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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many industries, and reports indicate that this includes the illicit drug market. Recent research suggests that the homeless are particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, and the UK Government has acted to house rough sleepers. Research is scarce regarding homeless people’s experiences of the illicit drug market. This study aims to explore homeless people’s experiences of the drug supply in the UK during COVID-19.

Eight homeless people who use illicit drugs, residing in hostels for homeless people in Southampton, participated in semi-structured one-on-one telephone-based interviews.

A thematic analysis revealed five themes: availability of drugs, presence of dealers, quality of drugs, finances and personal experiences. Participants reported varying experiences of the drug supply, with lockdown measures expressed as the main reason for reduced supplies, as users found it difficult to find dealers and generate income for purchasing drugs.

The results may lack generalisability to the wider population, such as rough sleepers and drug dealers, suggesting a need for further research into people’s experiences of the drug supply during COVID-19. Research on this topic could be more in-depth through the use of research methods that are convenient for the homeless population.

Services should invest in harm reduction services and encourage homeless people who use drugs to engage in substitution treatment. Homeless services should provide psychological support for homeless people who use drugs.

The changes in homeless people’s behaviour following the pandemic may have implications for their interactions with the rest of society (e.g. begging in town centres may reduce). These changes in behaviour may also change the way society can best support homeless people.

The results are partially consistent with other research findings about the illicit drug supply; however, they also suggest that some individuals experienced minimal change in the illicit drug supply.

The purpose of this paper is to examine lived experiences of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) during and immediately following release from detention in prisons in England and Scotland.

Surveys were completed by serving prisoners in both countries and by those recently released from prison (England only). The survey findings were discussed in focus groups of people with lived experience. The combined findings from the surveys and focus groups were shared with an expert group of prison OAT providers and people with lived experience with the purpose of making recommendations for more accessible and effective OAT in custodial environments and continuity of OAT on release

The quality and accessibility of OAT varied considerably between establishments. It was reported to be harder to access OAT in Scottish prisons. It was often hard for people in prison to get the dosage of OAT they felt they needed and it was generally harder to access buprenorphine than methadone in English prisons. Only Scottish people in prison were aware of long-lasting forms of buprenorphine. People in English prisons had mixed experiences of the help available in prison, with no improvement recorded since a 2016 study. People in Scottish prisons were more likely to rate the help available as poor.

The number of people accessed while actually in prison (73) was reduced by the impact of the pandemic, making it more difficult to access people in prison and because some were resistant to participating on the basis that they had already been consulted for a wide variety of research projects focused on the impact of COVID. The Scottish cohort (a total of 19 individuals comprising 14 survey respondents and five focus group members) is clearly too small a number on which to base robust claims about differences in OAT provision between the English and Scottish prison systems..

The study identifies key barriers to accessing OAT in prisons and suggests key components of more user-friendly approaches.

This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.

This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release in England and Scotland and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the eventual legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales should extend to persons deprived of liberty, as well.

Using a relational view of dignity strengthens the argument that the need to protect the dignity of persons deprived of liberty requires the extension of the legalisation of assisted dying to persons deprived of liberty once generally achieved in England and Wales.

Three aspects make dignity a relational concept – dignity being attributed by society, dignity working as a restraint on others and dignity requiring specific behaviours. All these elements support the claim that assisted dying should be available to persons deprived of liberty, once legalised in England and Wales.

Both the legalisation of assisted dying for persons deprived of liberty and the concept of relational dignity have to date found little attention. With a legalisation of assisted dying being debated in England and Wales, it is pertinent to discuss its application to persons deprived of liberty, who would undoubtedly not automatically benefit from a future Assisted Dying Act.

