The Old Gold archive
 The Old Gold archive

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The Old Gold archive

Appreciations and analyses of seminal studies of lasting significance from the past starting with the analyses most recently added or updated, totalling today 40 documents. Dates in orange refer to publication date of the original study or (if several) of the earliest of the studies. For other seminal studies see those listed in the cells of the alcohol and drug treatment matrices

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Use the selectors at the bottom to turn to the next page in the list of documents



STUDY 1998 PDF file 1044Kb
NTORS: the most crucial test yet for addiction treatment in Britain

FINDINGS analysis of the influential national English drug treatment evaluation study questions the key estimate that every extra £1 spent on treatment saved over £3 in the costs of crime alone.

STUDY 1998 PDF file 255Kb
Methadone treatment cost-effective life saver

Three studies which show that getting in to and staying in methadone treatment cost-effectively saves the lives of heroin addicts. Conversely, being denied treatment or discharged for rule-breaking costs lives.

STUDY 1999 PDF file 217Kb
Arrest referral breaks drugs-crime cycle

Early UK report clarified what makes for a successful arrest referral scheme based on experience at three schemes which adopted the 'proactive' approach of initiating contact with arrestees or offenders thought to be problem drug users.

REVIEW 1977 PDF file 841Kb
How brief can you get?

Three pioneering British studies dating back to the late '70s showed that alcohol problems could be reduced without intensive (and expensive) treatments. The implications were and remain immense, the controversy fierce.

STUDY 1997 PDF file 178Kb
Some counselling maximises methadone cost-effectiveness

Suggests that increasing availability of counselling modestly (to three times a week, uptake in practice under one a week) buys more abstinence per dollar than offering daily access plus other services.

STUDY 1998 PDF file 217Kb
Major national treatment study suggests British drug services deliver net cost savings

Influential results from the national English drug treatment evaluation included a cut in the crime rate to a third of pre-treatment levels, leading to an estimate that every extra £1 spent on treatment saved over £3 in the costs of crime alone.

STUDY 1997 PDF file 182Kb
Heroin prescribing can help methadone's failures

Studies in UK and Switzerland show that many opiate-dependent patients failed by oral methadone, or seeking treatment but unwilling to give up heroin, do better if prescribed heroin in terms of crime, illicit opiate use and psychological wellbeing.

REVIEW 1997 PDF file 186Kb
Interactive teaching methods key to effective substance use prevention in schools

Influential meta-analysis aggregating data from 120 US and Canadian secondary school drug prevention programmes found that those featuring interactive teaching methods were more effective than non-interactive programmes.

STUDY 1975 PDF file 378Kb
The danger of warnings

In the early 1970s Dutch health educators put the dominant 'scare' approach to drug education to the test and found it led to more substance use. Their seminal study caused a rethink of national policy here and in the Netherlands.

STUDY 1997 PDF file 727Kb
Project MATCH: unseen colossus

Aided by the US investigators and British experts, FINDINGS analyses what was intended to be the definitive test of whether different types of alcohol dependent patients benefit from different kinds of psychosocial therapies.


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