DS Daily - 14th April 2010

Interview: Martin Barnes, chief executive, DrugScope

Martin Barnes is determined to improve the outcomes of young people affected by drugs [Children & Young People Now, UK]

Call for social workers to get drug abuse training

Social care experts and a leading drugs charity are stepping up calls for social workers to receive compulsory specialist training in drug and alcohol abuse [Children & Young People Now, UK]

‘Too many prisoners put on methadone and abandoned’

Too many prisoners are being given methadone without further effort to help them to beat their drug habit, according to the founder of an addiction centre [Times, UK]

Inmates face curb on methadone handouts

Jailed heroin addicts are to be told they must try to become drug-free, under new guidelines issued to prison governors and healthcare staff [Times, UK]

Drug smuggling at Perth Prison 'causes concern'

More than a quarter of inmates being released from Perth Prison test positive for illegal substances, a report has revealed [BBC, UK]

Drugs focus for prisons chief

Scotland's prisons watchdog yesterday voiced his concern about the numbers of inmates who test positive for illegal drugs when they leave prison [The Scotsman, UK]

Information is Key to DIP Success

Home Office figures show that CRI London Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) services consistently outperform all other DIP providers in the capital [CRI, UK]

The Conservative manifestos on drug policy, 2005 and 2010

Continuing with our coverage of election party manifesto commitments on drug policy (see Labour's here) [TDPF, UK]

Adjust therapist directiveness to client resistance

US Project MATCH alcohol treatment trial shows that a non-directive therapeutic style suits clients prone to anger or defensiveness or who like to take control, and more structured and directive approaches suit those who welcome being given a lead. Print publication 2006 [Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK]

New tobacco controls proposed

New measures to protect children and young people from the harm caused by smoking have been unveiled by the [Welsh Assembly Government, UK]

Self-Help Web Tool For Cocaine Addicts Launched In Belgium

The 'DrugLijn', Belgium's Dutch-speaking phone information service on drugs, alcohol or medicine-related problems, has launched 'Zelfhulp cocaïne', a self-assistance module for cocaine addicts via the site www.hoeveelisteveel.be ('How much is too much?', in Dutch only) [eGov Monitor, UK]

Guernsey makes Mephedrone class B drug

Mephedrone will be reclassified as a class B drug from Friday, Guernsey's health authorities have announced [BBC, UK]

From Competition to Collaboration

College Alcohol Prevention in an Era of Competing Risks [Drug Education Forum, UK]

Just say no' doesn't work, say students behind anti-drug website

A national youth and student drug reform organization says young Canadians don't put much stock in the federal government's anti-drug approach, so it has created a new website it says may better educate young people about the risks they take by using drugs [The Province, Canada]