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Objectives. We determined the costs and savings attributable to the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA), which mandated probation or continued parole with substance abuse treatment in lieu of incarceration for adult offenders convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and probation and parole violators. Methods. We used individually linked, population-level administrative data to define intervention and control cohorts of offenders meeting SACPA eligibility criteria. Using multivariate difference-in-differences analysis, we estimated the effect of SACPA implementation on the total and domain-specific costs to state and county governments, controlling for fixed individual and county characteristics and changes in crime at the county level. Results. The additional costs of treatment were more than offset by savings in other domains, primarily in the costs of incarceration. We estimated the statewide policy effect as an adjusted savings of$2317 (95% confidence interval = $ 1905, $2730) per offender over a 30-month postconviction period. SACPA implementation resulted in greater incremental cost savings for Blacks and Hispanics, who had markedly higher rates of conviction and incarceration. Conclusions. The monetary benefits to government exceeded the additional costs of SACPA implementation and provision of treatment.

Brief and age-appropriate measures of trauma-related symptoms are useful for identifying children in need of clinical services. The current study examines the psychometric properties of the 23-item Child’s Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised (CRTES-R). The CRTES-R includes subscales assessing hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion. To date, no studies have examined the psychometric properties of this revised measure or cross-cultural differences in its factor structure. Two samples of (a) children (ages 6–21) who had experienced a hurricane in the USA or Grenada ( N  = 135), and (b) Ugandan children (ages 8–17) who had experienced a variety of traumatic events ( N  = 339) completed the CRTES-R in English or Lugandan. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an empirically adjusted model with three modified latent factors in both the English (χ 2 / df  = 1.34, CFI = .90, RMSEA = .05) and Lugandan samples (χ 2 / df  = 1.45, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .04). Although the analysis supported separate hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion subscales, the items that loaded on each factor differed from the original CRTES-R subscales. The English version of the CRTES-R showed good concurrent validity with the Kauai Recovery Index measure of trauma symptoms. Those using the CRTES-R to assess children’s experiences of the different symptom types should consider using the empirically-derived subscales described in this paper; however, those who wish to capture a broad spectrum of PTSD symptoms should consider using all the original CRTES-R items and calculating a total score.

Drug use and abuse have a long history that closely parallels the development of our modern society. Given the significance and severity of many of the health, and social, difficulties brought on by both licit and illicit substance abuse and dependence, most modern-day governments have imposed regulations that have limited the consumption and trade of these substances. Still, global crime, violence, and negative health consequences are a hallmark of the continued rampant use of such drugs, especially by individuals who meet dependence criteria and who seem unable to act in their own best interest and reduce, if not eliminate, such consumption. Research in this area seems to indicate that the use of most commonly-abused-drugs affects the neuropharmacological function of brain systems important for learning in ways that specifically bias behavioral selection towards drug-associated stimuli and the acquisition of drugs, possibly leading to the compulsive consumption patterns common among dependent, or addicted, individuals. The work presented in this manuscript will review current knowledge about the mechanisms by which such interference with normal learning occurs and present two new investigations that a) assessed the interference of drugs, when used as rewards, with a learning mechanism that specifically limits behavioral-control by rewards and b) examined the efficacy of pharmacological interventions, known to affect the subjective experience of drug use, with disrupting their behavioral-control capacity of a drug-associated contexts. Following the presentation of this work, we discuss applications in clinical samples and suggest future directions for work that will help elucidate, and clarify, the findings presented here. Our results indicate that in at least a subsample of users, drug-associated cues may exert exaggerated control and that drug-induced behavioral control is highly resistant to pharmacological intervention.

The purpose of this study was to develop a descriptive model of the association between injection drug use and hepatitis A (HAV) in a sample of injection drug users (IDUs). From May 1997 to July 1999, 493 subjects were administered the NIDA Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA). Participants had blood drawn; sera were tested for antibodies to HAV, hepatitis B core (HBcAB), and hepatitis C. The principal method of analysis was logistic regression. The study took place in a community-based field station in Anchorage, Alaska. Eligibility was determined using the following criteria: a) age greater than 17 years, b) possession of picture identification, c) positive urinalysis for cocaine metabolites, morphine, and/or amphetamines using the ONTRAK system (Roche Diagnostics), and d) injection drug use in the last six months as confirmed by presentation of track marks. Presence of antibodies to HAV infection. The prevalence of total HAV antibody in our sample was 33% (161/493). The final multivariate logistic model, using positive HAV serostatus as the outcome, included positive HBcAB serostatus (OR = 3.43; 95% CI, 2.22-5.30), less than high school education (vs. high school or greater education) (OR = 2.05; 95% CI, 1.33-3.17), age (OR = 1.06 (each year); 95% CI, 1.03-1.09), number of days injected heroin in the last 30 days (OR = 1.05 (each day), 95% CI, 1.01-1.08), and race (White vs. all other race/ethnicities) (OR = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.32-0.75). A model including both demographic and drug use variables best describes HAV prevalence in this sample. Findings suggest that IDUs are targets for interventions focusing on hepatitis vaccinations and hygiene practices. Further research is needed to understand the association of HAV with hepatitis B infection.

