Hunt, Geoffrey, Moloney, Molly and Fazio, Adam. (2011). Embarking on large-scale qualitative research: Reaping the benefits of mixed methods in studying youth, clubs and drugs. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 28(5-6): 433-452. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/v10199-011-0040-1

Frank, Vibeke Asmussen and Hunt, Geoffrey. (2011). Social science research into drugs and alcohol. Public Service Review: European Science & Technology, 11: 354-355.

An affiliation between the Institute for Scientific Analysis and CRF in Aarhus  has been established to encourage collaborative research endeavors between scientists at both research centers, to increase a sharing of research data for pursuing cross-national research and to further the mentoring and training of pre and post-doctoral candidates from CRF.

Hunt, Geoffrey, Fazio, Adam, MacKenzie, Kathleen and Moloney, Molly. (2011). Food in the family. Bringing young people back in. Appetite, 56(2): 394-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.01.001

Moloney, Molly, Hunt, Geoffrey P., Joe-Laidler, Karen and MacKenzie, Kathleen. (2011). Young mother (in the) hood: Gang girls’ negotiation of new identities. Journal of Youth Studies, 14(1): 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2010.506531

Fazio, Adam, Hunt, Geoffrey and Moloney, Molly. (2011). “It’s one of the better drugs to use”: Perceptions of cocaine use among gay and bisexual Asian American men. Qualitative Health Research, 21(5): 625-641. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049732310385825

Edited by Geoffrey Hunt, Institute for Scientific Analysis, USA, Maitena Milhet, French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, France and Henri Bergeron, Sciences Po, France

Drugs and Culture: Knowledge, Consumption and Policy

Current approaches to drugs tend to be determined by medical and criminal visions that emerged over a century ago; the concepts of addiction, on the one hand, and drug control on the other, having imposed themselves as the unquestionable central notions surrounding drug issues and discourses. Pathologization and criminalization are the dominant perspectives on psychoactive drugs, and it is difficult to describe drug consumption in any terms other than those of medicine, or to conceive of regulation except in terms of control and eradication.

Drugs and Culture presents other voices and understandings of drug issues, highlighting the socio-cultural features of drug use and regulation in modern societies. It examines the cultural dimensions of drugs and their regulation, with special attention to questions of how consumption of specific psychoactive substances becomes associated with particular social groups; the social dynamics involved in our coming to think of these phenomena as we do; and the factors that determine the political and policy responses to drug use.

Adopting approaches from anthropology, sociology, history, political science and geopolitics to challenge the prevailing pathologization and criminalization of drug use, this book provides international and comparative perspectives on drug research, based on the latest research in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Youth, Drugs, and Night Life examines the relationships between the electronic dance scene and drug use for young ravers and clubbers today. Based on over 300 interviews with ravers, DJ’s and promoters, Hunt, Moloney, and Evans examine the different social groupings that make up the scene. The authors explore the accomplishment of gender, sexuality, and Asian American ethnic identity and critically analyze the negotiation of risk and pleasure within the world of raves and dance clubs. We learn about young ravers and clubbers’ frustrations with recent attempts to control clubs and raves and their skepticism about official pronouncements on the dangers of ecstasy and other drugs, in this book that pivots between the local, the national, and the global in its approach.

John Irwin, a uniquely San Francisco raconteur who proudly referred to himself as a rogue, died January 3, 2010, at the age of 80. Known internationally as an expert on the American prison system, John began his journey from criminal to criminologist by dabbling in “the life” as a young adult- resulting in a five year sentence in Soledad prison during the 1950s.

John was often called the Horatio Alger of ex-convicts. After his release from prison he earned a BA in sociology from UCLA and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation, “The Felon,” published in 1970, became a classic in the field of criminology. John became a professor of sociology at San Francisco State University in 1967, where he taught for 27 years. There he founded Project Rebound, a degree program for ex-offenders.

During his career, Dr. Irwin, known as a “radical criminologist,” was a prolific writer who published dozens of scholarly articles and seven books, including “The Struggle for Justice,” “Prisons in Turmoil,” “The Jail,” “The Warehouse Prison,” “It’s about Time,” and “Lifers.”

Combining academics with activism, John founded the Prisoners’ Union, one of the first organizations dedicated to prisoners’ civil rights, in 1971. He served on numerous boards of directors for organizations dedicated to criminal justice policy and rehabilitation, including the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C. and Walden House in San Francisco.

John’s interests and talents were diverse. He was a Renaissance man who liked to think of himself as a Bohemian; a surfer, skier, and cyclist; an avid reader, jazz fan, and furniture maker.

Most of all, John Irwin loved his family: daughters Jeanette, Katy and Anne, son Johnny, and wife of 38 years-Marsha Rosenbaum.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on Friday, January 8, 2010, at 4:00 PM at the Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop, The Presidio, San Francisco.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in John’s memory can be made to:

JK Irwin Foundation
2233 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123

See also: Criminal turned criminologist John Irwin dies. San Francisco Chronicle. January 7, 2010.

Dr. Fillmore’s research brings to the institute’s honored tradition an epidemiological approach. She will investigate probable systematic error and other features of epidemiological research that can keep the research community from solidly concluding the validity of associations between alcohol use and disease incidence. The work will contribute to an evidentiary basis for clinical practice and international guidelines, and inform the general public. Left undetected and uncorrected, systematic error in these studies will substantially undermine the quality and accuracy of public health policy. This could lead to the potential dissemination of misleading information. The public health significance of this is not trivial, especially for common conditions such as heart diseases and cancer. This was highlighted recently by the 2007 World Health Organization’s expert committee on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Noting Dr. Fillmore and colleagues work showing that past consensus regarding alcohol’s cardio-protective effect had been overstated, the committee revised their guidelines.

Dr Fillmore and colleagues utilize a cross-study, multiple disease focus, bringing to the area of alcohol use and disease outcome, substantial health policy implications to inform public debate.