DS Daily - 18th January 2010 |
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Seven dead, 14 hospitalised ... who is infecting Scotland’s heroin with anthrax?
It is a health scare which has seen seven people die in Scotland so far with another 14 hospitalised, yet there is no panic in the streets, few headlines and little fearful talk in homes or in offices [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
Heroin infected anthrax
What (if any) are the messages that should be given out, and just how worried should we be? [Injecting Advice, UK]
Fears grow over safety of 'legal high' mephedrone
It has a street name of 'bubble', but mephedrone, which can be bought over the internet, is causing serious health problems [Observer, UK]
Drug driving dangers highlighted in Welsh TV documentary
ITV Wales called on Concateno, Europe’s most experienced provider of drug and alcohol testing solutions, to help raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving in a recent documentary produced for S4C's current affairs series [Concateno, UK]
Homeless turn to A&E for help
NHS reports increase in admission of rough sleepers with addiction problems [Independent, UK]
A Process Evaluation of Celtic Against Drugs and Rangers Positive Choices
A report on the design and implementation of the Celtic Against Drugs and Rangers Positive Choices schemes and their suitability and value for money as vehicles for drugs education and prevention [Scottish Government, UK]
A Process Evaluation of Celtic Against Drugs and Rangers Positive Choices: Key findings
Key findings on the design and implementation of the Celtic Against Drugs and Rangers Positive Choices schemes and their suitability and value for money as vehicles for drugs education and prevention [Scottish Government, UK]
RAMP - Reduction And Motivation Programme
The RAMP programme is a psychosocial intervention consisting of 24 sessions of group work. Service users can enter or exit at any point over a 4-12 week period. RAMP is facilitated by skilled staff with many years of experience in working with addiction [Inexcess TV, UK]
Sacked government adviser David Nutt gets £450,000 to set up drugs committee
A hedge fund manager is providing financial backing to a new independent drugs committee set up by the former chief drugs adviser dismissed by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary [Times, UK]
Labour's new drugs tsar scoffed at fears of skunk danger just two years ago
The Government’s new chief drugs adviser has claimed that potent forms of cannabis known as ‘skunk’ are no more dangerous than the traditional variety [Daily Mail, UK]
The politics of arrogance, faith and denial
Did Home Secretary Alan Johnson realise the can of worms he was opening when he sacked Professor Nutt? [UKCIA]
Scots top UK drink league as pricing row intensifies
Scots drink 25% more alcohol than people living in England and Wales and the booze gap is widening, according to new research [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
Scots 'drink 46 bottles of vodka'
Adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year, a study has suggested [BBC, UK]
Shocking drink figures fail to persuade
Labour indicated yesterday that it was still not prepared to support the Scottish government’s proposal of minimum pricing for alcohol despite shocking new statistics on drink consumption north of the Border [Times, UK]
Bishop attacks morals of monks who brew Scotland’s (15% proof) tipple of choice
A bishop has condemned Buckfast, the fortified wine made by monks and regarded by some as the scourge of Scotland. The Right Rev Bob Gillies, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church, accused the Devon-based Benedictine monks of betraying Christian values [Times, UK]
Buckfast cited by Strathclyde Police in 5000 crimes
Tonic wine Buckfast has been cited in 5000 crime reports by Scotland’s biggest police force in the last three years, an investigation has revealed [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
CAP Periodic Review on Drinking and Culture
It is hoped that this publication will become a reliable tool for researchers internationally, bolstering the common evidence base and laying the foundation for developing prevention and intervention approaches that would take into account cultural variations in drinking patterns and outcomes [International Center for Alcohol Policies]
United States Attorney Plans Drug-Terrorism Unit
The United States attorney in Manhattan is merging the two units in his office that prosecute terrorism and international narcotics cases, saying that he wants to focus more on extremist Islamic groups whose members he believes are increasingly turning to the drug trade to finance their activities [New York Times, USA]
US waves white flag in disastrous 'war on drugs'
After 40 years, Washington is quietly giving up on a futile battle that has spread corruption and destroyed thousands of lives [Independent, UK]
The War on Drugs is a War on People
The drug war – the dominant role of the criminal justice system in dealing with certain drugs and the people who buy, sell, make, and use them – is driving this explosive increase in incarceration more than anything else - Ethan Nadelmann [Change.org, USA]
No one's told drug-war soldier about peace breaking out
The Obama administration has pledged to end federal interference in states that have legalized medical marijuana. But in Colorado, it has failed to call off one of its dogs [Denver Post, USA]
Clean Needles Save Lives
Needle exchange programs in the US - watch our movie to learn how harm reduction protects communities from death and disease! [Hungarian Civil Liberties Union]
False Claims on Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Lead to Credibility Gap for Prosecutors
New report takes down the claims that disaster will result from drug law reform, and that judges are incapable of making sound decisions [AlterNet, USA]
Drug law resentencing
Saving tax dollars with minimal community risk [Legal Aid Society of New York, USA]
Despite beefed-up countermeasures, illegal drug use persists in US prisons
In many large state prison systems, a mix of inmate ingenuity, complicit visitors and corrupt staff has kept the level of inmate drug abuse constant over the past decade despite concerted efforts to reduce it [LA Times, USA]
Mexico steps up war on drugs
2,860 more troops sent to 2 cities plagued by violence [Freep]
ACT jail needle exchange a safer option for all
The recent statistics monitoring prison inmates show a steady rise in the number of hepatitis C cases, making it all too clear that drug use, as in all jails, is a fact of life [Canberra Times, Australia]
Tax shake-up to hit beer, wine prices
The price of full-strength beer and wine would rise under a sweeping overhaul of Australia's haphazard alcohol tax regime being considered by the Federal Government [The Age, Australia]
Appointment of Afghan counter narcotics chief dismays British officials
An Afghan minister who was pushed from his job because of British and US concerns over corruption has been voted back into Hamid Karzai's cabinet as counter narcotics chief [Telegraph, UK]