Addiction

INTRAVAL is one of the leading research bureaus in the area of addiction and the associated nuisance and criminality. Addiction is certainly not restricted to soft and hard drugs. Addiction to gambling, for example, is increasingly recognized as a problem. Alcohol and new amphetamine substances have recently been the subjects of important research.

INTRAVAL has conducted a large amount of research in this area, varying from literature research on alcohol and violence to extensive research on the different types of drug users. Central questions in this research concern the nature and extent of drug use, the effects of the substances, the relation between drug use and nuisance and violence, and the provision of care facilities to drug users.

The Themes

The research themes of particular interest to INTRAVAL include:

the background of (the initiation of) drug use;
the health and social position of drug users;
problem groups and groups at risk;
drug related nuisance and criminality;
possibilities for prevention and intervention;
and the effects of policy measures and programs.

The Methods

As a result of the diverse characteristics of addictive substances and the different types of users, the research theme is a highly complex one. To understand this complex theme, a broad range of research methods must be applied. In addition, this area requires researchers who have insight, knowledge and, in particular, experience relating to the subject.

The research methods used by INTRAVAL are field work (observing and approaching the target group in their own environment), group discussions, face-to-face interviews, in-depth interviews, and interviews with key informants. In addition, INTRAVAL applies both qualitative and quantitative analytic techniques.

Particularly in the area of addiction, INTRAVAL not only applies existing methods but also develops new ones, often in association with universities. These new methods are concerned primarily with ways of collecting and analyzing data. Examples include specific combinations of snowball sampling and targeted sampling, social network analysis, and population estimates.

The Contracts

In the area of addiction, INTRAVAL has conducted research on:

the problem of hard drugs in various towns in the Netherlands;
the effects of care facilities and locations reserved for drug users on drug addicts and drug related nuisance;
the nature and extent of alcohol use, drug use and aggression among youths;
the locations where cannabis is sold in the Netherlands;
local authority and national policies on soft drugs;
gambling policy and the behavior of gamblers;
care programs in India and Sri Lanka;
and hard drugs and groups at risk in South East Asia.

INTRAVAL conducts research on addiction at the local, regional, national, and international levels. INTRAVAL has carried out research contracts from institutions, local governments, provincial authorities, government departments, and international organizations such as the European Union, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations.

The Results

The wide variety of research conducted by INTRAVAL in the area of addiction has led to information on and insights into, for example:

the supply of substances;
types of users and their life styles;
the nature and extent of use;
the effects of use on the users themselves and on their surroundings;
the effects of policy measures and programs;
and differences between cultures in terms of hazardous practices.

The results lead to recommendations concerning preventative policy measures and intervention, the improvement of coordination between institutions' activities, the improvement of drug users' situation, and the improvement of policy measures directed toward various risk groups.

Increasingly, INTRAVAL conducts advisory activities in the area of addiction. Examples include advise regarding policy on drug related nuisance, the development of locations reserved for drug users, and the coordination of the activities of organizations concerned with care facilities for drug addicts and social work.

Addiction is a complex social problem. It involves a broad range of narcotic substances, such as cannabis, heroine, cocaine, XTC and alcohol. In addition, drug users are a highly heterogeneous group: addicts who use heroine, yuppies who sniff cocaine, addicts who use a variety of drugs, youths who consume cannabis, old hippies who have been smoking hash for decades, homeless alcoholics, youths active in the night life scene who abuse alcohol, and those who attend house parties and take XTC and speed. Finally, the group consisting of gambling addicts should not be underestimated.

Publications

Publications (in English) about addiction by INTRAVAL:
For a complete list of publications go to the Dutch Version.

2003

number of coffee shops in the Netherlands 2002

INTRAVAL / WODC; june 2003.

2002

number of coffee shops and different types of local and national soft drug policies (2001)

INTRAVAL / WODC; april 2002.

2001

Coffeeshops in Nederland (Coffeeshops in the Netherlands)

Number of points of sale and municipality soft drugs policy in the Netherlands.
INTRAVAL / WODC; 2001.

2000

Coffeeshops geteld (Coffeeshops counted)

Number of points of sale of cannabis in the Netherlands.
ISBN: 90 72337 69 7; 2000.

1999

Gedogen gewogen

Evaluation of the coffeeshop policy of the city of Amsterdam.
ISBN: 90 72337 60 3; March 1999.

1997

Intraval Drug Research 1995-1997

1997

1996

Cracked by coke

Cocaine: effects, problems and treatment.
ISBN 90 72337 50 6; 1996.

1995

Cocaine in the Netherlands

WHO/UNICRI cocaine project.
ISBN 90-72337-37-9; 1995.

1993

The camp approach to drug detoxification

Evaluation of drug and alcohol camps in India and Sri Lanka.
Report HQ/92/485002; WHO/HQ-PSA; 1993..

