Teaching about diagnosis, treatment, and sequelae of substance use disorders (SUDs) is insufficient in most Internal Medicine residency programs. To address this, the authors developed, implemented, and evaluated a novel and comprehensive SUD curriculum for first year residents (interns) in Internal Medicine, which anchors the ensuing 3-year…

We reviewed 39 national government- and nongovernment-sponsored data sets related to substance addiction policy. These data sets describe patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), treatment providers and the services they offer, and/or expenditures on treatment. Findings indicate the availability of reliable data on the prevalence of SUD and…

Marijuana is the number one illicit drug of abuse worldwide and a major public health problem, especially in the younger population. The objective of this article is to update and review the state of the science and treatments available for marijuana dependence based on a pre-meeting workshop that was presented at ISAM 2006. At the workshop,…

Contingency management (CM) interventions frequently utilize vouchers as reinforcers, but a prize-based system is also efficacious. This study compared these approaches. Seventy-four cocaine-dependent methadone outpatients were randomly assigned to standard treatment (ST), ST plus a maximum of $585 in contingent vouchers, or ST plus an expected…

Examined the impact of coercion in rehabilitation of drug abusers. A validated interview schedule was utilized for both coerced and non-coerced participants. Data analysis found that coercion facilitates success for certain groups (e.g., older, longer term heroin addicts), and certain criteria (e.g., arrest and abstinence). (Author/JAC)

The Drug Abuse Reporting Program (DARP) was initiated in 1969 as a federally supported client reporting system for community-based drug abuse treatment programs. Posttreatment follow-up interviews were conducted with over 4,000 persons from 34 treatment agencies to describe major findings from the drug abuse treatment research of the DARP relating…

Five counties (Kern, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco) that demonstrate both variations and similarities in their implementation of Proposition 36 (e.g., treatment approaches, urine testing) and patient mix have been selected to participate in a study assessing how California's Proposition 36 is affecting the drug treatment system…

Three methods of designating everyday-dysfunction cases in the Colorado Social Health Survey are compared for a sample of 4,745 adults. The clinical judgment approach was chosen as the primary method of identification, with the statistical deviation criterion a backup. The patient criterion group approach was less useful. (SLD)