- Associations Between Pain Severity and Opioid Agonist Treatment Among People With Drug Injection Experience in Australia. [Journal Article]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Nov; 45(7):e70276.DA
- CONCLUSIONS: While OAT status was not associated with pain severity in this study, several other factors associated with higher pain severity were identified. These findings highlight the multifactorial nature of pain in this population and the importance of considering broader physical and emotional health when managing pain.
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- The Possibility of Legalising Cannabis in Türkiye: A Multi-Perspectival Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Users, Addiction Specialists and Legal Professionals. [Journal Article]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Nov; 45(7):e70274.DA
- CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that legalisation is interpreted through diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives shaped by lived experiences and professional roles. The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical insight from a strictly prohibitive context and underscores the need for context-sensitive, multi-actor policy discussions integrating legal, social and public health dimensions.
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- Evaluating Harm Reduction Advice From Large Language Models. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we presented a novel method for evaluating LLMs' potential effectiveness for harm reduction across common techniques and situations. Most of the tested LLMs provided reasonable information in a non-judgmental manner, but they also provided misinformation, and some wouldn't answer questions due to built-in safety parameters. The developed scoring rubric can be easily adapted to other harm reduction topics for ongoing evaluation.
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- Environmental Context and Reporting Completeness of Event-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment in Cigarette and Cannabis Use. [Journal Article]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Nov; 45(7):e70267.DA
- CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the completeness of real-time substance use reporting may depend partly on where participants spend their time. Researchers using event-based EMA should consider environmental context when interpreting incomplete reports and designing studies to improve data completeness.
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- A Quantitative Analysis of Street-Level Drugs Seized in New South Wales, Australia: Purity, Dose and Adulterants. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Some rarer substances with higher or unknown risk potential, including novel psychoactive substance, were detected. Adulteration of cocaine and methamphetamine with opioids and high variability in MDMA purity and dose, remain public health issues. CoSMoSS helps inform harm reduction messaging. Analysis of seized substances provides high-quality objective information about illicit drug contents and purity, enabling dissemination to the community when high risk substances are identified. These findings can also inform harm reduction messaging and programs and are monitored within the NSW Health drug early warning system.
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- Nudging Drink Choice in Pubs: The Impact of Introducing Alcohol-Free Beer on Alcohol Sales and Venue Revenues. [Journal Article]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Nov; 45(7):e70271.DA
- CONCLUSIONS: This study provides unique insights into the revenue and consumption patterns associated with introducing AF beer, highlighting its potential benefits to pub managers as well as policy makers.
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- Concordance Analysis and Proficiency Testing Are Complementary, Not Interchangeable, in Drug Checking Technician Competency. [Letter]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Sep; 45(6):e70273.DA
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- Changes and Challenges in Editing and Producing Drug and Alcohol Review. [Editorial]Drug Alcohol Rev. 2026 Sep; 45(6):e70262.DA
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- Experience as Evidence: A Content Analysis of Reddit Discussions About Alcohol Use During Pregnancy. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Reddit functions as a widely used platform for peer-to-peer exchange of knowledge and experiences regarding alcohol consumption, particularly while knowingly pregnant. Taken together, these findings help explain why individuals may turn to platforms like Reddit for pregnancy-related advice-such spaces offer accessibility, immediacy, and a diversity of perspectives, alongside opportunities for emotional support and normalisation of experience. However, the relatively limited use of scientific evidence suggests an ongoing gap in effective knowledge translation.
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- Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Shedding Light on Two Blind Spots in Harm Reduction Discourse. [Journal Article]
- Harm reduction policies aim to reduce drug-related harms. This has historically involved providing tailored health services to people who use drugs to do so more safely. Social justice is another defining element of harm reduction. This component aims to reduce drug-related stigma and minimise the social harms experienced by people who use drugs by advocating for the decriminalisation of the poss…
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- Migrant Background Youth and Hazardous Drinking: Drinking to Fit Into Australian Society? [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Besides coping and enhancement drinking motives, drinking to fit in was a significant predictor of hazardous drinking. This highlights the importance of looking at proximal acculturation reasons for drinking in migrant youth.
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- Evaluating the Pattern of Kava (Piper methysticum) Consumption in Australia by Wastewater-Based Epidemiology. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: The use of kava and P. methysticum containing products was on average higher in regional areas compared to capital cities, and elevated at the weekend, suggesting recreational use. Wastewater analysis can provide specific insights into the use of kava and P. methysticum containing products and is implemented as part of routine drug epidemiology programs.
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- Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Sleep Quality in a Community-Based Adult Sample From Central-Western Spain. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: High-risk alcohol consumption (> 180 g/week) was associated with poorer self-reported sleep quality in a community-based adult sample from central-western Spain, as well as with worse values in actigraphy-derived sleep parameters, including sleep efficiency, Wake After Sleep Onset, number of awakenings, and sleep fragmentation index.
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- Patient and Provider Demand for and Readiness to Adopt Medications for Stimulant Use Disorders in Real-World Settings: Pre-Planning Toward Accelerated Implementation. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Examining patient and care teams' perceptions of medications for StUD improves understanding of demand and readiness for adoption. This information, rooted in lived experiences, provides a foundation for selecting tailored implementation strategies that may assist in accelerating the adoption of medications to treat StUD in future scale-up and spread.
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- Fentanyl Detection in Biological Samples From Individuals Reporting Synthetic Cannabinoid Use in São Paulo, Brazil. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: A substantial discordance between self-reported drug use and toxicological findings was observed. While the small sample size limits generalizations, these findings provide preliminary evidence that the historical assumption of negligible illicit opioid exposure in this population warrants reassessment. Whether this reflects changes in the local drug supply, underreporting of opioid use, or other exposure pathways cannot be determined from the available data. These results underscore the need for systematic toxicological surveillance and drug checking to monitor the evolving drug supply in Brazil.
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