New trends of drug abuse in custodial settings: A systematic review on the misuse of over-the-counter drugs, prescription-only-medications, and new psychoactive substances

Stefania Chiappini; Giorgia Vaccaro; Alessio Mosca; Andrea Miuli; Gianfranco Stigliano; Giulia Stefanelli; Giulia Giovannetti; Rosalba Carullo; Giacomo d'Andrea; Francesco Di Carlo; Clara Cavallotto; Mauro Pettorruso; Gilberto Di Petta; John Martin Corkery; Amira Guirguis; Jacqueline L Stair; Giovanni Martinotti; Seena Fazel; Fabrizio Schifano

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105691

New trends of drug abuse in custodial settings: A systematic review on the misuse of over-the-counter drugs, prescription-only-medications, and new psychoactive substances

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024 May 10:162:105691. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105691. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Stefania Chiappini¹, Giorgia Vaccaro², Alessio Mosca³, Andrea Miuli⁴, Gianfranco Stigliano⁴, Giulia Stefanelli⁴, Giulia Giovannetti⁴, Rosalba Carullo⁴, Giacomo d'Andrea⁴, Francesco Di Carlo⁴, Clara Cavallotto⁴, Mauro Pettorruso⁴, Gilberto Di Petta⁵, John Martin Corkery⁶, Amira Guirguis⁷, Jacqueline L Stair⁶, Giovanni Martinotti¹, Seena Fazel⁸, Fabrizio Schifano⁶

Affiliations

¹ Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire AL10 9EU, UK; Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti 66100, Italy.
² Department of Clinical, Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire AL10 9EU, UK.
³ Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti 66100, Italy. Electronic address: alessio.mosca909@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti 66100, Italy.
⁵ Department of Neuroscience Department of Mental Health, ASL Napoli 2, Napoli, Nord, Italy.
⁶ Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire AL10 9EU, UK.
⁷ Swansea University Medical School, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales SA28PP, UK.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, England.

PMID: 38733894
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105691

Abstract

The article presents a systematic literature review on the use and the psychiatric implications of over-the-counter drugs (OTC), prescription-only-medications (POM), and new psychoactive substances (NPS) within custodial settings. The searches wer carried out on 2 November 2022 on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in line with PRISMA guidelines. A total of 538 records were identified, of which 37 met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed the most prevalent NPS and OTC and POM classes reported in prisons were synthetic cannabinoids receptor agonists (SCRAs) and opioids, respectively. NPS markets were shown to be in constant evolution following the pace of legislations aimed to reduce their spread. The use of such substances heavily impacts the conditions and rehabilitation of persons in custody, with consequent physical and mental health risks. It is important to raise awareness of the use and misuse of such substances in prisons (i) from an early warning perspective for law enforcement and policy makers (ii) to prompt doctors to cautiously prescribe substances that may be misused with caution (iii) to improve and increase access to treatment provided (iv) to add such substances to routine toxicological screening procedures (v) to improve harm reduction programmes.

Keywords: Abuse; Custodial setting; Drug abuse; Drug misuse; Inmates; NPS; New psychoactive substances; OTC; POM; Prisoners.

Publication types

Review