Opioids can impair psychomotor performance, and driving under the influence of opioids is associated with an increased risk of accidents. The goals of this study were i) to determine the prevalence ...of opioids (heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and tramadol) in Spanish drivers and ii) to explore the presence of opioids, more specifically whether they are used alone or in combination with other drugs.
The 2008/9 DRUID database regarding Spain was used, which provided information on 3302 drivers. All drivers included in the study provided a saliva sample and mass-chromatographic analyses were carried out in all cases. To determine the prevalence, the sample was weighted according to traffic intensity. In the case of opioid use combinations, the sample was not weighted. The detection limit for each substance was considered a positive result.
The prevalence of opioids in Spanish drivers was 1.8% (95% CI, 1.4-2.3). Polydrug detection was common (56.2%): of these, in two out of three cases, two opioids were detected and cocaine was also detected in 86% of the cases. The concentration (median Q1-Q3 ng/ml) of the substances was low: methadone 1.71 0.10-15.30, codeine 40.55 2.10-120.77, 6-acetylmorphine 5.71 1.53-84.05, and morphine 37.40 2.84-200.00. Morphine was always detected with 6-acetylmorphine (heroin use).
Driving under the influence of opioids is relatively infrequent, but polydrug use is common. Our study shows that 6 out of 10 drivers with methadone in their OF (likely in methadone maintenance programs) are using other substances. This should be taken into account by health professionals in order to properly inform patients about the added risks of mixing substances when driving.
Zero tolerance laws make it illegal per se for anyone under age 21 to drive with any measurable amount of blood alcohol. Although a link has been established between zero tolerance laws and lower ...motor vehicle fatalities, research has not produced strong evidence on how zero tolerance laws influence individual alcohol use and drinking and driving behaviors. Using a unique data set and a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference‐type research design, we are able to analyze a number of pathways through which zero tolerance laws can work among an important underage population, college students. We find that zero tolerance laws reduce drinking and driving among college students. Further analysis of our detailed alcohol use measures suggests that zero tolerance laws are particularly effective at reducing the probability of driving after drinking for those who reported drinking away from home. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reconsidering State Variation in Incarceration Rates Kenter, Robert C.; Morris, John C.; Mayer, Martin K. ...
Politics & policy (Statesboro, Ga.),
December 2020, 2020-12-00, 20201201, Volume:
48, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
State incarceration rates have been a topic of much policy discussion. One notable issue missing from much of the literature concerns the various determinants that account for state differences in ...incarceration rates. Why are some states more or less likely to incarcerate their citizenry than other states? The article examines the 50 states in a cross‐sectional state comparative model. Using a dependent variable of state incarceration rates, we offer and test several explanatory models, including socioeconomic factors, political explanations, social control mechanisms, and structural factors. We find that socioeconomic explanations to be the most robust, but we find varying degrees of support for each of our four models.
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Mitchell, Joshua L., and Adam M. Butz. 2019. “Social Control Meets New Public Management: Examining the Diffusion of State Prison Privatization, 1979‐2010.” Politics & Policy 47 (3): 506‐544. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12309
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Reconsiderando la variación estatal en las tasas de encarcelamiento
Las tasas de encarcelamiento del estado han sido un tema de mucha discusión política. Una cuestión notable que falta en gran parte de la literatura son los diversos determinantes que explican las diferencias de estado en las tasas de encarcelamiento. ¿Por qué algunos estados tienen más o menos probabilidades de encarcelar a sus ciudadanos que otros estados? El documento examina los cincuenta estados en un modelo comparativo de estados de sección transversal. Usando una variable dependiente de las tasas de encarcelamiento del estado, ofrecemos y probamos varios modelos explicativos, incluidos factores socioeconómicos, explicaciones políticas, mecanismos de control social y factores estructurales. Consideramos que las explicaciones socioeconómicas son las más sólidas, pero encontramos diversos grados de apoyo para cada uno de nuestros cuatro modelos.
