CPDD 72nd Annual Meeting • Scottsdale, Arizona - The College on ...

61
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE
HALFWAY HOUSES AND CRIME IN BALTIMORE CITY,
MARYLAND.
Susan J Boyd 1 , L J Fang 1 , D R Medoff 1 , L B Dixon 1 , D A Gorelick 2 ; 1 Psychiatry,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 2 Intramural
Research Program, NIDA/NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD
Aims: Placement in a substance abuse halfway house has been shown to increase
treatment retention in substance abuse patients. However, many communities
resist the establishment of halfway houses, at least in part due to concerns about
crime. Empirical evidence on the effect of halfway houses on neighborhood
crime is lacking. This study used an innovative “microecologic technique” to
evaluate crime around 9 substance abuse halfway houses in Baltimore City,
Maryland.
Methods: As control sites, 9 residential street addresses (residential points) were
matched to the 9 halfway houses based on neighborhood crime and sociodemographic
variables. Addresses of halfway houses, residential points, and all
Baltimore City police department crime reports from January 1, 1999 through
December 31, 2001 were “geocoded” (latitude and longitude assigned by computerized
mapping). Concentric circular “buffers” were drawn at 25-meter intervals
up to 300 meters around each site. Parameter estimates generated by Poisson
regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between crime counts
(incidents per unit area) and distance from the site.
Results: Halfway houses had no relationship with crimes committed during the
day (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) (parameter estimate -0.1263, p < 0.831) or at night (-
0.1217, p .70 for reliability across alcohol and drug offer
situations. Content areas assessed by the A-SIDE correlated with indices of substance-related
cognitions (i.e., expectancies, motives, coping).
Conclusions: This preliminary investigation suggests that the A-SIDE is a reliable
measure of substance use decision-making in this sample of youth. While
work is underway to examine the construct and predictive validity of this measure,
these preliminary findings are encouraging in the development of a processoriented
measure of substance use relapse for youth.
Financial Support: NIDA 019960 (K. Anderson)
<strong>CPDD</strong> <strong>72nd</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Meeting</strong> <strong>•</strong> <strong>Scottsdale</strong>, <strong>Arizona</strong>
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62
KUDZU ROOT EXTRACT DOES NOT AFFECT THE
SLEEP/WAKE CYCLE IN MODERATE DRINKERS.
Bethany K Bracken 1,2 , D M Penetar 1,2 , R R Maclean 3 , D Y Lee 1,2 , S E Lukas 1,2 ;
1 McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 2 Harvard Med Sch, Belmont, MA, 3 Penn
State, State <strong>College</strong>, PA
Aims: Kudzu root extract has been studied as a treatment for alcohol dependence.
In heavy drinkers kudzu decreases alcohol consumption both in a naturalistic
laboratory setting and an outpatient setting. In dependent populations
sleep disturbances secondary to alcohol withdrawal may precipitate relapse. In
addition, a number of medications used to treat alcohol abuse can impact sleep.
As such, the effect of kudzu on sleep quality may be an important factor in its
effectiveness at decreasing alcohol consumption. In this double blind, placebo
controlled crossover trial we tested the effects of kudzu root extract on the
sleep/wake cycle of moderate drinkers (7.6±0.6 drinks/week).
Methods: Ten healthy adult (age 28.5±2.2 years) men (n=6) and women (n=4)
took part in each of 3 phases. For 9 days participants were given kudzu (750
mg/day total isoflavones; NPI-031; Alkontrol-Herbal®, Natural Pharmacia
International, Inc.) or placebo in counterbalanced order with an intervening no
treatment period of approximately 21 days. Participants kept a daily diary of bedtime
and wake time, and wore a wrist actigraphy device (ActiWatch-Score, Mini-
Mitter/Respironic) from which sleep parameters were calculated.
Results: <strong>The</strong> following sleep parameters were similar during kudzu (K) and
placebo (P) treatment periods: sleep efficiency index ([K] 79.3±1.5; [P]
79.1±1.6), sleep latency ([K] 28±4min; [P] 31±6min), wake after sleep onset
([K] 6hr 23min ± 11min; [P] 6hr 19min ± 11min), number of wake episodes
during the night ([K] 33.5±0.4; [P] 31.5±0.3), and time awake per episode ([K]
1min±7sec; [P] 1min±2sec).
Conclusions: <strong>The</strong>se data suggest that the administration of kudzu root extract
does not disturb sleep/wake cycles of moderate drinkers and as such its utility as
an adjunct treatment for alcohol dependence remains free of any hidden side
effects on sleep quality. Additional studies are needed to determine if kudzu
extract can normalize the disturbed sleep/wake cycles of abstinent heavy drinkers.
Financial Support: This work was supported by NIDA grants K05 DA000343,
T32 DA15036, and NIAAA grant AA 10536(SEL).
64
YOUTH PERSPECTIVES ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG NON-
MEDICAL USE AMONG THEIR PEERS.
S E Bradford, L J Wright, S Cummings, L B Cottler; Washington University
School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Aims: <strong>The</strong> National Monitoring of Adolescent Prescription Stimulants Study (N-
MAPSS) detects current levels and types of use and diversion of prescription medications,
including 5 commonly prescribed stimulants, among 10 to 18 year olds.
Methods: Prescribing data were used to identify 10 cities with high volume of
stimulant prescriptions, with one city chosen from each of the 10 standard federal
regions used in the National Survey of Children’s Health. Recruitment of
respondents took place at entertainment venues such as cinemas, arcades, shopping
malls, food courts and sports events. A brief self-administered anonymous
survey assessed youth experiences with and attitudes toward prescription stimulants.
At the end of the survey, three open-ended questions were asked
(n=2,600): How should kids your age be told about prescription drugs and their
effects? If you ran the world, how would you stop kids from taking other people’s
prescription medicines? Why do people use prescription stimulants without
a prescription?
Results: Common themes for “How should kids be told…” and “If you ran the
world…” were: through education and the schools; warn of the dangers of drug
use; by family/parents; by law enforcement; mass media; by medical professionals;
and tighter controls. Predominant themes for perceived motivations for nonmedical
use were: to “get high”; to feel “good, better or happy”; for stress, problems
or depression; to be “cool”; just because; and “to fit in”. Less than 5% of all
respondents mentioned to study, concentrate, stay awake or lose weight as a reason
youth are likely to engage in non-medical use of stimulants. Among stimulant
users (n=492), 6.5% cited to study, etc.; and among those with a close
friend(s) who had tried stimulants (n=740), 9.5% cited to study, etc. as a reason
for non-medical use of stimulants.
Conclusions: This research may help identify effective strategies for public education
campaigns targeting American youth.
Financial Support: N-MAPSS is implemented by Washington University in St.
Louis under contract from Pinney Associates, Inc., with funding provided by
Shire Pharmaceuticals.