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Background: Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) is an online program that encourages people to commit to a period of non-drinking and blog about their experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore how HSM members negotiated their periods of abstention, with a focus on how not drinking influenced their narratives of selfhood.Methods: Thematic analysis was undertaken of 2844 blog posts from 154 Victorians who signed up to HSM in 2013 or 2014.Results: Analysis revealed three key narratives of selfhood offered by participants: (1) abstinence resulting in a disrupted sense of self, (2) non-consumption facilitating the development of a new healthy self, and (3) anti-consumption facilitating the development of a resistant self.Conclusion: Individuals construct and maintain their sense of self through consumption (or non-consumption) activities, and this occurs within the broader context of the relationship between selfhood, consumption and culture. HSM members developed narratives of self by drawing on a range of wider discursive structures concerning pleasure, healthism and resistance. The typologies of non-drinking selves identified in this paper could be disseminated through platforms such as HSM to support people who are new to non-drinking in choosing how they might construct and enact alternative selfhoods in contexts where alcohol consumption is deeply embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Much academic scholarship has explored drug use and ‘addiction’ in the criminal justice system. Methods This paper explores what happens when ‘addicts’ are victims, through an analysis of victims of crime compensation case law within the state of Victoria, Australia. Results We argue that the law enacts a set of unexamined assumptions about the ‘problem’ of addiction, including the assumption that it is incompatible to be both addict and victim. However, courts reconcile this ‘dilemma’ by explaining addiction as an ‘effect’ of trauma, violence or abuse, a seemingly sympathetic rendering of addiction. Although this appears to represent a less stigmatising approach than found in the criminal law, we argue that these processes actually produce new challenges for people who use drugs and ‘addicts’, and that these may be counter to the stated aims and objectives of crimes compensation law. We argue that even legal systems with an explicitly remedial rationale have the potential to generate harms, creating those who use drugs and ‘addicts’ as pathological in certain ways and thereby undermining their claims to citizenship. Our analysis is underpinned by a critical approach to the constitution of social problems based on the work of Carol Bacchi. Conclusion Although the focus is on Australian law, the arguments we develop in this paper are likely to resonate beyond the specific jurisdiction reviewed here, and raise questions about the mutually interdependent role of law and policy in compounding the stigmatisation and marginalisation of people who use drugs and drug ‘addicts’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2012 DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine), an ephedrine-like vasoconstricting substance which had been included in many popular sports supplements, became a scheduled substance in Australia, following bans in several other countries. The underlying rationale for this ban was that DMAA use is unsafe. This paper aimed to critically review the available evidence on the acute and/or long-term harms of DMAA. Using five research databases (PubMed, Embase, ProQuest Health and Medical Complete, and Web of Science) and the key terms 'methylhexaneamine', 'DMAA', 'dimethylamylamine', '1,3-dimethylpentylamine' and '2-amino-4-methylhexane', 842 articles were identified once duplicates removed. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Of the included studies, eight were case studies, which reported on eight patients who presented to emergence departments. All were retrospective in their reporting. The patients displayed various outcomes; while the patients were presenting with serious problems, in most patients conditions subsided on cessation of supplement use. The remaining eight experimental studies were low powered, with a number of studies conducted by a single research group with industry ties, and broadly investigated the effects of DMAA on physiological outcomes. Mixed findings were apparent, although escalations of blood pressure were present on acute dosing, as well as decreases in measures of body weight and body fat. There is a shallow evidence base describing the adverse effects of DMAA and the dose above which such effects may occur. The scheduling of DMAA in many countries may now impede research efforts to determine whether there are safe doses at which DMAA can be consumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is widespread agreement as to the importance of increasing participation in drug policy design, drug policy literature contains limited reflection on the practices that may support inclusion and collaboration amongst policy actors, particularly when disagreement and difference are an intrinsic part of participation. Drawing on qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with actors engaged in an Australian illicit drug policy reform campaign, this paper examines how particular modes of personal connection mattered in establishing and maintaining working relationships between a range of differently situated actors. Through engagement with this case study, we argue that modes of personal connection marked by qualities such as being frank; engaged; not forcing consensus; enacting respect; listening in order to understand; and acting in ways that respected the obligations and limits that came with people's roles while also recognising one another as more than those roles, were particularly important qualities that supported connection across difference. Such personal connections seem to have been even more important for the engagement of people representing more marginal positionalities. Arguing that personal connection is already an element of both inclusion and exclusion in drug policy creation, we suggest that policy actors interested in contributing to a more diverse and rigorous policy participation space attend to how people connect, with whom, and with what space for disagreement, while also taking seriously the labour of such connection across difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Australia, sterile needles and syringes are distributed to people who inject drugs (PWID) through formal services for the purposes of preventing blood borne viruses (BBV). Peer distribution involves people acquiring needles from formal services and redistributing them to others. This paper investigates the dynamics of the