Alcohol and cannabis are the two most commonly used licit and illicit drugs in most developing countries including Australia. The burden of disease, social costs and harms associated with the use of these drugs is considerable. As such, the need for prevention is clear. Although an array of school-based drug prevention programs exist, the majority of these show minimal effects in reducing actual drug use. The most common impediments to their success concern obstacles to implementation and dissemination of programs, and a lack of sequential and developmentally appropriate messages. The aim of this thesis was to address these limitations by developing and evaluating an integrated school-based prevention program to reduce alcohol and cannabis use. The innovative program known as the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course is founded on current evidence-based research, adopts a harm-minimisation approach to drug prevention and is embedded within the school health curriculum. The core content of the program is delivered over the internet using novel cartoon storylines to engage students. The early development of the course consisted of a cross-validation trial to test the feasibility and generalisability of an existing Climate Schools program for alcohol prevention. Extensive collaboration with teachers, students and health professionals was later conducted to extend and modify the Climate Schools framework to include the prevention of cannabis use. To date, this is the first time an internet-based harm-minimisation cannabis prevention program has been developed for use in schools. To establish the efficacy of the comprehensive Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course, a cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted with 10 schools in Sydney (n = 764). Results from this trial demonstrated the innovative course to be effective in increasing knowledge regarding alcohol and cannabis use, and in decreasing the use of these drugs six months following the intervention. This novel approach was found to be acceptable to students and teachers as a means of delivering drug education in schools. This thesis provides support for the more widespread dissemination of the Climate Schools model in schools. The barriers to dissemination require further research and are discussed.

Reproduction de : Thèse d'exercice : Pharmacie : Nantes : 2008. / Bibliogr.

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : sciences de l'éducation : Lyon 2 : 2007. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr.

Although the impairing effects produced by alcohol and their direct effect on the driving task have been well defined for decades, similar information on the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) following cannabis use in relation to driving skill is lacking. A combination of experimental and epidemiological studies is presented that examine the effects of THC on driving and collision risk. Preliminary data from a driving simulation study explores how THC impairs driving ability both acutely and residually and consideration is given to the challenges faced when conducting this type of research. Epidemiological data from a population-level survey demonstrate that the self-reported concurrent behaviours of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) and driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) impart an increased risk of past-year collision more than 3 times greater than reporting driving after using a single substance, or not driving following substance use.

Although the impairing effects produced by alcohol and their direct effect on the driving task have been well defined for decades, similar information on the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) following cannabis use in relation to driving skill is lacking. A combination of experimental and epidemiological studies is presented that examine the effects of THC on driving and collision risk. Preliminary data from a driving simulation study explores how THC impairs driving ability both acutely and residually and consideration is given to the challenges faced when conducting this type of research. Epidemiological data from a population-level survey demonstrate that the self-reported concurrent behaviours of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) and driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) impart an increased risk of past-year collision more than 3 times greater than reporting driving after using a single substance, or not driving following substance use.

No description available.

No description available.

Syftet med denna kvantitativa studie var att undersöka universitetsstudenters attityd och kunskap kring internetdrogen SPICE om det skiljer sig mellan könen och om alkoholkonsumtionen hade relevans i samband med inställningen till cannabis och SPICE. Internetdrogerna sprider sig och det är svårt att komma åt de som tillverkar och brukar dem. Därmed är början till en kartläggning av hur utbrett internetdroger är viktigt. Genom att göra en studie på universitets studenter som är från 19 år och uppåt så kan detta ge en god uppfattning om hur stora kunskaperna är och vad människor har för inställning till internetdroger. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av enkäter som distribuerades dels på universitetet men även på sociala forum, så som facebook och twitter. Totalt deltog 94 studenter, varav 22 var män, 68 var kvinnor och ett externbortfall på 4 enkäter. Studenterna fick besvara frågor rörande SPICE och cannabis. Regressionsanalysen visade att alkoholkonsumtionen predicerade om respondenterna ansåg att cannabis borde vara lagligt, högre konsumtion av alkohol genererade en mer avslappnad attityd till cannabis. Detta stöds av tidigare forskning vilket påvisar att alkoholkonsumtion har betydelse för inställningen och konsumtionen av droger och internetdroger. Det fanns ingen signifikant skillnad mellan könen. Slutsatser som dras från resultaten blir att alkoholkonsumtion har en inverkan på inställningen till cannabis. Könstillhörigheten hos respondenterna hade ingen inverkan i hur deras attityd till Spice och cannabis såg ut.

Alcohol and cannabis are the two most commonly used licit and illicit drugs in most developing countries including Australia. The burden of disease, social costs and harms associated with the use of these drugs is considerable. As such, the need for prevention is clear. Although an array of school-based drug prevention programs exist, the majority of these show minimal effects in reducing actual drug use. The most common impediments to their success concern obstacles to implementation and dissemination of programs, and a lack of sequential and developmentally appropriate messages. The aim of this thesis was to address these limitations by developing and evaluating an integrated school-based prevention program to reduce alcohol and cannabis use. The innovative program known as the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course is founded on current evidence-based research, adopts a harm-minimisation approach to drug prevention and is embedded within the school health curriculum. The core content of the program is delivered over the internet using novel cartoon storylines to engage students. The early development of the course consisted of a cross-validation trial to test the feasibility and generalisability of an existing Climate Schools program for alcohol prevention. Extensive collaboration with teachers, students and health professionals was later conducted to extend and modify the Climate Schools framework to include the prevention of cannabis use. To date, this is the first time an internet-based harm-minimisation cannabis prevention program has been developed for use in schools. To establish the efficacy of the comprehensive Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course, a cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted with 10 schools in Sydney (n = 764). Results from this trial demonstrated the innovative course to be effective in increasing knowledge regarding alcohol and cannabis use, and in decreasing the use of these drugs six months following the intervention. This novel approach was found to be acceptable to students and teachers as a means of delivering drug education in schools. This thesis provides support for the more widespread dissemination of the Climate Schools model in schools. The barriers to dissemination require further research and are discussed.

The overall aims of the current thesis were to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a brief motivational and cognitive-behavioural intervention in reducing cannabis use and cannabis related problems among Australian adolescent cannabis users: the Adolescent Cannabis Check-up. In addition it was intended to develop and psychometrically assess instruments to measure cannabis problems and cannabis dependence among adolescent cannabis users. The thesis is presented as a series of four related studies. Study 1 consists of an uncontrolled feasibility study of a brief (2-3 session) motivational intervention designed for adolescent cannabis users. Included in the intervention model was a separate session for concerned parents. The data analysis for this study was conducted in a pre-test post-test design and demonstrated that participation in the intervention was associated with improved outcomes. The intervention was shown to be feasible and acceptable to participants. Study 2 comprises an assessment of the psychometric performance of the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) in a population of adolescent cannabis users. Study 3 describes the development and psychometric testing of a novel assessment instrument designed to measure cannabis-related problems (other than dependence) among young people. Finally, Study 4 is a randomised controlled trial of the Adolescent Cannabis Check-up intervention, which builds on the feasibility study and incorporates the assessment instruments that were evaluated as valid and reliable in Studies 2 and 3. As hypothesised, significandy greater reductions in cannabis use and symptoms of cannabis dependence were found in the intervention group compared with the delayed treatment control group, which provides evidence for the efficacy of the intervention. The study presents a unique contribution to the intervention literature and demonstrates the potential to reduce the harms associated with cannabis use among young people.