Se está experimentando con programas de reducción de daños centrados en estimulantes inhalados o fumados (crack/paco o pasta base de coca/bazuco). Al compartir pipas caseras, consumidores de crack pueden hacerse heridas en los labios y las encías, a través de las que se pueden contagiar enfermedades como herpes, tuberculosis, hepatitis y VIH/SIDA. El consumo de crack recuentemente implica un comportamiento sexual de riesgo. En Brasil, Canadá y los Estados Unidos dispensan 'kits para un consumo de crack más seguro', que incluye preservativos, pipas, boquillas de pipa, pañuelos, vaselina y bálsamo de labios para combatir infecciones y enfermedades transmitidas por contagio sexual, además de facilitar información sobre cómo evitar prácticas inseguras.
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Pasta base de cocaína y cannabis en el ámbito de la salud mental en Chile
Ingrid Tartakowsky LópezJulio de 2014Observaciones clínicas y evidencias científicas - Los usos de algunas drogas en Chile se encuentran silenciados en los discursos oficiales, por lo que resulta importante llevar a cabo un ejercicio de observación clínica sobre la forma de aparición de algunos que requieren atención y que no son visualizados como prioridad en salud mental.
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Marihuana por bazuco
Una deshabituación paso a paso
Tom Blickman Amira ArmentaLunes, 22 de abril, 2013La alcaldía de Bogotá ha propuesto recientemente un plan piloto para explorar con adictos al bazuco el reemplazo de esta sustancia por la marihuana. El plan de sustitución se realizaría con 15 consumidores problemáticos del Bronx los cuales ya están recibiendo asistencia de salud en el CAMAD que funciona en ese sector de la ciudad. El tratamiento duraría aproximadamente ocho meses, después de los cuales se haría una evaluación de los resultados.
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Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs
A dispensary-based survey of substitution effect in Canadian medical cannabis patients
Philippe Lucas, Amanda Reiman, Mitch Earleywine, Stephanie K. McGowan, Megan Oleson, Michael P. Coward & Brian ThomasAddiction Research & Theory
November 20, 2012This article examines the subjective impact of medical cannabis on the use of both licit and illicit substances via self-report from 404 medical cannabis patients recruited from four dispensaries in British Columbia, Canada. The aim of this study is to examine a phenomenon called substitution effect, in which the use of one product or substance is influenced by the use or availability of another.
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Cocaine addiction treatments to improve control and reduce harm (CATCH)
New pharmacological treatment options for crack-cocaine dependence in the Netherlands
Mascha Nuijten, Peter Blanken, Wim van den Brink and Vincent HendriksBMC Psychiatry 2011, 11:135
August 2011Cocaine, particularly in its base form ('crack'), has become one of the drugs of most concern in the Netherlands, being associated with a wide range of medical, psychiatric and social problems for the individual, and with significant public order consequences for society. Available treatment options for cocaine dependent users are limited, and a substantial part of the cocaine dependent population is not reached by the addiction treatment system.
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Uptake, benefits of and barriers to safer crack use kit (SCUK) distribution programmes in Victoria, Canada
A qualitative exploration
Andrew Ivsins, Eric Roth, Nadine Nakamura, Mel Krajden & Benedikt FischerInternational Journal of Drug Policy 22(4):292-300
July 2011Crack use is prevalent amongst street drug users in Canadian cities, and associated with severe drug use, health and social problems. Whilst few targeted interventions are available for crack use, the common use and sharing of hazardous makeshift paraphernalia are a key concern, as these risks may be associated with oral injury and blood-borne virus (BBV) transmission amongst users. Recently, distribution programmes of so-called 'safer crack use kits' (SCUKs) have been initiated in select Canadian cities, primarily to reduce the use of unsafe materials and paraphernalia sharing amongst crack users. This study explored uptake and benefits of, barriers to, and possible improvements to two recently implemented SCUK distribution programme in Victoria, Canada.
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Do crack smoking practices change with the introduction of safer crack kits?
Leslie A. Malchy, Vicky Bungay, Joy L. Johnson & Jane BuxtonCanadian Journal of Public Health 102(3):188-92.
May-June 2011Crack smoking has increased in Vancouver despite the harms associated with its use. Many people who smoke crack share their equipment, thereby increasing their risk for infectious disease. This project explored the effects of outreach distribution of "safer crack kits" on smoking practices. While kit distribution made safer use items more accessible, its impact on safer use practice was limited. Our findings highlight the need for targeted distribution of safer use items. Future research should explore the dynamics of unsafe crack smoking practices and ways to leverage safer use messaging.
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Coca leaf chewing as therapy for cocaine maintenance
Jorge Hurtado GumucioAnnales de médecine interne 151
October 2000The cocaine base, or “pasta”, may be seen as a type of South American crack. Its obligatory method of administration is smoking. A primary condition of the “pasta” smoker is compulsive drug-search behavior and addiction to cocaine base destroys emotional and mental balance. Socio-economic maladjustment is the norm amongst “pasta” addicts. Since 1984 I have recommended the chewing of the coca leaf, between 100 to 200 grams of coca leaf per week for the treatment of cocaine dependence.
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The Safer Crack Use Program
Fact sheet
Toronto Public Health
June 2010This fact sheet explains the Safer Crack Use Program of the Public Health Department of Toronto (Canada). In Toronto, a range of community-based, government and institutional agencies deliver harm reduction services. As with other harm reduction measures, there is no evidence that the distribution of safer crack use kits encourages drug use. Only people who are already using crack cocaine participate in the Safer Crack Use Program.
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The fast and the furious
Cocaine, amphetamines and harm reduction
Jean-Paul Grund, Philip Coffin, Marie Jauffret-Roustide, Minke Dijkstra, Dick de Bruin and Peter BlankenEuropean Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
April 2010Harm reduction programmes targeting stimulants like cocaine and (meth)amphetamines in several countries have shown positive results. However, these programmes are limited to Australia and North America. As the effectiveness of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for stimulant users is limited, interventions to stabilise and minimise the negative consequences of ongoing methamphetamine use are of paramount importance. A wide range of health and social problems associated with stimulant use are largely unaddressed by current services.
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Smoking of crack cocaine as a risk factor for HIV infection among people who use injection drugs
Kora DeBeck et. al.Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)
October 27, 2009This paper examined whether use of crack cocaine has become a risk factor for HIV infection. Smoking of crack cocaine was found to be an independent risk factor for HIV seroconversion among injection drug users. This finding points to the urgent need for evidence-based public health initiatives targeted at people who smoke crack cocaine. Innovative interventions that have the potential to reduce HIV transmission in this population, including the distribution of safer crack kits and medically supervised inhalation rooms, need to be evaluated.
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