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Venezuela is struck by a catastrophic economic crisis caused by widespread corruption, government mismanagement and lack of economic diversification. In 2016, President Maduro decreed the Orinoco Mining Arc: a large biodiverse region now destined for mining development. This article analyses harms inflicted on communities and environment following this development. Subsistence miners, local populations, and vulnerable ecosystems suffer in this struggle for power and wealth. Violent encounters by groups that aim to control mineral rich territories cause many local and regional conflicts. In these conflicts, state and criminal actors often collide or collaborate.

Around 2009, 'recovery' was introduced in the Netherlands as a new approach to drug addiction and addiction services. Recovery is now featured in practice-level policy but is absent in governmental drug policy. To investigate whether the Dutch recovery vision is coherent with governmental drug policy, we apply Bacchi's What's the problem represented to be? approach to analyse problematizations of 'drug addiction'. We analysed two influential practice-level policy documents and one governmental drug policy document. We found that governmental policy addresses the harms and public nuisance of drug addiction, whilst practice-level policy addresses the wellbeing of persons with addiction. Despite these different starting points, the Dutch recovery vision seems coherent with both problematizations. Its adoption in the Netherlands was less subject to political debate compared to other countries. This may be a result of recovery being driven by bottom-up efforts without government intervention, leading to constructive ambiguity between government- and practice-level policies.

Following the paradigm shift to recovery in the Anglophone world, recovery is also gaining momentum in drug policy and practice in Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands. Since the meaning of recovery is being debated internationally, broadening the assessment of how the recovery framework is applied in policy discourse and how it is implemented in various international contexts is imperative. This com parative policy analysis aims to assess similarities and differences in addiction recovery vision, imple mentation, and evaluation in Flanders and the Netherlands. The thematic analysis draws upon a triangulation of different data collection methods: a focus group (n ¼ 14) and interviews (n ¼ 21) with key figures in the addictions field, followed by analyses of relevant policy documents (n ¼ 9). Our find ings show that a holistic vision of addiction recovery is endorsed in both countries. Although differen ces in policy development occurred (i.e. centrally driven in Flanders versus 'bottom-up' in the Netherlands), similar challenges emerged concerning recovery-oriented addiction policies. While policy makers in Flanders and the addiction sector in the Netherlands strongly proclaim recovery, structural implementation, dedicated funding, and systematic evaluation of recovery-oriented policies are lacking. This study suggests that systematic inclusion of experts by experience and aligning government and practice level funding and policies are crucial. ; National Institute for Health Research

The concept of recovery has emerged as a prominent paradigm to understand processes of change in individuals with substance use problems. To date, most studies have focused on personal recovery as the key driving force of recovery journeys, generally individualizing the often-disabling social realities that persons in recovery face. To counterbalance this bias, this paper focuses on the contextual dynamics at stake during recovery processes, based on the lived experiences of 30 persons in drug addiction recovery in Flanders (Belgium). A Lifeline Interview Method was applied to elicit recovery narratives, which were thematically analysed. We found that interpersonal relationships, enabling and disabling places, and socio-economic factors facilitate or impede recovery in meaningful ways. The findings also show how these diverse contextual dimensions are interrelated and ambiguous. Researchers, policymakers, and treatment providers should acknowledge the relational nature of recovery and the invalidating impact of stigma across the three identified contextual levels.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The Stoptober House is part of the annual national Stoptober smoking cessation campaign in the Netherlands. During the first week of October, 48 volunteers resided in the tobacco-free Stoptober House for 5 days and received smoking cessation counseling. This pilot study explored how the Stoptober House may have facilitated smoking cessation among participants. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We included 48 individuals who were selected for the Stoptober House (intervention group) and 67 individuals who were not selected (control group). Surveys were conducted at baseline, immediately after 2 and 8 weeks of post-intervention. We compared self-reported abstinence, psychosocial mediators related to smoking cessation, and perceived active elements of the Stoptober House between the intervention and control groups using <i>t</i>/χ² tests and linear mixed model (LMM) analysis. Sixteen semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted to explore participants' perspectives on the elements contributing to their success in quitting smoking. <b><i>Results:</i></b> At 8 weeks of follow-up, a higher proportion of participants in the intervention group (24/48 [50%]) reported being abstinent compared to the control group (5/67 [7%]; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Among participants who reported making a quit attempt, 22/38 (57.9%) in the intervention group remained abstinent compared to 4/17 (23.5%) in the control group (<i>p</i> = 0.022). The intervention group also exhibited higher self-efficacy to quit smoking throughout the follow-up period and higher social support immediately after the Stoptober House. No significant differences were observed in other psychosocial factors. The interviews highlighted several perceived elements of the Stoptober House that contributed to smoking cessation success, including restricted smoking opportunities, access to smoking cessation counselors, and peer support. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This pilot study suggests that the Stoptober House provides support that can help people quit smoking. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and determine the cost-effectiveness of this intervention in promoting long-term abstinence among specific groups of smokers.