Individuals who are exploited and manipulated by criminal gangs are often wrongly labelled, stereotyped, and blamed (to varying levels) for the vulnerable positions that they find themselves in. Individuals who perpetrate violence towards others have often also been victims of violence and crime themselves. Teaching about these groups and trying to represent their position and experiences is a difficult and sensitive area. Building on current research, experiences of teaching professionals and students about the exploitation of marginalised groups, serious violence, and crime during COVID-19, are reflected upon. In doing so, what is important for students to understand about marganilised groups is set out, and recommendations for improvements to teaching practice are discussed. Firstly, it is argued that where educators seek to help students learn about marginalised groups, there needs to be preparation to put the work in at the front end and reflect on their own assumptions, beliefs and learning needs. Secondly, they also need to think about the ‘active’ and ‘passive’ (Seddon, 2005) aspects of individual agency and to be as authentic as they can to the lived experiences of marginalised communities as community members engage in types of behaviours and access services. Finally, it is then important for them to open up opportunities for students to reflect on the more detailed aspects and wider social, economic, and structural factors that marginalised communities face as they endeavour to articulate their own needs in society.

Most people admitted to jails present indications of substance use disorder, and methamphetamine use disorders (MUDs) have recently become the most prevalent in certain communities. Much of the research conducted with jail populations has focused on large urban facilities, despite them representing a small number of the nearly 3,000 correctional centers in the USA. This study aims to examine MUDs in a large multisite sample of adults admitted to rural jails in the USA to help inform better practices aimed at addressing these conditions.

Interviews were conducted with 525 adults ranging in age from 18 to 72 years within three rural detention centers within the USA using the Comprehensive Addictions and Psychological Evaluation-5. Retrospective records were extracted to assess relationships between Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic classifications for MUDs, length of detention and jail admission over a 12-month period.

Results indicate those who met diagnostic criteria for MUD were more likely to be charged with a drug-related offense, a more serious offense (i.e. felony) and also spend more time detained relative to those who did not receive a similar diagnosis. Multivariate regression analyses also demonstrated persons with MUD diagnoses were significantly more likely to be admitted to the detention center on multiple occasions compared to those without a diagnosis.

Evidence from an understudied population supports the need to address MUDs among adults detained in rural jails. Proper diagnosis and linkage to care can enhance efforts to reduce the prevalence of these conditions.

The United States of America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. However, little has been written within the domain of LIS (Library and Information Science) about the health information needs and behaviors of people who inject drugs. The purpose of this project is to conduct a scoping review of the current knowledge disseminated by LIS scholars and professionals regarding what information people who inject drugs have access to, need, how they interact with information and what dissemination methods may be most beneficial.

A scoping review of the literature was conducted with the additional inclusion criteria that the information needs be expressed from the insider perspective of this population instead of from the researcher.

In searching over a dozen databases, only seven articles were found that reflected the information behaviors of people who use drugs from the perspective of themselves. Only one article was from information science, two were from health informatics and one was from health communication, a closely linked field. These findings describe the information behaviors and needs of this population and speak to the need for more comprehensive research in this area in order to create targeted health information resources for this sensitive population.

There is little research in the domain of information science that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs. Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs. This exploration into the literature on the information behavior of people that inject drugs from the perspective of themselves is unique.

1. There is very little research that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs.

2. Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs.

3. Only four such articles were found in the domain of LIS and seven, in total, between all academic domains.

There is very little research that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs.

Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs.

Only four such articles were found in the domain of LIS and seven, in total, between all academic domains.

Inequality of rights, wage gaps, and gender stereotypes are the context in which women in Latin America live, aggravating their situation of poverty. Under this scenario, drug trafficking is presented as a legitimate job offer as an answer to women’s economic needs. Currently, drug trafficking not only categorizes women as merchandise for sexual services but also integrates professional, technical, and logistical services within the criminal structures.

This research follows a qualitative methodology, making a documentary review to identify the role of women in drug trafficking. As partial results, it is evident that women recognize that gender gaps are not solved by their insertion in the drug trafficking economy, because they must perform jobs that put them at greater risk with the authorities, but they do solve an economic need.