Tomas Zabransky

• MD, PhD
• Lecturer at Charles University in Prague

Background and objectives In Lithuania, injecting heroin and other illicit opioids has dominated high-risk drug use since about 2000. More recently, patients have reported a high-risk use of amphetamines. Newly diagnosed HIV cases among people who inject drugs peaked in 2002 and 2009 and drug-related deaths have been on the increase. Yet research h...

Background: Validity of responses in surveys is an important research concern, especially in emerging market economies where surveys in the general population are a novelty, and the level of social control is traditionally higher. The Randomized Response Technique (RRT) can be used as a check on response validity when the study aim is to estimate...

Introduction:Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are available predominantly through Internet-based sources. The aim of the study was to investigate availability of NPS through online shops in Russia and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Methods:Internet snapshot study was conducted in April 2017 using...

Background: Survey response validity is of special concern in any survey of sensitive behaviors. Randomized Response Technique (RRT) was developed as a research approach for the estimation of the population prevalence of sensitive behaviors such as drug use and socially maladaptive or illegal behavior. Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and applica...

Background: In several EU countries, synthetic cathinone (SC) use has spread among injecting drug users (IDUs); it has been linked to risk of dependence and HIV/HCV transmission. Aims: To analyze the association between dependence and risky injecting practice with experimental and repeated SC use in the past 12 months among the clients of needle-sy...

Background In 2006 the country of Georgia implemented Article 45 of the Administrative code and Article 273 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, a public policy that enable police to detain any individual, anywhere, at any time on grounds of suspicion of drug use; and require them to submit to urine screening to test for the presence of illegal drugs a...

A growing body of literature shows the importance of friendship within illicit markets in (recreational) drugs, including cannabis, mostly referred to as “social supply”. It is not clear to what extent this phenomenon is policy-responsive and what the risks related to it are. This analysis compares two localities with different drug policies (Flori...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis social clubs (CSCs) in Spain are non-profit organisations that associate regular adult cannabis users. One of the functions of CSCs is the supply of cannabis to the closed circuit of their members. The existence of CSCs is not in breach of international treaties. The aim of the paper is to present the findings of a qualitative...

BACKGROUND: After the closure of smart shops (also referred to as “Amsterdam shops”) in the Czech Republic in 2011, new synthetic drugs (NSDs) spread within specific groups of drug users in the country, problem drug users (PDUs) being one of them. AIMS: The aim of this analysis is to assess: (a) the prevalence of NSD use among PDUs in regions wher...

The article responds to the legal situation following the publication of a decision of the Constitutional Court (File Ref. Pl. ÚS 13/12, dated 23rd July 2013) to the effect that it is unconstitutional or a “quantity greater than small” of illicit drugs (referred to as “narcotic and psychotropic substances” in the Czech laws) to be determined by a g...

BACKGROUND: The use of new synthetic drugs (NSD) in the Czech Republic has been on the rise since 2010. Besides other means of supply, they are available via the internet. In 2015, the fifth wave of a survey focusing on the supply of new synthetic drugs through online shops targeting the Czech population was carried out. AIMS: The aim of the survey...

This monograph focuses on the “New Psychotropic Substances” (further NPS); their rise represents the most recent development of the global drug scene. These compounds are not controlled by the UN Drug Treaties (1961, 1971, 1988), and very often they are not controlled by the legislation of individual countries either. Most of them are substances th...

Recently, there is a global growing concern over the new (mainly synthetic) psychoactive substances, known as legal highs, research chemicals or bath salts. They are represented by various chemical groups imitating "old" illicit drugs with stimulant, euphoric, hallucinogenic or sedative effects. In the Czech Republic, the peak of their use and supp...

BACKGROUND: Global cannabis markets have recently been changed by domestic cannabis cultivation. The Czech Republic has a rather high prevalence of cannabis use, and cannabis cultivation and possession have not been targeted by law enforcement bodies. AIMS: The aim of the paper is to describe the development of domestic cannabis market in the Czec...

BACKGROUND: In the Czech Republic, the cannabis market has developed in three stages: (i) outdoor cultivation, non-market, and free of charge distribution (1980–1994); (ii) market in imported indoor cannabis (1995–2005), and (iii) large-scale and small-scale indoor cannabis cultivation leading to a price decrease (2005–present). AIMS: The aim of t...

