Intravenous Drug Use and HIV in Estonia: Socio-Economic Integration and Development of Indicators Regarding the Right to Health for its Russian-Speaking Population

This article seeks to highlight some potential indicators and benchmarks for the right to health under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified by Estonia. These potential key indicators, as part of a human rights based approach to health indicators being developed by the UN Special Rapporteur, are argued to be particularly important in the context of the exceptionally high HIV rates among the Russian speaking population in Estonia. The historical emergence of the HIV epidemic in Estonia is traced, comparing its development with the situations in Latvia and Lithuania. This article describes the current extent of the HIV epidemic in Estonia which is the country with the highest reported number of HIV infections per capita in Europe, a number impacting in an extremely disproportionate fashion on its Russian-speaking population, particularly in North-Eastern Estonia. Understanding of the HIV epidemic in Estonia cannot exclude the social contextual factors of the social marginalization of many among the Russian-speaking population, the ‹alien’ status of those without citizenship of Estonia or any other State, and other failures of Estonian State policy with regard to intravenous drug use and HIV in the recent past. HIV among the prison population is also examined as disproportionately impacting upon Russian-speaking prisoners. It is argued that the language and logic of the Estonian State Integration Programme, as well as Estonia’s Second Report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2004) which refer to its Russian-speaking citizens as ‹non-Estonians’ is discrimination based on ethnic origin. In order to develop a system of State accountability in relation to the right to health, candidate indicators and benchmarks are proposed as structural, process and outcome indicators relevant to Estonia regarding the right to health and HIV, intravenous drug use, socio-economic integration and its Russian-speaking population. Dr. Paul Downes is Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland.     

LESSENING THE STING OF ASFA: THE REHABILITATION‐RELAPSE DILEMMA BROUGHT ABOUT BY DRUG ADDICTION AND TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) as a response to children waiting in foster homes for years without permanent placement. In addressing the problem of permanency, however, Congress set a strict limit on how long a child could be in foster care (15 out of the most recent 22 months) before a state must either commence a proceeding to terminate parental rights or else lose valuable federal funding. Due to health care funding schemes and quality of treatment, this requirement, in particular, negatively impacts parents currently in drug rehabilitation whose parental rights may be permanently terminated before a realistic chance to recover is permitted. Although ASFA requires that states make “reasonable efforts” to keep families united, it does not define “reasonable efforts,” leaving parental rights and family unity subject to a chaotic interpretation of this requirement from state to state. “Reasonable efforts” should be interpreted to take into account current drug addiction and recovery research and drug court programs should be used to facilitate this goal. Research has shown that focusing on adequate treatment saves states money and improves the lives of children and their families, reducing the need for reliance on termination of parental rights.     

毒品犯罪死刑问题研究

出于现实中打击毒品犯罪的需要,我国现行刑法的毒品犯罪仍然保留了死刑。但是,从司法实践角度看,我们应当严格限制毒品犯罪死刑的适用;从立法论角度看,出于对人权的保护和尊重,以及受到毒品合法化等因素的影响,我们应当力争废除我国刑法中毒品犯罪保留的死刑。     

颈舒颗粒毒理学实验研究

目的:观察动物对颈舒颗粒的急性和慢性的毒性反应。方法:灌胃给药测定小鼠最大给药量,观察7d内动物的死亡情况;大鼠分对照组,颈舒颗粒高、中、低剂量组(24,12,6g.kg-1/d),连续灌胃12周。结果:颈舒颗粒的小鼠的最大给药量为120g.kg-1/d,相当于临床成人用量的100倍以上。大鼠长期灌服颈舒颗粒,动物一般状况、血液和血液生化指标、脏器系数、病理解剖观察均未发现明显异常,与对照组相比均无明显差异。结论:颈舒颗粒未见有明显毒性反应,表明本品安全性较高。     

西部毒品犯罪与禁毒方针--西部地区毒品犯罪对全国禁毒工作的影响研究之二

西部地区毒品犯罪问题目前日益严重,已经严重地影响和制约着全国禁毒工作.来自境外的毒品对西部地区禁毒工作影响巨大,不仅引发杀人、抢劫、盗窃等各种刑事犯罪,而且在经济、政治、社会等各个方面的危害、影响也已超出了一般意义上的犯罪.我们应当从"四禁并举、堵源截流、严格执法、标本兼治"这一方针出发,结合各种禁毒对策,来更有效地遏制我国毒品犯罪问题.     

“冷战”时期之禁毒与美国外交取舍

"冷战"时期,以美国为代表的西方社会,以联合国为舞台,借助新闻媒介之手,曾经展开过一场禁毒遏共外交活动。这既是当时特殊的"冷战"背景下美国遏制与孤立新中国的产物,更是美国对外政策实施过程中以话语权优势制衡对手的惯有手法,而由此助长了东南亚"金三角"毒品源地的坐大,则显然是以意识形态为标尺的"冷战"背景下禁毒外交取舍不当之"苦果"。唯有摒弃意识形态领域的偏见,保持禁毒的初衷不变,国际禁毒事业方能得以长足发展。     

体内藏毒的现状及其对策研究

体内藏毒的方式对于贩毒集团的损失小、效率高,因而被境内外贩毒集团广泛采用,导致了各地体内藏毒案件数量不断增加,并引发了一系列问题。文章通过对体内藏毒案件现状的分析和体内藏毒特点的剖析,总结了一些打击体内藏毒案件的对策,以供有关部门参考。     

Taking Stock of Drug Courts: Do They Work?

ABSTRACT

Although researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike have long known about the established link between substance abuse and criminal behavior, criminal justice agencies in the United States are still tasked with managing an influx of individuals who display symptoms of abuse and dependence. By the late 1980s, the drug court model emerged as an innovative response to this problem, and this reform has since proliferated to such an extent that it is the most common type of problem-solving court in America. Still, there remains much variation in how drug courts are implemented across jurisdictions, which can have strong implications for the outcomes among the courts’ participants. In this review, we summarize the key research on drug court implementation, followed by an assessment of whether they can be said to “work” in terms of reducing criminal behavior and relapse among adults. We conclude that the model remains an evidence-based practice and suggest some directions for future work, including increased emphasis on theory and causal dynamics and key measurement issues.     

当前新型毒品的滥用与防控

当前,新型毒品问题正在快速发展蔓延,特别是新型毒品滥用群体、滥用场所的特殊性,带来了更加严重的社会危害,成为我国毒品问题的突出方面。正确认识新型毒品的危害和滥用特点,有针对性地进行预防打击,是解决新型毒品问题的治本之策。