@article{ref1,
title="Implementing Mexico's 'narcomenudeo' drug law reform: a mixed methods assessment of early experiences among people who inject drugs",
journal="Journal of mixed methods research",
year="2016",
author="Beletsky, Leo and Wagner, Karla D. and Arredondo, Jaime and Palinkas, Lawrence and Rodríguez, Carlos Magis and Kalic, Nicolette and Natasha-Ludwig-Barron,  and Strathdee, Steffanie A.",
volume="10",
number="4",
pages="384-401",
abstract="In 2009, Mexico decriminalized small-scale drug possession, instituting drug treatment diversion in lieu of incarceration. To assess initial reform impact, our mixed methods study integrated a structured questionnaire with in-depth interviews assessing legal knowledge, police encounters, and risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana. Between 2010 and 2013, we recruited 737 adults; 32 participated in qualitative interviews. Only 11% reported being aware of the reform; virtually none experienced its operational components. Narratives underscored the law's irrelevance to PWID; 699 (98%) saw police practice as generally inconsistent with formal law. Instead of treatment diversion, police encounters were associated with risk behaviors, including syringe sharing (odds ratio [OR] = 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-1.46) and polydrug use (OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.38-3.22). As drug policy reforms gain global momentum, ancillary structural interventions are needed to improve their public health benefit.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1558-6898",
doi="10.1177/1558689815575862",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1558689815575862"
}