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Useful Internet Resources—Examples
SELECTED ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE WEBSITES
Government
Agency for Health Care Policy Research (AHCPR)
Instant Fax: 301-594-2800 or 301-594-2801
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
http://www.samhsa.gov/csat/csat.htm/
CSAT by Fax: 301-403-8329 (voice)
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
Information: 1-800-SAY-NO-TO
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
NIDA InfoFax: 1-888-NIH-NIDA
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
NIH Consensus Development Program
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
Treatment Improvement Exchange (TIE)
Providers
CAB Health and Recovery Services
Haight-Asbury Free Clinics, Inc.
Hazelden
Step One
Walden House
Associations/Advocacy
Association for Health Services Research (AHSR)
Join Together
National Alliance of Methadone Advocates
National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC)
National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP)
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD)
Research and Education
Addiction Research Foundation
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS)
http://center.butler.brown.edu/
Center for Education and Drug Abuse (CEDAR)
http://www.pitt.edu/-mmv/cedar.html
Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR)
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/cesar/cesar.html
Emory University Health Sciences Center Library MEDWEB—Substance
Dependence
http://www.gen.emory.edu/MEDWEB/keyword/substance_dependence.html
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)
UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center
NIDA CAPSULE: METHAMPHETAMINE ABUSE
Methamphetamine Abuse
Methamphetamine is a drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. Methamphetamine is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Both drugs have some medical uses, primarily in the treatment of obesity, but their therapeutic use is limited.
Methamphetamine is made in illegal laboratories and has a high potential for abuse and dependence. Street methamphetamine is referred to by many names, such as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as ''ice," "crystal," and "glass."
Extent of Abuse
The Monitoring the Future Study assesses the extent of drug use among adolescents (8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders) and young adults across the country. Recent data from the survey:
Methods of Abuse
Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after inhalation or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a "rush" or "flash," that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria—a high, but not a rush.
Because methamphetamine elevates mood, people who experiment with it tend to use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses, although this was not their original intent.
Health Effects and Hazards
The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, in-
creased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death. Cardiovascular side effects, which include chest pain and hypertension, also can result in cardiovascular collapse and death. In addition, methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia.
Supply
Methamphetamine is a Schedule II drug under Federal regulations, meaning it has a high potential for abuse with severe liability to cause dependence. During World War II, methamphetamine was used by soldiers as an aid to fight fatigue and enhance performance. In Japan, intravenous methamphetamine abuse reached epidemic proportions immediately after World War II, when supplies stored for military use became available to the public.
In the United States in the 1950s, legally manufactured tablets of methamphetamine were used nonmedically by college students, truck drivers, and athletes, who usually did not become severely addicted. This pattern changed drastically in the 1960s with the increased availability of injectable methamphetamine. The 1970 Controlled Substances Act severely restricted the legal production of injectable methamphetamine, causing its use to decrease greatly.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, methamphetamine has been the most prevalent clandestinely produced controlled substance in the United States since 1979. The clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine was based primarily in the West and Southwest. Since the 1980s, ice has been smuggled from Taiwan and South Korea into Hawaii. However, it was not until the summer of 1988 that its use became relatively widespread in that State. By 1990, distribution of ice had spread to the U.S. mainland, although distribution remained limited.
Part of the NIDA Capsule Series—(C-89-06) [Revised September, 1997]
SOURCE: National Institute on Drug Abuse. 1997. NIDA Capsule Methamphetamine Abuse [WWW Document]. URL http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDACapsules/NCMethamphetamine.html (Accessed December 19, 1997).
CSAT BY FAX: WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE ADDICTIONS COUNSELOR?
A Collaborative Effort of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) University of Maryland at College Park
What Makes an Effective Addictions Counselor?
In April 1995, a CSAT-appointed task force met to discuss the characteristics of addictions counselors who work successfully with clients. The Task Force on the Characteristics of Effective Addictions Counselors included experts with experience in clinical practice, training, and research Participants were asked to enumerate what characteristics they thought would help them predict a counselor's effectiveness in working toward positive client outcomes. Using their intuition and the results of the limited research done on this question, the task force reached consensus on the importance of the following counselor characteristics:
The task force suggested that future research focus on identifying the most important counselor characteristics, and on investigating whether these characteristics can be taught.
SOURCE: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Task Force on the Characteristics of Effective Addictions Counselors Progress Review, April 1995. For more information, contact Sue Rohrer at 301-443-852f.
National Methamp hetamine Consensus Meeting Report Now Available
Proceedings of the national Consensus meeting on the Use, Abuse and Sequeloe of Abuse of methamphetamine with implications for Prevention, Treatment and Research is nor available from the National Clearinghouse for alcohol and Drug Information at 800-729-6686 or 301-468-6433. Please ask for publication number BKD219.
CSAT by Fax is supported by funding from CSAT, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For mailing list modifications contact CESAR at ••301-403-8329 (voice)••301-403-8342 (fax)••CESAR@cesar.umd.edu (e-mail)••
SOURCE: Center for Substance Abuse Research. 1998. GIF Image, 592 x 768 Pixels [WWW Document]. URL http://www.bsos.umd.edu/cesar/csat2/CSAT28.GIF (Accessed January 28, 1998).
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH DATA ARCHIVE SUMMARY OF SAMHSA'S TREATMENT EPISODE DATA SET AND NIDA'S MONITORING THE FUTURE STUDY
Treatment Episode Data Set (1992-1995)
The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is an administrative data system providing descriptive information about the national flow of admissions to specialty providers of substance abuse treatment. TEDS is designed to supply annual data on the number and characteristics of persons admitted to public and private nonprofit substance abuse treatment programs in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. The unit of analysis is treatment admissions to substance abuse treatment units receiving public funding. TEDS includes both a Minimum Data Set (required reporting) and a Supplemental Data Set (optional reporting). The data include demographics, services, substance(s) of abuse, number of prior treatments, referral source, employment status, frequency of use, age at first use, veteran and pregnancy status, insurance type, and income.
TEDS is sponsored by the Office of Applied Studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA). 1998. TEDS [WWW Document]. URL http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA/teds.html (Accessed February 1, 1998).
Monitoring the Future (1976-1995)
MTF explores changes in values, behaviors, and lifestyle of American youth. Provides an annual systematic and accurate description of the youth population and quantifies the direction and rate of change occurring over time. Respondents are nationally representative of high school seniors in the U.S. and respond to about 100 drug-use and demographic questions as well as to about 200 questions on subjects such as attitudes toward government, social institutions, race relations, changing roles for women, educational aspirations, occupational aims, and marital and family plans.
MTF is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
SOURCE: SAMHDA. 1998. MTF [WWW Document]. URL http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA/mtf.html (Accesssed February 1, 1998).