Drug use is often considered to be one of the main contributing factors to crime and violence. The goal of this research was an attempt at resolving a somewhat inconclusive body of evidence regarding the nature of the relationship between drug use and abuse and aggressive, violent behavior. Current, as well as former, drug users were assessed on a number of personality variables that have been shown to be related to aggression either directly or circuitously. Furthermore, data regarding their recent drug use, as well as the occurrence of violence in their close relationships were gathered. Sample rates of past year violence varied greatly by racial/ethnic group. No group differences were found between users and non users of alcohol, crack, cocaine, and amphetamines on any of the personality measures used or on violence scores. Higher trait aggression was found to be the only predictor of past year violence perpetrated by the participant in a structural equation model. However, for past year violence committed against the participant, recent use of amphetamine and crack, in addition to higher trait aggression, were found to be significant predictors. Unique models were developed for acts of psychological aggression, both by and against the participant, as well as injury inflicted to, and by, the participant. These were found to differentially include trait aggression as well as other variables related to substance use (i.e., age of first use of alcohol, and crack), though none included recent use of any of the four substances of interest. The widely accepted notion that substance use directly affects violent behavior was only tenuously supported. The use of trait aggression measures in drug treatment, as well as correctional institutions is recommended, as well as the further exploration of the variability in violence by race/ethnicity, and its possible relationship to substance use.

The objective of this study is to investigate differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic drug users in Long Beach, CA, with respect to drug use, HIV risk behaviors, and drug treatment experience and to explore the dissimilarities between Hispanic drug users who identify their family origin as Mexican American compared to those who identify their family origin as Mexican. We recruited 1,728 drug users into an HIV risk reduction intervention; of these, 404 were Hispanic. The Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA) was used to collect information on demographics, drug and sex risk behaviors, and drug treatment experience. Hispanic drug users are significantly more likely to inject drugs than non-Hispanic drug users and were found to have a higher mean number of injections in the last 30 days. Hispanic drug users were more likely to have taken part in drug treatment programs, specifically methadone detoxification and maintenance programs. Self-identified Mexican drug users were less likely to have ever attended a drug treatment program than were Mexican-American drug users. Greater availability of drug treatment programs for monolingual and bilingual Hispanic injectors is needed.

While this can be a source of great stress and resentment in a relationship, it may have less to do with interpersonal issues and more to do with users simply getting their fill of pleasure from the pills. 3 Slim Down, Bloat Up Does your loved one look as if he's gained or lost a significant amount of weight in a suspiciously short period of time? No one wants to believe that a family member is stealing from them, but it's worth considering, especially if some of the other signs mentioned here are present. 5 New Friends Everyone changes friends once in a while, but if you've observed a significant difference in the people your loved one is spending time with, perhaps a major lifestyle change has occurred.

Bacteriophages typically have small genomes 1 and depend on their bacterial hosts for replication 2 . Here we sequenced DNA from diverse ecosystems and found hundreds of phage genomes with lengths of more than 200 kilobases (kb), including a genome of 735 kb, which is—to our knowledge—the largest phage genome to be described to date. Thirty-five genomes were manually curated to completion (circular and no gaps). Expanded genetic repertoires include diverse and previously undescribed CRISPR–Cas systems, transfer RNAs (tRNAs), tRNA synthetases, tRNA-modification enzymes, translation-initiation and elongation factors, and ribosomal proteins. The CRISPR–Cas systems of phages have the capacity to silence host transcription factors and translational genes, potentially as part of a larger interaction network that intercepts translation to redirect biosynthesis to phage-encoded functions. In addition, some phages may repurpose bacterial CRISPR–Cas systems to eliminate competing phages. We phylogenetically define the major clades of huge phages from human and other animal microbiomes, as well as from oceans, lakes, sediments, soils and the built environment. We conclude that the large gene inventories of huge phages reflect a conserved biological strategy, and that the phages are distributed across a broad bacterial host range and across Earth’s ecosystems. Genomic analyses of major clades of huge phages sampled from across Earth’s ecosystems show that they have diverse genetic inventories, including a variety of CRISPR–Cas systems and translation-relevant genes.