The drug treatment staff attitude towards needle exchange is what investigates in this study. The aim of this study is to see what?s affecting the standpoints in the needle exchange issue and also to investigate if the needle exchange is compatible with Swedish drug policy. The study has a qualitative approach and it?s based on eight semi-structured interviews with drug treatment staff.

In this study the opioid buprenorphine was given to 8 clinically healthy goats. The pharmacokinetics and behavioral effects were studied. Injections of buprenorphine, 0.02 mg/kg body weight was given both intramuscularly (i.m.) and intravenously (i.v.) with a cross over design. The results showed a short half-life of the drug in the plasma, 65.9 ± 17.4 min (mean ± SD), after i.v. injection.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the significance for former drug addicts who, during their treatment against drug abuse, have had a therapist with a drug addiction in his or her past. A qualitative case study has been used as method in which four former drug users have been interviewed. We have compiled the results based on five key themes in order to get a comprehensive picture of the relevance of common experiences regarding drug abuse, based on former addicts? experiences. This has been done in connection with a review of different theoretical perspectives that we have found relevant to the investigation. Our findings have then been compared with previous research in the field.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mental illness and socioeconomic factors such as education, age and gender among drug users. Descriptive and ANOVA analysis were performed to 68 structured interviews (Addiction Severity Index basic). Analysis addressed associations between drug usage and level of education, age and gender. Results showed gender differences in self-rated mental health with women drug users rating their mental health lower than men. In addition, there was no association between age, educational level and self-rated mental health.

Blood-borne infectious diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) spread when the addicts share needles and injecting equipmentwithin contact networks. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Winnipeg,Canada in December 2003 - September 2004. Through a special questionnaire, respondentswere asked to answer questions about themselves and about their contacts, about relationshipsand how they shared syringes and other injection supplies. Blood tests were used to identifywhether they carried any blood-borne infectious diseases. We selected some variables from theoriginal data set.

Blood-borne infectious diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) spread when the addicts share needles and injecting equipmentwithin contact networks. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Winnipeg,Canada in December 2003 - September 2004. Through a special questionnaire, respondentswere asked to answer questions about themselves and about their contacts, about relationshipsand how they shared syringes and other injection supplies. Blood tests were used to identifywhether they carried any blood-borne infectious diseases. We selected some variables from theoriginal data set.

Methadone is frequently used as an analgesic drug for dogs although there are very few studies describing the pharmacokinetics of methadone in this species. In man methadone has a long half-life and there are considerable differences in pharmacokinetics between individuals. The dose interval is lengthened when the drug is used fore longer periods of time due to prolonged half-life. Therefore the drug dose must be adjusted individually. The purpose of this study was to study the fundamental pharmacokinetics of methadone in dogs, and to find an optimal drug dosage.

Transdermal drug delivery, besides painfulinjections with syringes, has long been associatedwith small size particle pharmaceuticals, which candiffuse through the skin. This method of drugadministration has only been applicable on a smallnumber of drugs, where active molecules are smalland delivery time should or can be long.Other drug delivery options are oral administrationand injection with hypodermic needles (ordinaryhospital syringes). In oral administration thestomach and liver tend to dissolve the drug and theeffect becomes more difficult to anticipate, anddrug delivery rates difficult to control. Hypodermicneedles are used as a mean of drug injectiondirectly into the bloodstream. This method ispainful and risks infection due to tissue damageand skin penetration.One way to get a painless non-damaging techniquewith high delivery rate that still can delivery largemolecules is to manufacture an array of microscopichollow needles and equip them with a pumping unitthat delivers the correct amount of drugs.This thesis shows the technique and possibility ofmanufacture micromachined needles using low costtechniques of Ion Track Technology (radiation ofheavy ions creates porous materials), electrolessdeposition (non-current activated wet chemistrymethod of depositing metal) and electroplating.

Title: Consequences of diversion ? a qualitative interview study regarding illicitbuprenorphine use.In year 1999 buprenorphine was introduced in Sweden and is used in treatment for opioiddependence. An issue concerning substitution treatment programmes is the occurrence ofdiversion and the following illegal sails of buprenorphine on a black market. The aim of thisstudy was to explore how people who have used illicitly obtained buprenorphine describessuch abuse. The study was conducted using qualitative method, where a total of fiveindividuals were interviewed about past experiences of having used illicitly acquiredbuprenorphine.

The purpose of this essay is to identify how the drug user is portrayed in motion pictures. My main questions are: How is the drug use described? How is the male and female drug user depicted? How may the movies contribute to the construction, reproduction and change of gender? The method I use in my research is a qualitative, selective discourse- analysis of a number of movies prominently portraying drug use. A gender perspective is also applied on this paper.The main result of the study is that I have found that the great majority of the analyzed films portray drug use as means for something else. Drug use is often portrayed in the beginning as heavenly but changes to be depicted as problematic.

The aim of this study is to examine how young people look at and perceive drugs by studying how they discuss and reason about drugs. The essay's main interest is not whether young people use drugs or not. We are primarily interested in how young people talk about drugs. The questions that we want to get answered are:What are the beliefs that young people have about drugs, drug use and drug users? More specifically we seek answers to which images, symbols and attributes that young people links to drugs, drug use and drug users.What is important in young people's construction of beliefs about drugs and drug users? More specifically, which are the information sources and reference groups that young people assigns significance?We used focus group interviews as the research method.

In veterinary medicine, penicillin is the most used antibiotic in Sweden. Two dosage forms of penicillin are available in Sweden for use in horses, sodium benzylpenicillin (Na-pc) and procaine benzylpenicillin (proc-pc). Proc-pc is the most used dosage form and is used for intramuscular administration which allows horse owners to treat an animal at home under veterinary instruction. Na-pc is only approved for intravenous use in horses. Penicillin is normally well tolerated by horses but a serious, sometimes life-threatening, adverse reaction called penicillin shock may occur.

The problem with narcotics is one of Sweden?s biggest social problems. Statistics shows thatthe number of narcotic related deaths and the numbers of heavy drug users are increasing. Thepresent narcotic policy has been questioned due to this increase. As a social worker you meetdrug users on a daily basis.

Intramuscular injections to cats can generate strong reactions in some individuals while reactions of the same extent, according to the author, not always are recognized when using the subcutaneous route. The reactions are probably caused by fear, stress and/or pain. When the injection can generate pain one has to take that into account, which can be a limitation in treatment. It is well known that injections generate pain, but knowledge about the cause and processes of the injection-associated pain is limited. This is mainly due to the difficulty in finding objects to study pain on, high cost of use of laboratory animals and difficulty to obtain objective measurements. Although there is evidence that there may be a local muscle injury by intramuscular injection, it is not always that the extent of damage is related to the pain experienced. Facts about the causes of injection-associated pain have been studied in a literature review.

The purpose of this essay was to investigate which factors the individuals found important in the process of becoming a person with a drug-free life. The framing of the questions we had were to get the experiences, thoughts and wishes of the drug users. The survey was based on thematised qualitative interviews and focused in the personal stories of the interviewees. We interviewed four women and five men, all of which had several years of drug-abuse behind them. We found similarities and patterns and we could identify that the three most important things was the own motivation, will and that the drug-abuser had the possibility to change their social network and had the ability to find other important things in life..