Alcohol and Drug-Specific Research

American Indians/Alaska Natives and Substance Abuse
See also Drug Court Research

  • Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Act (1986)
  • Substance Use Among American Indian or Alaska Native Adults, The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (June 24, 2010).
    This report uses data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine substance use and treatment need among single-race non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults aged 18 or older. The rate of past month alcohol use was lower among American Indian or Alaska Native adults than the national average for adults (43.9 vs. 55.2 percent); the rates of past month binge alcohol use and illicit drug use, however, were higher among American Indian or Alaska Native adults than the national averages (30.6 vs. 24.5 percent and 11.2 vs. 7.9 percent, respectively). The percentage of American Indian or Alaska Native adults who needed treatment for an alcohol or illicit drug use problem in the past year was higher than the national average for adults (18.0 vs. 9.6 percent). One in eight (12.6 percent) American Indian or Alaska Native adults in need of alcohol or illicit drug use treatment in the past year received treatment at a specialty facility; this rate did not differ significantly from the national average of 10.4 percent
  • “It Runs in the Family”: Intergenerational Transmission of Historical Trauma Among Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives in Culturally Specific Sobriety Maintenance Programs, Laurelle L. Murha, MS, LMFT, 18, 2 American Indian and Alaska Native Health Research 17 (2011).
    The aim of this exploratory study, which was informed by ethnrographic principles, was to better understand the intergenerational transmission of historical trauma among urban American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in culturally specific sobriety maintenance programs. The results of the study were organized into 3 overarching categories, which included 10 themes that emerged contextually in relation to participants’ lived experiences of historical and associated traumas, substance abuse, and current involvement in a culturally specific sobriety maintenance program.
  • Promising Practices and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among American Indians and Alaska Natives, American Indian Development Associates, prepared for the Office of Justice Programs (Aug. 2000).
    While the impact of alcohol is devastating, recent research sheds light on our understanding of alcohol abuse among American Indian tribes. Fewer Indian people drink and they drink less than non-Indian people do. The most successful intervention and prevention programs build upon local tribal values and traditions. This publication includes promising practices that highlight effective solutions developed within the tribal community that combine western and traditional approaches, building upon the strengths of the respective Indian communities. Sections describes the efforts of nine different tribal and non-tribal programs working with Indian people in various settings. Section II provides a very brief summary of the literature about alcohol and substance abuse among American Indian and Alaska Natives. Section III provides ample information to find resources for funding, technical assistance and training, web sites, and accessing educational materials and publications. 
  • The Implications of Cultural Orientation for Substance Abuse Among American Indians, Mindy Herman-Stahl, Ph.D., Donna L. Spencer, M.A., and Jessica E. Duncan, M.P.H., 11, 1 American Indian and Alaska Native Health Research 46 (2002).
    American Indians were interviewed about their participation in traditional culture and their substance use behaviors. Analyses indicated that cultural orientation differed by age and employment status. Bicultural or less Indian oriented individuals were more likely to misuse alcohol than their more Indian oriented counterparts. The implications of cultural orientation for substance use behaviors are discussed. The need for more precise conceptualization and measurement of acculturation is recommended. 
  • Collaborating with Native Americans and Alaska Natives, White House, Office of National Drug Control Policy
    Drug abuse exacts a heavy toll among Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in the United States. In respones, ONDCP is developing programs and policies tailored to Indian Country and designed to assist Tribal authorities using a balanced strategy of prevention, treatment, recovery support, and law enforcement.
     

Breaking The Cycle — A Developmental Model for the Assessment and Treatment of Adolescents with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems was written by Leslie Acoca, M.A., M.F.C.C. for the National Council’s Substance Abuse Program. The monograph is dedicated to providing judges with both a theoretical framework for understanding adolescent substance abuse and practical guidelines for generating and choosing effective and economical substance abuse treatment resources. Other resources can also be found at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
 

