcohol and drug use. Fifty-nine articles were identified and included in the review. The literature generally supported connections between sport and positive psychological and social outcomes, including self-esteem, self-regulation, general life skills, and pro-social behaviour. Yet limitations in the methods and measures limit the ability to draw conclusions from the literature. In addition, the diversity of youth and sport was generally ignored in the literature. This article suggests a number of directions for future research that might improve our understanding of how sport impacts psychological and social outcomes along with alcohol and illicit drug use.

44 citations


01 Jun 2015
TL;DR: This community-based study examined the question of how an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program contributes to the wellbeing of First Nations female youth who misuse volatile substances, with emphasis on the cultural significance of the horse and its helping role.
Abstract: There has been recent interest in Canada exploring the benefits of equine assisted interventions in the treatment of First Nations youth who misuse volatile substances. Using the richness of an exploratory case study involving the White Buffalo Youth Inhalant Treatment Centre and the Cartier Equine Learning Center, our community-based study examined the question of how an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program contributes to the wellbeing of First Nations female youth who misuse volatile substances. Both programs are grounded in a holistic bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework of healing. Our study shares how the EAL horses, facilitators and program content contributed to youths' wellbeing in each area of the healing framework (bio-psycho-social-spiritual), with emphasis on the cultural significance of the horse and its helping role. The horse is a helper in the girls' journeys toward improved wellbeing-the horse helps through its very nature as a highly instinctive animal, it helps the facilitators do their jobs, and it also helps put the treatment program activities into practice. In addition, the role of First Nations culture in the girls' lives was enhanced through their encounters with the horses. The findings support the limited literature on equine assisted interventions and add important insights to the youth addictions treatment literature. Key implications to consider for EAL and volatile substance misuse policy, practice and research are identified.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: To determine the feasibility and utility of using media reports and other open‐source information collected by the GPHIN to rapidly detect clusters of adverse drug events associated with ‘novel psychoactive substances’ (NPS) at the international level.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility and utility of using media reports and other open-source information collected by the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN), an event-based surveillance system operated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, to rapidly detect clusters of adverse drug events associated with 'novel psychoactive substances' (NPS) at the international level. METHODS AND RESULTS: Researchers searched English media reports collected by the GPHIN between 1997 and 2013 for references to synthetic cannabinoids. They screened the resulting reports for relevance and content (i.e., reports of morbidity and arrest), plotted and compared with other available indicators (e.g., US poison control center exposures). The pattern of results from the analysis of GPHIN reports resembled the pattern seen from the other indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that using media and other open-source information can help monitor the presence, usage, local policy, law enforcement responses, and spread of NPS in a rapid effective way. Further, modifying GPHIN to actively track NPS would be relatively inexpensive to implement and would be highly complementary to current national and international monitoring efforts. © 2015 The Authors. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the outcomes of an interdisciplinary policy meeting with Canadian experts and knowledge users in the area of substance use interventions and identify underlying principles and opportunities for learning from policy interventions across tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, as well as research gaps that need to be addressed before a public health framework can be effectively pursued across these substances.
Abstract: Support for a public health approach to cannabis policy as an alternative to prohibition and criminalization is gaining momentum. Recent drug policy changes in the United States suggest growing political feasibility for legal regulation of cannabis in other North American jurisdictions. This commentary discusses the outcomes of an interdisciplinary policy meeting with Canadian experts and knowledge users in the area of substance use interventions. The meeting explored possibilities for applying cross-substance learning on policy interventions for alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, towards the goal of advancing a public health framework for reducing harms associated with substance use in Canada. The meeting also explored how the shift in approach to cannabis policy can provide an opportunity to explore potential changes in substance use policy more generally, especially in relation to tobacco and alcohol as legally regulated substances associated with a heavy burden of illness. Drawing from the contributions and debates arising from the policy meeting, this commentary identifies underlying principles and opportunities for learning from policy interventions across tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, as well as research gaps that need to be addressed before a public health framework can be effectively pursued across these substances.

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the University Student Gambling Habit Survey (ENHJEU), a campus-stratified survey targeting full-time undergraduates enrolled at three universities in Montreal, Canada.
Abstract: Background: Research has yet to disentangle and estimate the relative contributions of both contextual and individual characteristics to explain time and money expenditures on gambling. Methods: Data are drawn from the University Student Gambling Habit Survey (ENHJEU), a campus-stratified survey targeting full-time undergraduates enrolled at three universities in Montreal, Canada (N = 2139). Up to three gambling occasions were investigated per respondent, resulting in 1757 gambling occasions distributed among 916 students. Multilevel analyses were performed to estimate the variances in time and money expenditures that are derived at the individual level (level 2) and at the contextual level (level 1). Results: Regarding time expenditures, the intraclass correlation revealed that 58% of the estimated variance is between students, whereas 42% is between occasions. All contextual variables including alcohol use, days of the week, social context, group size and experience of play were significantly re...

12 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is an urgent need to “clear the smoke” and better understand what the scientific evidence says about the health and behavioral effects of cannabis use, particularly on youth whose brains are undergoing rapid and extensive development.
Abstract: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance among youth. Recent policy developments and ongoing debate related to this drug underscore the urgent need to “clear the smoke” and better understand what the scientific evidence says about the health and behavioral effects of cannabis use, particularly on youth whose brains are undergoing rapid and extensive development.

4 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: These data suggest neurofunctional differences related to treatment outcomes between individuals with cocaine dependence with and without methadone treatment, which may relate to differences in the efficacies of existing treatments.

1 citations