重审各州监禁率差异
州监禁率已成为许多政策辩论的主题。现有文献中未关注的一个明显问题则是，造成各州监禁率差异的不同决定因素。为何一些州比其他州更多或更少可能监禁其公民？本文用一个横向比较模型对50个州进行了检验。通过将州监禁率作为一个因变量，我们提供并测试了几个解释性模型，包括社会经济因素(模型)、政治解释(模型)、社会控制机制(模型)、以及结构性因素(模型)。我们发现，社会经济解释(模型)最为稳健，但我们发现四个模型都存在不同程度的支持。
Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC) is an important group of foodborne pathogens in the United States and worldwide. Nearly half of STEC-induced diarrheal disease in the United States is caused by ...serotype O157:H7, while non-O157 STEC account for the remaining illnesses. Thus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service has instituted regulatory testing of beef products and has a zero-tolerance policy for regulatory samples that test positive for STEC O157:H7 and six other non-O157 STEC (serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145). In this study, positive control (PC) strains for the detection of STEC O157:H7 and the six USDA-regulated non-O157 STEC were constructed. To ensure that the food testing samples are not cross-contaminated by the PC sample, it is important that the STEC-PC strains are distinguishable from STEC isolated from test samples. The PC strains were constructed by integrating a unique DNA target sequence and a gene for spectinomycin (Sp) resistance into the chromosomes of the seven STEC strains. End-point and real-time PCR assays were developed for the specific detection of the PC strains and were tested using 93 strains of E. coli (38 STEC O157:H7, at least 6 strains of each of the USDA-regulated non-O157 STEC, and 2 commensal E. coli) and 51 strains of other bacteria (30 species from 20 genera). The PCR assays demonstrated high specificity for the unique target sequence. The target sequence was detectable by PCR after 10 culture passages (,100 generations), demonstrating the stability of the integrated target sequence. In addition, the strains were tested for their potential use in modeling the growth of STEC. Plating the PC strains mixed with ground beef flora on modified rainbow agar containing Sp eliminated the growth of the background flora that grew on modified rainbow agar without Sp. Thus, these strains could be used to enumerate and model the growth of STEC in the presence of foodborne background flora.
This article specifies a simple mechanism — a behavioral norm defined in ethnic terms — to understand the dynamics of mass participation by reluctant Hutu in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The mechanism, ...which has not been analyzed systematically in the scholarly literature, is specified using an agent-based model of within-group interaction that captures the role of intra-Hutu coercion in precipitating genocidal violence, yet is general enough to be applied to other group conflicts and contexts. The model highlights the role of individual heterogeneity, within-group punishment, behavioral adaptation, group networks, and ethnic entrepreneurs, and generates a set of results on norm formation and change, a number of which are not intuitive. These findings suggest that (1) norms are not equally likely to form in groups with similar aggregate preference; (2) a violence-promoting norm can emerge in a group dominated by moderates, and violence is not the inevitable outcome in a group dominated by extremists; (3) strong punishments are a prerequisite for the emergence of norms that promote interethnic violence or cooperation; (4) interaction patterns matter — for example, the segregation of an ethnic group clearly inhibits norm formation; and (5) an ethnic entrepreneur can effectively amplify norm formation within a group in the absence of strong punishment.
Little is known about workplace violence among correctional health professionals. This study aimed to describe the patterns, severity and outcomes of incidents of workplace violence among employees ...of a large correctional health service, and to explore the help-seeking behaviours of staff following an incident.
The study setting was Justice Health, a statutory health corporation established to provide health care to people who come into contact with the criminal justice system in New South Wales, Australia. We reviewed incident management records describing workplace violence among Justice Health staff. The three-year study period was 1/7/2007-30/6/2010.
During the period under review, 208 incidents of workplace violence were recorded. Verbal abuse (71%) was more common than physical abuse (29%). The most (44%) incidents of workplace violence (including both verbal and physical abuse) occurred in adult male prisons, although the most (50%) incidents of physical abuse occurred in a forensic hospital. Most (90%) of the victims were nurses and two-thirds were females. Younger employees and males were most likely to be a victim of physical abuse. Preparing or dispensing medication and attempting to calm and/or restrain an aggressive patient were identified as 'high risk' work duties for verbal abuse and physical abuse, respectively. Most (93%) of the incidents of workplace violence were initiated by a prisoner/patient. Almost all of the incidents received either a medium (46%) or low (52%) Severity Assessment Code. Few victims of workplace violence incurred a serious physical injury - there were no workplace deaths during the study period. However, mental stress was common, especially among the victims of verbal abuse (85%). Few (6%) victims of verbal abuse sought help from a health professional.
Among employees of a large correctional health service, verbal abuse in the workplace was substantially more common than physical abuse. The most incidents of workplace violence occurred in adult male prisons. Review of the types of adverse health outcomes experienced by the victims of workplace violence and the assessments of severity assigned to violent incidents suggests that, compared with health care settings in the community, correctional settings are fairly safe places in which to practice.
This special issue is the second of a two-part series on Race and Immigration in the US. In part two, we assembled a set of articles that address multiple facets of the immigrant experience including ...enforcement and detention, experiences with discrimination, ethnic development among youth, and opportunities for interventions with this population. Collectively, these articles address critical and emerging issues impacting the immigrant population in the U.S.
Our society increasingly uses educational institutions to punish our people. We see this in zero tolerance policies, school-based arrests, and alternative schooling for “troublesome youth.” This ...means that schools are actively engaged in criminalizing our youth than ever before. The introduction offers insight into the broader context of the punitive society where schools and prisons collide.
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