Serge Brochu

• Ph.D, MSRC
• Professor Emeritus at Université de Montréal

Young adults that drive after cannabis use (DACU) may not share all the same characteristics. This study aimed to identify typologies of Canadians who engage in DACU. About 910 cannabis users with a driver's license (17–35 years old) who have engaged in DACU completed an online questionnaire. Two‐step cluster analysis identified four subgroups, bas...

Povodom donošenja regulative o kanabisu u Kanadi (oktobar 2018), ovaj članak ukratko podseća na velike istorijske momente osporavanja zakona o drogama. Zapravo, druga polovina XX veka predstavljala je period delovanja tri Komisije koje su preporučile ublažavanje zakona vezanih za korišćenje kanabisa. Sa druge strane, ovaj članak predstavlja sažet p...

This study identifid the most prominent risk factors associated with driving after cannabis use (DACU). 1,126 Canadian drivers (17-35 years old) who have used cannabis in the past 12 months completed an online questionnaire about sociodemographic information, substance use habits, cannabis effect expectancies, driving behaviours and peers' behaviou...

This study aimed to identify and compare major areas of met and unmet needs reported by 455 homeless or recently housed individuals recruited from emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent housing in Quebec (Canada). Mixed methods, guided by the Maslow framework, were used. Basic needs were the strongest needs category identified, follow...

Les jeunes qui se retrouvent en centre de readaptation pour jeunes contrevenants constituent un groupe qui merite une attention particuliere lorsqu’il s’agit de faire le point sur les relations qui se nouent entre alcool/drogues et violence. Cet article a pour but de decrire les liens qui se tissent entre substances psychoactives (entendre alcool e...

The upcoming legalization of cannabis in Canada poses several challenges in which each province will have to respond with effective regulation. Studies show that policies alone have little impact on use rates. However, regulatory approaches and modalities seem important to reduce the possible negative consequences that may result from legalization....

The reality of the drug market, run by adolescents on the very grounds of their high school remains unknown. The present study was undertaken with the aim of exploring this particular universe. To accomplish this, twelve young adolescents having sold drugs at their place of education were asked to share their thoughts. First, these young dealers ga...

Discussing illegal drugs without taking into account its criminal context is a difficult proposition. Certain questions come back repeatedly: Does doing drugs really lead to delinquency? Do some drugs have criminal properties? Why would a drug addict turn to crime? What are the best methods of intervention in dealing with individuals who have serio...

Background: The debate on recreational use of cannabis, recently relaunched by the election of the Liberal Party of Canada that intends to legalize and regulate its use and access, implies a better understanding of social control mechanisms that are in place, and their influence on users' behaviors. Objective: This study addresses the issue of f...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ initiation of substance abuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with problematic psychoactiv...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ initiation of substance misuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with problematic psychoacti...

People with mental disorders (MD) have high rates of substance use problems (SUP) that are undertreated and understudied despite their adverse outcomes. The objective of this study is to examine barriers and facilitators that influence help-seeking to addiction treatment from the perspective of people with co-occurring MD and SUP. Forty-three indiv...

Issues: Despite a growing trend towards considering addiction as a chronic disease, the development of intervention models addressing the chronicity of substance use disorder is relatively new, and no literature review on this topic is available. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of intervention models designed within t...

Background: Despite a growing interest in persons with multiple treatment reentries, few studies have defined their clinical profile. The aim of this study was to compare the severity profile of substance use disorder and related problems of persons who reenter treatment with the profile of those who come in for treatment for the first time. Meth...

On the eve of a possible legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes in Canada, this article briefly recalls the great historical moments associated with the enactment of drug laws. It goes back to the philosophical framework on which these repressive policies are based. It then focuses on two distinct models of cannabis regulation and ends...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ perspectives of their initiation of substance abuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with p...

This qualitative study aimed to comprehend how mothers experienced and built their maternal identity throughout their lives. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with drug-using and law-breaking mothers. Results showed that three events were significant for participants: pregnancies, loss of custody, and incarceration. As each eve...

When drug-using and lawbreaking women are mothers, their competence as mothers is often questioned because good mothers are not supposed to do such things. Consequently, they are often labeled as unfit mothers. This qualitative study seeks to examine the experience of motherhood in substance-using and lawbreaking mothers. Interviews with 38 substan...

Background: Fragmentation and lack of coordination often occur among organisations offering treatment for individuals with substance-use disorders. Better integration from a system perspective within a network of organisations offering substance-use disorder services can be developed using various integration strategies at the administrative and c...

Driving while impaired (DWI) is a grave and persistent high-risk behavior. Previous work demonstrated that DWI recidivists had attenuated cortisol reactivity compared to non-DWI drivers. This suggests that cortisol is a neurobiological marker of high-risk driving. The present study tested the hypothesis that this initial finding would extend to fir...

