PRECOCIOUS ROLE ENTRY AS A MEDIATING FACTOR IN WOMEN'S METHAMPHETAMINE USE: IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE‐COURSE AND PATHWAYS RESEARCH*

Precocious adoption of adult roles and responsibilities at an early age often has been linked to substance abuse and criminal behavior. Yet, much of the existing research suggests that early offending behaviors induce precocious movement into adulthood; less attention has focused on the way in which early adoption of adult roles and responsibilities might itself contribute to the onset of offending. In the following article, we examine the cumulative impact of early transitions into adult roles and responsibilities on the onset of methamphetamine (MA) use. Through inductive analyses of interviews with women methamphetamine users, we identified a range of adult roles and responsibilities that women described as facilitating their initiation into MA use, including family caretaking, motherhood, independent living, and peer and romantic associations with adults. Such findings have theoretical implications for both life‐course perspectives and feminist pathways research. They highlight the importance of attending to the timing and sequencing of experiences as well as highlight the gendered nature of these processes.     

定量检测毒品的蛋白芯片的研发

目的利用蛋白芯片技术建立一种快速、高通量的毒品定量检测方法。方法采用硝酸纤维膜作为蛋白芯片的基片,将多种毒品和蛋白偶联物抗原包被在芯片基片上后封闭,不同毒品的单克隆抗体与之结合,再用荧光染料Cy5标记的二抗孵育,样本中如果含有毒品成分,将会与包被的毒品偶联物竞争性地与毒品的抗体相结合,导致最终的荧光信号发生改变,荧光信号的变化与样品中的毒品的浓度相关。通过荧光芯片检测仪CCD可以进行定量分析,最终判断样本中毒品的含量。结果对506例样本进行定性定量检测,与GC-MS仪器比较后总相关性在88%以上,芯片的检测灵敏度比胶体金方法提高10倍,其检测的特异性达到99%。结论蛋白芯片是一种有效、准确的高通量检测毒品含量的方法。     

Interaction of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and methamphetamine during metabolism by in vitro human metabolic enzymes and in rats

Illicit amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) tablets commonly contain one or more active ingredients, which have hallucinogenic and/or stimulant effects. Because components such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methamphetamine (MA) in ATS tablets have similar chemical structures, they could be metabolized by common metabolic enzymes. To investigate potential metabolic interactions of ATS tablet components, we studied the in vitro metabolism of MDMA and MA using human metabolic enzymes. MDMA and MA were mainly metabolized by cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) and mutually inhibited the production of their main metabolites. In vivo experiments were also performed using intravenous administration of MDMA, MA, or their mixture to rats. The plasma concentrations of MDMA and MA after co-administration were higher than those after administration of MDMA or MA alone. The results in this study imply that multiple components in ATS tablets can interact to mutually inhibit their metabolism and potentially enhance the toxicity of each component.     

小鼠各脏器及血中甲基苯丙胺的分布

目的通过给小鼠腹腔注射甲基苯丙胺(MAMP),建立小鼠急性染毒模型。方法运用GC/NPD技术,系统地进行了染毒小鼠模型各脏器及血中甲基苯丙胺(MAMP)的定性定量测定。采用1-萘胺作为内标,样品处理时采取加盐酸成盐后,又碱化,用有机溶剂萃取浓缩挥发。结果回收率高于80%。血、各脏器中最低检出限为2～5ng/ml。结论脑、肾、脾组织可以用于法庭科学分析。     

Identities,Boundaries, and Accounts of Women Methamphetamine Users

Drug users often define themselves as functional users and depict others as dysfunctional (i.e. junkies). Previous research on the social identities of drug users has focused on the symbolic boundaries they create to distance themselves from stigmatized others. Investigators have yet to focus on how users account for their own boundary violations. Here, we examine the narratives of 30 former women methamphetamine (meth) users to determine how they make distinctions between functional and dysfunctional meth users (i.e. “meth heads”). The distinctions they make are based on users’ abilities to maintain control of their lives and to hide their use from outsiders. Those who saw themselves as functional but who engaged in behaviors inconsistent with this image accounted for these behaviors to maintain desired identities. We show the complexity of drug users’ identities and illustrate how anti-drug campaigns that provide grotesque caricatures of drug users may prolong drug using careers.     

Illegal Route Estimation of the Seized Illicit Drug, Methamphetamine, by the Comparison of Striation Marks on Plastic Packaging Films

Abstract:  In Japan, the most common illicit drug is methamphetamine. It is possible to trace the origin of this drug by analyzing its organic and inorganic impurities and/or byproducts using several methods, such as GC, GC/MS, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As reported here, one other method includes comparison of the striation lines of polymer sheet layers from packaging using a polarized light method. Other alternative methods include analyzing the heat sealer pattern, layer thickness surface characteristics, and/or components of polymer sheet layers using infrared spectroscopy. Several of these alternative methods were used to analyze the origins of 29 packages confiscated from three regions over a 1000 km distance in Japan. Results indicated that packages seized from different regions had some polymer sheet layers which contained striation lines and heat sealer patterns that were similar.     

浅析摇头丸滥用的历史沿革及其危害

吸食、滥用摇头丸,不仅给个人造成巨大的经济损失和人体的危害,而且带来一系列社会问题,已经成为影响经济社会协调发展、构建和谐社会的一大隐患。要让人们更多地了解摇头丸的有关知识,以此增强自觉抵御摇头丸的能力,从而遏制摇头丸在我国的滥用和蔓延。     

Acute Bacterial Meningitis with Coincident Methamphetamine Use: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant that can adversely affect the central nervous system and the immune system. Through various mechanisms, methamphetamine is toxic to neurons, endothelial cells, lymphocytes, granulocytes, and macrophages resulting in systemic damage. Reported is the sudden demise of an otherwise healthy 31‐year‐old woman with a history of stimulant abuse. At autopsy, acute bacterial meningitis was identified. Microbiology cultures grew a single isolate of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Toxicology was positive for amphetamine (0.13 mg/L) and methamphetamine (0.8 mg/L). The cause of death was classified as acute bacterial meningitis with methamphetamine use. Either the acute bacterial meningitis or the methamphetamine toxicity would have been sufficient to result in death; however, the concurrent pathophysiology of the two entities must be understood. A review of the current literature assesses the mechanisms of injury attributed to acute and chronic methamphetamine use, bacterial meningitis, and the synergy between the two.