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New trends of drug abuse in custodial settings: A systematic review on the misuse of over-the-counter drugs, prescription-only-medications, and new psychoactive substances

Stefania Chiappini, Giorgia Vaccaro, Alessio Mosca, Andrea Miuli, Gianfranco Stigliano, Giulia Stefanelli, Giulia Giovannetti, Rosalba Carullo, Giacomo d’Andrea, Francesco Di Carlo, Clara Cavallotto, Mauro Pettorruso, Gilberto Di Petta, John Martin Corkery, Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo, Jacqueline L. Stair, Giovanni Martinotti, Seena Fazel, Fabrizio Schifano

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume: 162, Start page: 105691

Swansea University Author: Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo

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Abstract

The article presents a systematic literature review on the use and the psychiatric implications of over-the-counter drugs (OTC), prescription-only-medications (POM), and new psychoactive substances (NPS) within custodial settings. The searches wer carried out on 2 November 2022 on PubMed, Scopus, an...

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Published in: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
ISSN: 0149-7634
Published: Elsevier BV 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66201
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Abstract: The article presents a systematic literature review on the use and the psychiatric implications of over-the-counter drugs (OTC), prescription-only-medications (POM), and new psychoactive substances (NPS) within custodial settings. The searches wer carried out on 2 November 2022 on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in line with PRISMA guidelines. A total of 538 records were identified, of which 37 met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed the most prevalent NPS and OTC and POM classes reported in prisons were synthetic cannabinoids receptor agonists (SCRAs) and opioids, respectively. NPS markets were shown to be in constant evolution following the pace of legislations aimed to reduce their spread. The use of such substances heavily impacts the conditions and rehabilitation of persons in custody, with consequent physical and mental health risks. It is important to raise awareness of the use and misuse of such substances in prisons (i) from an early warning perspective for law enforcement and policy makers (ii) to prompt doctors to cautiously prescribe substances that may be misused with caution (iii) to improve and increase access to treatment provided (iv) to add such substances to routine toxicological screening procedures (v) to improve harm reduction programmes.
Keywords: Abuse; Drug abuse; Drug misuse; New psychoactive substances; NPS; Custodial setting; Inmates; Prisoners; OTC; POM
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Funders: This research received no external funding.
Start Page: 105691