Benson Tong. Unsubmissive Women: Chinese Prostitutes in Nineteenth Century San Francisco. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. xix, 203 pp. Hardcover $24.95, isbn 0-8061-2653-1.

Book reviewIn lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Notes 1. Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings by and about Asian American Women is a collection of essays edited by Asian Women United of California, and published by Beacon Press (1989). Sucheng Chan's article appears in Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882-1943 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), pp. 94-146. 2. One of the most impressive studies on Chinese immigrant women can be found in Lucie Cheng Hirata's 'Free, Indentured, Enslaved: Chinese Prostitutes in Nineteenth Century America,' Signs (Autumn 1979): 3-29. Tong's research moves in a different direction from Hirata's work, as his efforts are concerned with the women's experiences rather than the economic consequences of Chinese prostitution. 3. Tong notes that section 16 of the Civil Rights Act of 1870 mandated the right to testify in court. [Abstract from Project MUSE]published_or_final_versio

Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004–2006

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the backdrop of a global ecstasy epidemic, this study sought to examine the trend, correlates, and onset sequence of ecstasy use among adolescents in Taiwan, where a well-established gateway drug such as marijuana is much less popular.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A multistage probability survey of school-attending adolescents in grades 7, 9, 10, and 12, aged 11–19 years, was conducted in 2004, 2005, and 2006. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire elicited response rates ranging from 94.3% to 96.6%. The sample sizes were 18232 respondents in 2004, 17986 in 2005, and 17864 in 2006.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In terms of lifetime prevalence and incidence, ecstasy and ketamine by and large appeared as the first and second commonly used illegal drugs, respectively, among middle (grades 7 and 9) and high school students (grades 10 and 12) during the 3-year survey period; however, this order was reversed in the middle school-aged students starting in 2006. Having sexual experience, tobacco use, and betel nut use were factors consistently associated with the onset of ecstasy use across years. The majority of ecstasy users had been involved in polydrug use, such as the use of ketamine (41.4%–53.5%), marijuana (12.7%–18.7%), and methamphetamine (4.2%–9.5%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>From 2004 to 2006, a decline was noted in the prevalence and incidence rate of ecstasy, a leading illegal drug used by school-attending adolescents in Taiwan since the early 2000s. The emerging ketamine use trend may warrant more attention in the future.</p

Trends in Illicit Use and Controls of Amphetamine Type Stimulants: The Case of Hong Kong

In the early 1990s, the United Nations Drug Control Program [now renamed to the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP)] reported that amphetamine type stimulant (ATS) use including amphetamine, methamphetamine, and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) was steadily increasing (1996). The rise in ATS use, first noticeable in North America, Europe, and the Far East, became a global phenomenon by the latter 1990s (UNODCCP, 2002a). This global trend shows no signs of slowing in the 21st century given prevalence estimates. The global annual prevalence of ATS abuse is estimated at 0.8% of the population over 15 years of age or 33.4 million users (UNODCCP, 2002b). One of the most pressing aspects of the increase in ATS use is its concentration in Asia. Currently, two-thirds of the 33.4 million users are in the Asia region. With over 80% of the global ATS seizures concentrated in Asia, China being the main ATS source in the region, there are no indications of a decline in the near future. Within the Asia region, the trends are indeed worrying. Although Japan s association with methamphetamines dates back to World War II, many other Asian countries have recently witnessed dramatic increases in ATS consumption including the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hong Kong, and mainland China (Laidler, 2002; UNODCCP, 2002b). The Philippines has experienced one of the largest growing methamphetamine problems in Asia in the last ten years. Arrest and accredited treatment center data indicate that over 80% of users report methamphetamine as their primary drug (Philippines Dangerous Drugs Board, 2001). In Manila alone, its use is eight times higher than in the United States (UNODCCP, 2000). Of particular urgency is the dramatic rise in ATS consumption in countries that have had a longstanding association with opiate use. Thailand s heroin epidemics shifted in the 1990s such that methamphetamine use currently represents the most serious drug abuse problem (Poshyachinda, Srisurapanont, & Perngparn, 1999). Similarly, Hong Kong has had a long history with opiates, dating back to the 1800s. This pattern has shifted in the last few years so rapidly that Hong Kong has been identified as experiencing one of the largest rises internationally (UNODCCP, 2002b). This shift to stimulant use represents important challenges for the control and treatment of drug use as the production, distribution, use, and consequences of heroin are significantly different from ATS. In order to understand the challenges in dealing with this shift, this article examines the trends of use, sales, and law enforcement in Hong Kong. The data for this discussion draw from research conducted for the UNODCCP and United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) study on the global drug market and a study on the marketplace of dance drugs

Flesh and Blood: Adolescent Gender Diversity and Violence, by James W. Messerschmidt. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004, 176 pp., $21.95 (paper).

Book revie

Moving beyond the gang-drug-violence connection

The aim of this article is to reflect on the conceptual and methodological developments of our gang research over the past 20 years. We have conducted a large number of consecutive qualitative studies on youth gangs, drugs and alcohol in one urban locale for over two decades and have amassed a data set of over 2000 qualitative interviews. We have kept pace with the social changes in San Francisco as they have impacted and shaped youth gangs and their members' lives. However, these changes have not only occurred in the social context of gang members' lives, but have also occurred in our own thinking about how to conceptualize research on gangs. We have broadened our analysis of gang members' lives and incorporated new theoretical developments from research outside of the gang field. In addition to this shift in emphasis, our overall aim has been to redirect the research focus on youth gangs from a social problem and criminological perspective to a more sociological approach in which these youth are situated within an everyday perspective. With these overall issues in mind, we see this discussion as taking stock of the nature of gang research in the past, present and future. © 2012 Informa UK Ltd.link_to_OA_fulltex

Ketamine self-administration in the rat: evidence for a critical role of setting

RATIONALE The abuse of ketamine has been reported to be on the rise over the past 15 years, but its abuse appears to be limited almost exclusively to the context of music and dance settings, indicating a major role of context in modulating its reinforcing effects. We have previously reported that amphetamine, cocaine, and heroin self-administration (SA) in the rat are differentially influenced by the setting in which testing takes place. The aim of the present study is to extend this pre-clinical model to ketamine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Independent groups of rats with intravenous catheters were given the possibility to self-administer different doses of ketamine (125, 250, and 500 μg/kg per infusion) under two environmental conditions. Some animals were housed in the SA chambers (resident rats) whereas other rats were transported to the SA chambers only for the test sessions (non-resident rats). After training, within-subject dose effect curves (125, 250, 500, and 1,000 μg/kg per infusion) and break-point (during a progressive ratio session) were calculated. RESULTS Non-resident rats readily acquired ketamine self-administration. In contrast, resident rats self-administered only the highest dose of ketamine (500 μg/kg), but still four times less than non-resident rats (11.0 ± 6.0 vs 44.4 ± 5.2 infusions during the last training session). No significant differences in break-point were found during the progressive ratio session. CONCLUSIONS The present study confirms at a preclinical level the importance of setting for ketamine SA and further validates a previously described animal model of drug-environment interaction