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Components of a successful program. Partial contents: Inpatient or outpatient? No panaceas at the pharmacy; Group therapy; Preventing relapse.

Methamphetamine may be a scourge in the United States, but in reality, its threat is far more global. Today, its users outnumber both heroin & cocaine addicts, making meth the world's fastest-growing illegal drug. Adapted from the source document.

This article presents a conceptual framework for substance abuse research and practice collaboration based on John-Steiner's (2000) seminal work on characterizing creative collaborative processes in fields such as science, art, music, and literature. Using John-Steiner's core concept of "co-construction of knowledge," the authors provide examples of informal and formal collaborative methods for "bridging the gap" between substance abuse research and practice. An ongoing collaborative effort in Los Angeles County, California, called "L.A. County Partnerships Network," is described and important strategies for developing collaborative relationships between substance abuse researchers and practitioners are highlighted. Informal patterns of collaboration, such as those used by the L.A. Partnerships Network, can lead to significant developments among substance abuse researchers and practitioners.

Partnerships between substance abuse researchers and practitioners are being encouraged by numerous initiatives developed in response to a 1998 Institute of Medicine Report (IOM, 1998). The need for the initiatives is clear; however, the structure of the partnerships and how each partner can benefit from them is less clear. There is evidence that each group appreciates the principle of moving research and practice closer together. It is less clear what each group wants from the partnership and what each group can contribute to it. Researchers want to conduct well-controlled studies, with access to clinical populations and adequate control over the study environment to ensure rigorous protocol compliance. Practitioners should be compensated for the time they spend on these projects, and they want to address questions that are of importance to their clinical populations and stay current with new knowledge and technology. No matter how interesting and important these efforts are, unless each group derives adequate and fairly shared benefits, the partnerships will flounder.

Substance abuse and its social consequences are a major public concern for communities throughout the world. The motivations and consequences are deeply imbedded within the social and political structures of all countries, whether they be well-established democracies or developing nations.||Every culture shapes the meaning of and responses to substances such as marijuana and heroin over time and across locations, but the broader drug issue has become universal. As the sphere of the problem expands, the experiences and solutions of each nation become more relevant to other countries. Internatio

The design and early implementation stages of a large-scale, system-wide evaluation of Los Angeles County's substance abuse treatment system (Los Angeles County Evaluation System: An Outcomes Reporting Program, or LACES) will be examined. In the first stage of implementation, individuals entering treatment will provide a standardized data set using the Los Angeles County Participant Reporting System (LACPRS) admission forms and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). At treatment program discharge, the LACPRS discharge form will be administered, and at one-year post admission the ASI will be re-administered to a stratified sample of 1,500 individuals from 31 "sentinel programs." Additional information will be gathered on the services provided by Los Angeles County alcohol and other drug treatment/recovery programs. Data from LACES will provide the treatment providers feedback on the impact of treatment services and will create the foundation of an ongoing evaluation system for the County's substance abuse treatment clients and services.

New scientific knowledge and effective, evidence-based interventions have provided health leaders and policymakers a remarkable paradigm to guide the development of addiction treatment services around the world. The definition of addiction as a brain disease, validated screening and assessment tools, medication-assisted treatment, and effective behavioral treatments have served as vehicles for both the United States and other countries to guide the transformation of their substance abuse treatment systems. Seeking to expand international research and infrastructure, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)'s International Program has engaged international investigators and institutions in addiction research to promote dissemination of addiction science globally. This paper presents three mixed-methods case studies to exemplify the use of advancements in evidence-based practice in addiction treatment as guides and tools for the creation or further development of treatment systems in three countries, Vietnam, Lebanon, and Abu Dhabi. Results indicate that a framework of evidence-based medicine and empirical science creates a necessary platform from which objective conversations about addictions may begin. Other facilitative factors that help create treatment programs internationally include: a receptive and supportive government, support from international donors and technical experts, networking and interest from other international organizations, and often a synergistic and concerted effort by multiple entities and partners. Despite substantial differences in the circumstances that generated these initiatives and the varying scope of the services, common themes across these efforts have been the implementation of science-based approaches to systems transformation and support for a public health approach to addressing drug abuse and addiction.

AbstractThe Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Methamphetamine Treatment Project, with seven sites and more than a thousand participants, is an evaluation of a manualized psychosocial outpatient approach for the treatment of methamphetamine‐dependent individuals.