Background Within the fifth phase of the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) covering five post-Soviet Central Asian countries, an analysis of the mortality of drug users was performed. The results for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are presented in detail in this paper since results from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are not considered valid and Tur...

BACKGROUND: The article was developed as a component of a project entitled The Social Costs of Alcohol, Tobacco and Illicit Drug Use in the Czech Republic in 2007. The direct costs of law enforcement, including substance use-related crime, are an intrinsic part of these social costs. AIMS: the main aim of the study was to identify and quantify crim...

Country drug situation annual report.

BACKGROUND: The methodology for estimating the social costs of substance use, including estimates of road accidents attributable to substance use, stems from the international guidelines adopted by the WHO (Single et al., 2003). The cost structure distinguishes between direct and indirect costs, with direct costs consisting of healthcare and law en...

Objectives. The major goal of the study was to assess the impact of intensive drug use in adolescence in the life situation of the respondents at the period of young adulthood. Sample and setting. The analyses are based on data collected during the first examination (1996 to 1998) and during the reassessment in 2010/2011. Information was obtained t...

BACKGROUND: The methodology for estimating the social costs of substance use, including estimates of road accidents attributable to substance use, stems from the international guidelines adopted by the WHO (Single et al., 2003). The cost structure distinguishes between direct and indirect costs, with direct costs consisting of healthcare and law en...

BACKGROUND: The medicinal use of cannabis and related legislative proposals have been discussed in the Czech Republic lately, as it represents an emerging field and a challenge for the regulation of its prescription and growth, given the increased levels of cannabis use as an illicit drug. AIMS: The aim of this article is to (i) provide an overview...

Společenské náklady užívání alkoholu, tabáku a nelegálních drog v ČR v roce 2007 Společenské náklady užívání alkoholu, tabáku a nelegálních drog v ČR v roce 2007 Společenské náklady užívání tabáku v ČR v roce 2007 činily 33,1 miliard Kč; náklady užívání alkoholu v České republice za rok 2007 byly 16,4 miliard Kč a společenské náklady užívání nelegá...

To determine the mortality in a cohort of very young injecting drug users (IDUs), and the factors associated with it. A database linkage prospective (follow-up) cohort study. A convenience sample of clients of 2 low-threshold facilities, 1 drug treatment clinic, and one special facility for children with severe behavioural disorders, who were all y...

For persons living with HIV, hepatitis C is a major public health problem that must be controlled and could be eliminated. The challenge arises because the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is prevalent among HIV-infected persons in most parts of the world, because HIV worsens all HCV outcomes, and because HCV may add additional individual economic and psych...

This analytical review aims to summarise the main aspects of the drug situation in Georgia. It also attempts to identify drug information gaps, as well as the adequacy of the system of responses to the drug problem in the country. The structure is based on EMCDDA standards and involves the system of key and core indicators of drug epidemiology. The...

In order to reduce injecting drug use, low-threshold facilities in the Czech Republic have started to distribute empty gelatine capsules as an oral alternative of drug application for those injecting methamphetamine. This report reviews implementation of this intervention and its possible benefits and limitations. Between December 2008 and January...

Ve více než dvaceti městech České republiky se na konci roku 2010 objevily maloobchodní prodejny s legální nabídkou tzv. "nových drog", tj. převážně syntetických látek, jejichž účinek je podobný nebo totožný jako u nelegálních drog. Česká republika provedla ve zrychleném řízení legislativní změny vedoucí k omezení nabídky těchto produktů. Stalo se...

http://altgeorgia.ge/2012/myfiles/narkotestireba%20ENG-1.pdf

DISKUSE Ve

Background: Despite the low prevalence of HIV infection, Georgia is considered to have a high potential risk for an expanded HIV/AIDS epidemic due to widespread injection drug use and associated risk behaviors. Injection drug users (IDUs) account for 60 percent of registered HIV cases. A significant increase in the use of homemade stimulants has be...

This chapter describes the diversity of problem drug use patterns across Europe, the different harms that may arise, and the implications for harm reduction responses. Harm reduction developed in response to concern about heroin injecting in the 1980s in western Europe. Since then, other patterns of problem drug use have increased and the geographi...

New developments and trends:drug policy; drug use in the general population and specific targeted groups; prevention; problem drug use; drug-related treatment; health correlates and consequences; responses to health correlates and consequences; social correlates and social reintegration; drug-related crime, prevention of drug-related crime, and pri...