distribution of sterile injecting equipment among networks of people who inject drugs in four sites in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.Methods: Qualitative data exploring the practice of peer distribution were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participatory social network mapping. These interviews explored injecting equipment demand, access to services, relationship pathways through which peer distribution occurred, an estimate of the size of the different peer distribution roles and participants' understanding of the illegality of peer distribution in NSW.Results: Data were collected from 32 participants, and 31 (98%) reported participating in peer distribution in the months prior to interview. Of those 31 participants, five reported large-scale formal distribution, with an estimated volume of 34,970 needles and syringes annually. Twenty-two participated in reciprocal exchange, where equipment was distributed and received on an informal basis that appeared dependent on context and circumstance and four participants reported recipient peer distribution as their only access to sterile injecting equipment. Most (n=27) were unaware that it was illegal to distribute injecting equipment to their peers.Conclusion: Peer distribution was almost ubiquitous amongst the PWID participating in the study, and although five participants reported taking part in the highly organised, large-scale distribution of injecting equipment for altruistic reasons, peer distribution was more commonly reported to take place in small networks of friends and/or partners for reasons of convenience. The law regarding the illegality of peer distribution needs to change so that NSPs can capitalise on peer distribution to increase the options available to PWID and to acknowledge PWID as essential harm reduction agents in the prevention of BBVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: International drug law enforcement agencies have identified an apparent rise in high level drug traffickers choosing to deal in multiple different drugs. It is hypothesised that this may be a "deliberate modus operandi" and that the formation of "portfolios of trades" may make such traffickers more profitable, harmful and resilient to changes in drug supply and policing. In this paper we provide the first exploration of the extent, nature and harms of poly-drug trafficking at Australian borders.Methods: Two different methods were used. First, we used Australian Federal Police (AFP) data on all commercial level seizures at the Australian border from 1999 to 2012 to identify the proportion of seizures that were poly-drug and trends over time. Second, we used unit-record data on a sub-set of 20 drug trafficking cases and linked-cases (defined as the original drug trafficking case and all other criminal cases that were connected via common offenders and/or suspects) to compare the profiles of poly-drug and mono-drug traffickers, including: the total weight and type of drug seized, the value of assets seized, and the level of involvement in other crime (such as money laundering and corruption).Results: Between 5% and 35% of commercial importations at the Australian border involved poly-drug trafficking. Poly-drug trafficking occurred in almost every year of analysis (1999-2012), but it increased only slightly over time. Compared to mono-drug traffickers poly-drug traffickers were characterised by: larger quantities of drugs seized, larger networks, longer criminal histories and more involvement in other types of serious crime.Conclusion: Some fears about poly-drug traffickers may have been overstated particularly about the inherent escalation of this form of trafficking. Nevertheless, this suggests poly-drug traffickers are likely to pose added risks to governments and law enforcement than mono-drug traffickers. They may necessitate different types of policy responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of how policy processes happen in real-world, contemporary settings is important for generating new and timely learning which can inform other drug policy issues. This paper describes and analyses the process leading to the successful establishment of Australia's first peer-administered naloxone program. Within a case study design, qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with key individuals associated with the initiative ( n = 9), and a collaborative approach to data analysis was undertaken. Central to policy development in this case was the formation of a committee structure to provide expert guidance and support. The collective, collaborative and relational features of this group are consistent with governing by network. The analysis demonstrates that the Committee served more than a merely consultative role. We posit that the Committee constituted the policy process of stakeholder engagement, communication strategy, program development, and implementation planning, which led to the enactment of the naloxone program. We describe and analyse the roles of actors involved, the goodwill and volunteerism which characterised the group's processes, the way the Committee was used as a strategic legitimising mechanism, the strategic framings used to garner support, emergent tensions and the evolving nature of the Committee. This case demonstrates how policy change can occur in the absence of strong political imperatives or ideological contestation, and the ways in which a collective process was used to achieve successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Price-based policies are effective alcohol harm minimisation policy options. This paper examines public support for price-based policies based on patterns of consumption and expenditure, to determine if the extent to which an individual may be affected by a policy influences their support.Methods: The current study included 1,684 Australian residents (59.8% male, Mage 43.8 [SD=16.7]). Respondents who purchased and consumed alcohol in the past six months were asked about their support for potential changes in a series of price-based policies.Results: Increasing price was less likely to be supported than either implementing a minimum price or a tax-increase earmarked to pay for alcohol harms. Increasing price and taxing drinkers were more likely to be supported by older people and women. We found no relationship between income or perceived impact of price increases on purchasing and level of support.Conclusion: Contrary to the idea that public support might be partly influenced by ability to pay for alcohol, support for a minimum unit price was not related to price paid per drink or income, only amount consumed. Thus, heavier drinkers may be inherently unlikely to support price-based policies even when these policies would have little impact on their actual purchasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]