Lines across Europe

Nature and extent of cocaine use in Barcelona, Rotterdam and Turin.
ISBN 90-265-1347-X; 1993.

1992

Between the Lines

A study of the nature and extent of cocaine use in Rotterdam.
ISBN 90-72337-23-9; 1992.

1990

Cocaine use in Rotterdam: preliminary study

ISBN 90-72337-18-2; 1990.

Papers

1997

Evaluation of programs aimed at reducing nuisance caused by drugs addicts: preliminary results.

E. de Bie, E.G. Wits, B. Bieleman, J.A.M. van Oers.
Cities and Addiction, Rotterdam, 21-23 april 1997.

1996

Regional update on Drug Abuse and Policy Issues in Western Europe.

B. Bieleman, Ch. Kaplan.
In: Building international research in drug abuse. NIDA, pp 12-15, 1996.

1995

Drugs inside the borders.

Hard drugs and crime in The Netherlands: estimations of the extent.
B. Bieleman, J. Snippe, E. de Bie. St. INTRAVAL, Groningen, 1995.

HIV and Drugs Abuse in The Netherlands.

Prevalence, Intervention and Prevention.
B. Bieleman, Ch. Kaplan. Conference AIDS and Drugs Abuse. Scottsdale, Arizona, June 9-10, 1995.

1994

Comments on five in progress reviews of current knowledge on cocaine.

WHO/UNICRI Cocaine Project.
B. Bieleman, Ch. Kaplan, C.ten Den, E. de Bie. St. INTRAVAL, Groningen, 1994.

1992

Reactions of drug users on policy measures.

Summary of a study by the foundation INTRAVAL in commission of the City Council of Groningen (The Netherlands).
St. INTRAVAL, Groningen 1992.

Alcohol consumers as a hidden population.

A plea for the technology transfer of a research design.
Contribution to the Report to the European Commission on the Cultural and Social Role of Alcohol submitted by the Social Aspects Group Amsterdam.
B. Bieleman, Ch. Kaplan, E. de Bie, P. Jennen. St. INTRAVAL, Groningen, 1992.

Hidden populations.

Aanpak van een onderzoek naar cocaïnegebruikers.
B. Bieleman & E. de Bie. St. INTRAVAL, Groningen, 1992.

1991

Cocaine use in Europe.

B. Bieleman. St. INTRAVAL, Groningen, 1991.

Articles

1997

Opiate users and crime in the Netherlands.

J. Snippe, B. Bieleman.
In: Illicit drug use in Europe: proceedings of the seventh annual conference on drug use and drug policy. D. Korf, H. Riper, 1997.

Depravation and hard drug users.

E. de Bie, B. Bieleman.
In: Illicit drug use in Europe: proceedings of the seventh annual conference on drug use and drug policy. D. Korf, H. Riper, 1997.

1996

Regional update on Drug Abuse and Policy Issues in Western Europe.

B. Bieleman, Ch. Kaplan.
In: Building international research in drug abuse. NIDA, pp. 12-15, 1996.

Emerging drug abuse risk groups in The Netherlands

New challenges for community epidemiology.
Ch. Kaplan, B. Bieleman, H. Dupont, P. Blanken, I. Franken, A. Yatra, W.M. Da Silveira Barbosa, P. van Gelder, C. Barendregt.
In: CEWG Proceedings, June 1996, pp. 410-418.

1994

The prevention of stimulant misuse.

Ch. D. Kaplan, J.A. Husch, B. Bieleman.
In: Addiction (1994) 89, pp 1517-1521.

1992

A typology of cocaine lifestyles.

E. de Bie, B. Bieleman, C. ten Den.
In: J.B. Neville and F. Tellier (ed.); Proceedings third annual conference on drug use and drug policy, November 1992, Loughborough University, Loughborough, pp 130-136.

Are there 'casual users' of cocaine?

Ch. D. Kaplan, B. Bieleman, W. ten Houten.
In: G.R. Bock and J. Whelan (ed.); Cocaine: scientific and social dimensions. Ciba Foundation Symposium 166, 57-80. Wiley, Chicester 1992.

Cocaine: Widespread but not harmless.

B. Bieleman, E. de Bie, C. ten Den, Ch. D. Kaplan.
In: International journal on drug policy, 1992, vol 3 no 4, p 186-189.

The 'Boule de Neige' project: lowering the threshold for aids prevention among injection drug users.

Ch. D. Kaplan, B. Mercera, W.A.J. Meulders, G. Penders, B. Bieleman.
In: International journal on drug policy, 1992, vol 3 no 4, p 170-175.

Cocaine users as a hidden population: a research design.

B. Bieleman, E. de Bie, C. ten Den, Ch. D. Kaplan.
In: J.B. Neville and F. Tellier (ed.); Proceedings third annual conference on drug use and drug policy, November 1992, Loughborough University, Loughborough, pp 205-213.

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