Methamphetamines

Opiates

  • Opioid Crisis Resources
  • Reflecting on a Crisis: Curbing Opioid Abuse in Communities, National Congress of American Indians (Oct. 2016)
    Many tribal nations are facing extreme impacts of drug abuse on their citizens, maternal and family health, and the safety of their communities. The Policy Research Center has compiled some of the leading research on how opioid use and abuse are affecting Indian Country and ways in which health care providers and communities can respond. 
  • Increased Opiate Use and the Need for Onsite Heroin Screening, Connie Mardis, M.Ed., NADCP Need to Know (2011).
    This brief article details the rise of heroin availability and use in America, including its highly addictive chemical nature. It then discusses the need for onsite heroin screening the the availability of 6-Acetylmorphine as an accurate onsite screening test.
  • Methadone Maintenance and Other Pharmacotherapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, Karen Freeman-Wilson, NDCI Drug Court Practitioner Factsheet, Vol. III, No. 1 (2002).
    This fact sheet aims to dispel misperceptions and educate practitioners about the efficacy of medication assisted treatment, especially in the face of rising opioid dependence. It discusses methadone or opioid treatment, including its pharmacology, its effect on pregnancy, federal oversight, impact on other diseases, and its effectiveness. The article then discusses Buprenorphine and LAAM as two other opioid treatment alternatives. 

Marijuana

  • The Facts on Marijuana, Douglas B. Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D., NADCP Need to Know (2010).
    In light of several states and other jurisdictions having begun to decriminalize marijuana possession for personal use, including when recommended by a physician for medical purposes, this article sets out to keep drug court practitioners informed of the scientific evidence concerning the effects of marijuana. These include the low incarceration rate for marijuana possession, marijuana’s addictive nature, its potential for physical harm, and its disputed medicinal effects.
  • The Marijuana Detection Window: Determining the Length of Time Cannabinoids Will Remain Detectable in Urine Following Smoking: A Critical Review of Relevant Research and Cannabinoid Detection Guidance for Drug Courts, Paul Cary, M.S., NDCI Drug Court Practitioner Factsheet, Vol. IV, No. 2 (2004).
    The duration of the urinary cannabinoid detection window is unsettled science. Prolonged cannabinoid elimination projections have likely resulted in the delay of therapeutic intervention, thwarted the timely use of judicial sanctioning, and fostered denial of marijuana usage by drug court participants. This article seeks to clarify some of the complex issues associated with the elimination of marijuana from the human body. 

Synthetic Cannabinoids

  • NDCI Questions and Answers: Synthetic Cannabinoids (Spice, K2, etc.) (2011).
    This document answers a series of questions submitted by drug court practitioners associated with synthetic cannabinoids and the use of herbal incense products. It aims to provide insight into the laws that should be criminalized, detection methods, and the composition of these herbal incense products.
  • Spice, K2, and the Problem of Synthetic Cannabinoids, Paul Cary, M.S., NDCI Drug Court Practitioner Factsheet, Vol. VI, No. 1 (2010).
    Synthetic cannabinoids, such as Spice and K2, have been widely reported as producing the same effects as marijuana, without laws to control its distribution. This article discusses what synthetic cannabinoids are, their growth in popularity, their effects on users, and the laws regarding their sale and use.

Alcohol and Drug Use Patterns

  • Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program II (ADAM) 2012 Fact Sheet, Office of National Drug Control Policy (May, 2013).
    ADAM II is a Federal data collection program that shows drug use patterns among arrestees. This factsheet provides highlights from the 2012 ADAM II report. Highlights include considerable region variation in drug use, high mobility rate among arrestees, decline of cocaine use, but increased use of opiates and methamphetamine. 
  • Substance Abuse Among American Indian Youth, Tri-Ethnic Center, Colorado State University.
    The Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research at Colorado State University has been monitoring American Indian youth substance use behaviors and their correlates for over 30 years.  Each year the Center surveys a sample of 7th – 12th grade American Indian students who live on or near reservations about their drug and alcohol use, attitudes toward substance use, and many other variables. This study has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). (2012).
  • Promising Practices and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among American Indians and Alaska Natives, American Indian Decelopment Associates, Office of Justice Programs (2000).
    In 1986, Congress found that “alcohol and substance abuse are the most severe health and social problems facing Indian tribes and people today and nothing is more costly to Indian people than the consequences of alcohol and substance abuse measured in physical, mental, social, and economic terms.” This publication features promising practices from nine Tribes that highlight effective solutions that combine western and traditional approaches, building upon the strengths of the respective Indian communities. 
  • Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home, premiered on PBS stations on March 29, 1998. This Web companion piece features Science: The Hijacked Brain, the latest scientific advances in understanding and treating addiction, plus Animated Illustrations of the brain and the mechanism of drugs in the body; Treatment: Changing Lives, how treatment works, types of treatment, profiles of selected programs, and questions to ask; Prevention: The Next Generation, what works and what doesn’t, who is at risk, and how we can protect our children; Policy: The Politics of Addiction, current policy, controversial issues, and what you can do to help. 

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