Supplementary table A. Spearman rho correlation matrix of cortisol activity covariates (n = 170).

Recovery from drug abuse is a complex process in which motivation is central. The focus of this article is on drug-dependent people's experiences with sources that influence their motivation to change. The sample in our study was comprised of 127 drug-dependent adults identified in criminal courts, hospital emergency departments and Health and Soci...

Comment un consommateur de substances psychoactives est-il amené à s’inscrire dans une trajectoire addictive ? Quel en est le développement ? Comment en sort-on ? Dans quelles circonstances de son parcours la personne toxicomane aura-t-elle recours à l’un ou l’autre des services offerts au Québec et quelle sera sa trajectoire de services ? Quelles...

This study examined the proportion of men and women reporting previous traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an Ontario (Canada) prison sample by demographic characteristics; adverse life experiences; and criminal, drug, and alcohol use history. Using data from The Cost of Substance Abuse in Canada study based on a random sample from four Ontario prisons...

The use of psychoactive substances (alcohol and drugs) by young people placed in rehabilitation centers in Quebec is well documented, but their motivation to use and to change substance use behaviour remains unknown. There has been very little research on the details of the change process in adolescents, and even less in adolescents under supervisi...

While studies exist on the gambling habits of the correctional population prior to incarceration, little information exists on gambling habits during imprisonment. This article aims to describe gambling practices in Quebec prisons. The impact of prison life on these activities and their meaning will be analyzed, relying on semi-structured interview...

Young offenders held in youth rehabilitation centres constitute an at risk population for substance abuse and violence. This study will describe the relations between psychoactive substances (alcohol and illicit drugs) and violence among this population. More specifically, we will look at the roles played by: a) intoxication periods; b) the need fo...

Several studies conducted around the world confirm the presence of gambling in detention facilities. Based on interviews conducted with male inmates in three Canadian penitentiaries, the authors of this article studied the reasons to gamble or not gamble in detention. The inmates' relationships with gambling prior to their incarceration were taken...

Although gambling is permitted in free society, it is prohibited in all detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the Province of Quebec. In this article, the authors focus on correctional officers’ opinions concerning this regulation, as well as their reasons for choosing whether or not to enforce it. The absence of disciplinary reports issue...

This study provides data on substance use patterns, including medications, among female inmates in Canadian federal prisons. The participants were interviewed regarding their substance use and their psychological condition before and during incarceration. Their medication cards were also analyzed. The results show that a large proportion (66.9 %) o...

Although the prison subculture encourages solidarity and mutual support, this does not suffice to control all behaviors inside the walls, since physical and verbal aggressions still occur between inmates. Gambling in prison leads to certain frictions, such as quarrels or threats. However, these frictions are better explained by the characteristics...

Les auteurs de cet article explorent les connaissances et les opinions des consommateurs de cannabis en matière de lois canadiennes régu-lant la possession de cannabis. Les pratiques liées à l'application des lois ont aussi été analysées dans un contexte de discussion général sur l'entrée de l'usage du cannabis dans les moeurs au Canada. Fondements...

This article presents a comparative study of 317 male and 176 female Canadian penitentiary inmates and considers the impact of incarceration on their substance use pathways. Ten men’s and 5 women’s penitentiaries were visited across Canada as part of two successive studies. The 493 respondents completed a questionnaire on their substance use habits...

The main goals of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of motivational techniques in the treatment provided to young cannabis users, taking into account personality variables and the level of motivation at the onset of treatment. Participants were 106 boys and girls (aged 14 to 18) in treatment for cannabis abuse. Individual practitioners a...

Once associated with ‘deviant’ subcultures, the use of cannabis is now common across Canadian society. This has led some to argue that cannabis use is becoming normalized in Canada with important implications for drug policy, law enforcement and public health. This article takes up these issues, reporting the results of a qualitative study involvin...

This study explores potential links between gambling and criminality in a federal correctional population in Quebec. The results show that a small proportion of inmates has gambling problems and that few attribute their crimes to gambling. Those who gamble generally commit more income-generating offenses than non-gamblers and are more likely to com...

Cet ouvrage traite de la question de l’intégration des services pour les personnes dépendantes aux substances psychoactives. On y aborde plusieurs thématiques qui ont trait à cette problématique telles que la collaboration entre les différents réseaux de première et deuxième ligne, la toxicomanie et la santé mentale, les personnes toxicomanes judic...

This study explores potential links between gambling and criminality in a federal correctional population in Quebec. The results show that a small proportion of inmates has gambling problems and that few attribute their crimes to gambling. Those who gamble generally commit more income-generating offenses than non-gamblers and are more likely to com...

