WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025

The purpose for a Global Strategy on Digital Health is to promote healthy lives and wellbeing for everyone, everywhere, at all ages. To deliver its potential, national or regional Digital Health initiatives must be guided by a robust Strategy that integrates financial, organizational, human and technological resources. Read more

Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Stimulant Use Disorder

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) developed this Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Stimulant Use Disorder to provide evidence-based strategies and standards of care for the treatment of stimulant use disorders (StUDs), stimulant intoxication, and stimulant withdrawal, as well as secondary and tertiary prevention of harms associated with stimulant use. Read more

The Impact of Shutdowns of Dark Net Marketplaces on Street Crime

The Dark Net has changed the way drugs are traded globally by shifting trade away from the streets and onto the web. In this paper, author studies whether the shutdown of Dark Net marketplaces has an impact on the amount of drugs traded in the streets and on crimes that are normally associated to street drug dealing. Read more

Virtual overdose monitoring services and overdose prevention technologies

Overdose mortality has continued to rise in North America and across the globe in people who use drugs. Current harm reduction strategies such as supervised consumption sites and naloxone kit distribution have been important public health strategies implemented to decrease the harms associated with illicit drug use, however have key limitations which prevent their scalability. Read more

Automating Detection of Drug-Related Harms on Social Media: Machine Learning Framework

A hallmark of unregulated drug markets is their unpredictability and constant evolution with newly introduced substances. People who use drugs and the public health workforce are often unaware of the appearance of new drugs on the unregulated market and their type, safe dosage, and potential adverse effects. This increases risks to people who use drugs, including the risk of unknown consumption and unintentional drug poisoning. Early warning systems (EWSs) can help monitor the landscape of emerging drugs in a given community by collecting and tracking up-to-date information and determining trends. However, there are currently few ways to systematically monitor the appearance and harms of new drugs on the unregulated market in Canada. Read more

Effectiveness of a Web-Based Intervention for Preventing Substance Use in Young Adults

Substance use has been one of the most alarming public health problems worldwide, particularly among younger generations. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a web-based substance use prevention intervention targeted at adults aged 20-29 years. Read more

Who has a problem with chemsex?

Identity as a missing link in support services for men who engage in problematic use of psychoactive substances for sexual purposes. Read more

The adoption and sustainability of digital therapeutics in justice systems: A pilot feasibility study

This study explored whether participants with substance use disorder (SUD) would adopt and use a smart-phone app with a cognitive behavioral therapy program, weekly Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM) assessments, daily check-ins, tools to track sobriety and treatment, and other patient-centered resources. In addition, participants with SUD could access a social worker and peer support specialists. Read more

World Drug Report 2023

The year 2023 marks the midpoint of the work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global drug phenomenon continues to challenge both the implementation of SDG targets and efforts to promote peace, security and human rights. Read more

Synthetic stimulants – the current situation in Europe (European Drug Report 2023)

Amphetamine, methamphetamine and, more recently, synthetic cathinones are all synthetic central nervous system stimulants available on the drug market in Europe. On this page, you can find the latest analysis of the drug situation for synthetic stimulants in Europe, including prevalence of use, treatment demand, seizures, price and purity, harms and more. Read more