Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications, in a pattern that produces physical, psychological, and social harm. It encompasses a continuum from risky use through dependence and addiction, th…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 95× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2692-5915 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Drug abuse is the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications, in a pattern that produces physical, psychological, and social harm. It encompasses a continuum from risky use through dependence and addiction, the latter characterized by compulsive drug-seeking, loss of control, and continued use despite adverse consequences, underpinned by neuroadaptations in brain reward and stress systems. Substance use disorders are associated with comorbid mental illness, infectious disease transmission, accidents and violence, and elevated mortality, and they carry significant public-health and forensic implications. In forensic science, drug abuse is examined through toxicological analysis of biological specimens, the investigation of drug-related deaths and impairment, and the epidemiology and determinants of substance use in populations. Core topics include patterns and trends of use, risk and protective factors, vulnerable populations such as adolescents and street children, prevention and behavioral interventions, and prescribing and dispensing practices. Research grounded in this area examines drug abuse among street children, trends and inducing factors for illicit drug use, behavioral interventions for addiction-susceptible adolescents, the role of psychopharmacology and the pineal hypothesis in drug dependence, and prescribing indicators. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research relevant to forensic and behavioral science, addressing the epidemiology, determinants, consequences, and management of substance abuse and dependence.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2018

Drug Abuse among Street Children

Muhammed Bah YahyaCorresponding author
University of The Gambia, School of Arts and Sciences, Brikama Campus, The Gambia, West Africa
Exact topic Clinical Research In HIV AIDS And Prevention Cited by 52 doi:10.14302/issn.2324-7339.jcrhap-18-2291
2018

The Pineal Hypothesis for Drug Dependence

Crespi FrancescoCorresponding author
Biology, GSK Verona, Italy
Exact topic International Physiology Journal Cited by 2 doi:10.14302/issn.2578-8590.ipj-18-2524

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 95 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Drug Abuse, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Advanced Forensic Sciences (ISSN 2692-5915).

Journal editorial board
Athina Vidaki · Netherlands Timothy Palmbach · United States Ozgur Bulut · Germany

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.