This study is the first in Canada to examine gun usage and harm to others, with original interview data, and aims to identify the correlates of sublethal violence among at-risk youth in Toronto and Montreal. Toronto youth showed 50% higher levels of this violence than Montreal youth. Despite having a common profile of conduct disorder and prior del...

This paper explores the knowledge and opinions of cannabis users regarding Canadian laws regulating possession of cannabis. Our study is based on data from 165 in-depth interviews with adult cannabis users from four Canadian cities. Our participants revealed a limited awareness of cannabis policy in Canada. When researchers informed them about actu...

Concerns over youth violence and victimization are widespread, but it is rare that national trends can be compared with identical methods. This paper provides a cross-national examination of internalized, externalized, and help-seeking responses to weapon-related victimization among 1,398 at-risk male and female youth between the ages of 14 and 17...

To describe the issues encountered during the implementation of an indoor smoking ban in prison and its effects on self-reported tobacco use, perceived exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) and perceived health status of inmates in Quebec's provincial correctional facilities. Quantitative data were obtained from 113 inmates in three provincial correc...

Heroin-assisted treatment clinics are currently the focus of a social debate. In spite of the clinics' effectiveness in reducing illicit opiate use, some decision-makers refuse to set them up because of their possible negative impact. These clinics could attract new drug users into the neighbourhood which could lead to an accumulation of injection...

Objectives Heroin-assisted treatment clinics are currently the focus of a social debate. In spite of the clinics’ effectiveness in reducing illicit opiate use, some decision-makers refuse to set them up because of their possible negative impact. These clinics could attract new drug users into the neighbourhood which could lead to an accumulation of...

Depuis quelques années, les baisses observées dans le nombre de collisions mortelles reliées à l'alcool et le taux de récidive de la conduite avec capacités affaiblies (CCA) stagnent. L'une des stratégies préconisées pour contrer cette tendance est d'améliorer la détection des futurs récidivistes et ce, dès leur première condamnation. Traditionnell...

This article reviews the literature published in the last 20 years on working alliance in adolescents involuntarily enrolled in intervention programs. Firstly, Bordin's adaptation of the concept of working alliance to adolescent populations is discussed. This is followed by an analysis of the main results of empirical studies on helping relationshi...

An important challenge in conducting social research of specific relevance to harm reduction programs is locating hidden populations of consumers of substances like cannabis who typically report few adverse or unwanted consequences of their use. Much of the deviant, pathologized perception of drug users is historically derived from, and empirically...

La consommation de tabac et l’exposition à la fumée du tabac dans l’environnement (FTE) causent plusieurs dizaines de milliers de décès chaque année au Canada. Pour remédier à cette situation, des lois de plus en plus restrictives par rapport à l’usage du tabac ont été mises en place au cours de la dernière décennie. Celles-ci ont progressivement e...

La popularité croissante du cannabis auprès des consommateurs québécois au cours de la dernière décennie, surpassant largement celle des autres produits illicites, fournit un premier indice explicatif quant à l'implication du Québec dans la culture de cette plante convoitée. Supplantant la Colombie-Britannique, autrefois à la tête des autres provin...

International co-operation treaties exist for decades, as well as the international drug traffic. However, they did not yet succeed in efficiently fighting international drug trafficking. This paper reviews the history of international traffic and illustrate the discussion with known examples like those of Colombia and Afghanistan.

Riassunto I trattati di cooperazione internazionale esistono da decenni, così come il traffico internazionale di droga. Tuttavia, essi non sono ancora riusciti a lottare efficacemente contro tale tipo di traffico. Questo articolo ripercorre la storia del traffico internazionale e rinvia particolarmente a certi esempi noti come quelli della Colombia...

This study evaluates whether the instauration of a heroin prescription trial ('NAOMI') generated an impact on the occurrence of crime and disorder in surrounding areas. The clinical trial was initiated in Vancouver and Montreal in 2005, with the aim of assessing the benefits of heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) in Canada. While experiences from other...

L’objectif principal de cet article est de mieux connaitre les perceptions de personnes detenues en ce qui a trait aux effets sur le climat carceral d’un reglement qui vise a restreindre l’usage du tabac dans les etablissements de detention quebecois. Une methodologie mixte a ete employee afin de recueillir des donnees aupres de 113 personnes deten...

The increasing popularity of cannabis among drug users in Quebec over the last decade largely exceeded any other illicit substances. This situation provides a first clue as how to explain the involvement of Quebec in the culture of cannabis. Supplanting British Columbia, Quebec now counts the largest number of cases of production of cannabis. Since...

Le système de justice devient de plus en plus impliqué dans le processus de référence des individus criminalisés vers des programmes de traitement de la toxicomanie. Cette pratique a d’importantes retombées sur les interventions cliniques puisque ces clients sont habituellement considérés comme peu motivés au changement et qu’ils présenteraient des...