To map the recent prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in deceased victims of traffic accidents in the Czech Republic. The studied sample consisted of individuals autopsied in the departments of forensic medicine who died during traffic accidents in 2008 and were toxicologically tested for one or more of the following substances:...

Aims: To report the results of a comprehensive literature search of studies of mortality among people who use amphetamines. Design and setting: Three electronic databases were searched (EMBASE, Medline and PsycINFO) and "grey" literature was located. Shortlists of papers were circulated to experts to ascertain whether any important papers had be...

The aim of the study was to understand the prevalence and patterns of the non-medical injecting use of buprenorphine among drug injectors in Georgia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among injecting drug users enrolled in Georgian needle exchange programmes. The questions covered topics related to drug use career, patterns (frequen...

Při pohledu na záplavu současné odborné literatury se zdá, že doba, kdy důležitá témata bývala důkladně monograficky zpracovávána, pominula. Vše se chrlí jaksi sériově, lhůty krátké, výsledky pomíjivé. Než kniha vyjde, většinou už je zastaralá. Dílo, které držíte v ruce, je však svým zaměřením, rozsahem, zpracováním a způsobem uchopení tématu zcela...

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of psychotropic drug use in active participants in traffic accidents who died during the accident or shortly after it due to injuries resulting from the accident. A special mortality register containing data of all forensic autopsies was analysed. The studied sample consisted of persons who died...

The Czech Republic has a relatively long tradition in the addictive and problem ue of methamphetamine, which is called “pervitin” locally. This paper attempts to gve as complex a picture of this phenomenon as possible by analyzing what is kown about the Czech methamphetamine situation through scientific monitoring and research. It begins with a bri...

To determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the population of Czech injecting drug users (IDUs). Multicentric cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of injecting drug users was recruited using the snowball sampling method. Sample of 760 IDUs from 9 different Czech regions. We used one-drop...

General practitioners (GPs) in their surgeries and substitution treatment centres are the major providers of opioid maintenance treatment in a number of European countries. Although in the Czech Republic any GP has been allowed to prescribe buprenorphine (Subutex) since 2001, the opioid substitution treatment provided by primary care professionals...

The aim of the study was to map the prevalence of alcohol and other psychotropic substances in deceased participants of traffic accidents in the Czech Republic. The studied sample included persons autopsied in the departments of forensic medicine and forensic toxicology that died during traffic accidents and were toxicologically tested in 2003. Cas...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to map the prevalence of alcohol and other psychotropic substances in deceased participants of traffic accidents in the Czech Republic. METHODS AND RESULTS: The studied sample included persons autopsied in the departments of forensic medicine and forensic toxicology that died during traffic accidents and were to...

příspěvek ze sborníku XI. celostátní konference Společnosti pro návykové nemoci a 44. konference sekce AT při ČLS JEP, Měřín 2.-5.5.2005

příspěvek ze sborníku XI. celostátní konference Společnosti pro návykové nemoci a 44. konference sekce AT při ČLS JEP, Měřín 2.-5.5.2005

This paper begins with a brief overview of the past of Czech drug policy and drug-related issues. The second section concentrates on Czech drug policy as it has evolved after the fall of communism, identifies the main players in these events, and provides some details about the legislative procedure that led to the reintroduction of punishments for...

summary and mail trends and developments//national strategy - institutional and legal framework//drug policy//epidemiological situation, prevalence, patterns and developments in drug use//health consequences, social and legal correlates and consequences, drug markers, trend per drugs//strategies in demand reduction at national level, prevention, ha...

One of the three sub-studies of qualitative part of the research project PAD focused on analysis of data obtained from health- and social care professionals working with users of illegal drugs. Research design of this sub-study was shaped according to main goals of research project PAD, i.e. the impact of new drug law in the Czech Republic. The aut...

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prevalenční odhad problémových uživatelů drog v ČR//nová metoda pro stanovení prevalenčního odhadu injekčních uživatelů drog//multiplikační metoda s využitím dat o spotřebě materiálu

srovnání studií "ESPAD" a "Mládež a drogy"//vlastní zkušenosti s drogami, postoje a informovanost

odhad prodaného injekčního materiálu//zdravotní důsledky injekčního užívání//drogová scéna v ČR