DS Daily - 1st March 2010 |
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Threat Assessment Anthrax outbreak among drug users
Joint ECDC and EMCDDA Threat Assessment Anthrax outbreak among drug users, UK and Germany Update: 11 February 2010 [ECDC and EMCDDA]
Right here, right now
Video highlights from the presentations from the 3rd National DDN/Alliance Service User Involvement Conference [Drink and Drugs News, UK]
"The third national service user involvement conference"
Read a full round up from the DDN/Alliance National service user involvement conference [Drink and Drugs News, UK] Virtual magazine
Report into the growing number of teenagers using cocaine
Donal MacIntyre programme. Listen again [Radio5 Live, BBC, UK]
Teen cocaine use on the rise as more seek treatment
Last year, over 3,000 18 to 24-year-olds sought treatment for cocaine use, with another 745 users under the age of 18 [BBC, UK]
'If I hadn't come to the centre I'd be dead by now'
The UK's last specialist residential rehabilitation and detox clinic specifically for teenagers addicted to alcohol or drugs is closing [Today, Radio 4, BBC, UK]
Middlegate – the teen rehab defeated by state orthodoxy and target tyranny
It's somewhat ironic that only since we had a national adolescent treatment policy did Middlegate, the country's only teen residential rehab, begin to struggle. Last week it gave up the ghost and closed - Kathy Gyngell [CPS, UK]
Bring 'smart drugs' out of the closet, experts urge Government
Scientists have urged the Government to bring the “closet phenomenon” of so-called smart drugs out into the open, suggesting that regulated use of the stimulants could help groups such as surgeons, soldiers, and jurors to maximise their benefit to society [Times, UK]
There is no such thing as an illegal drug (reprise)
Darryl is right to argue there is no such thing as illegal drugs, we should go to the next stage and argue there is no such thing as a “controlled drug” under prohibition either [UKCIA]
How the 'war on drugs' can kill
During prohibition, the US government poisoned alcohol. Such punitive zeal is seen in today's 'war on drugs' [Guardian, UK]
Fears MS sufferers are at risk from contaminated cannabis
A leading cannabis campaigner claims multiple sclerosis sufferers are being driven into the arms of illegal dealers selling the drug laced with glass because doctors refuse to prescribe it as medicine [Wales Online, UK]
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2008–09
During the reporting year (September 2008 to August 2009) we inspected a total of 93 custodial establishments [HM Inspectorate of Prisons, UK]
UN guidance on how to mount family-based prevention programmes
UN-commissioned guidance from international experts on how to mount prevention programmes involving parents and children in a joint effort to improve family dynamics and child development [Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK]
Tackling drug abuse: Colombian Ambassador visits Portobello High School
Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill met with the Ambassador of Columbia at Portobello High School to speak with the staff and pupils of the school who have been involved in the 'Shared Responsibility' exhibition, which aims to raise awareness of the devastating impact cocaine has on Colombia and on Scottish communities [IRISS, UK]
Unborn are paying heavy price for damage done by alcohol
The truly alarming statistic that at least 900 children in Scotland are suffering severe damage caused to the brain and organs before birth by foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and that thousands of others have learning and behavioural difficulties as a result of their mothers’ drinking during pregnancy [The Scottish Herald]
Minimum price plan for alcohol backed by children’s charities
Children’s charities have backed the Scottish Government’s plans for minimum pricing on alcohol [The Scottish Herald]
A guide to substance misuse for medical professionals: part 1
[HSE, Ireland]
A guide to substance misuse for medical professionals: part 2
[HSE, Ireland]
Drug crime increasing faster than all other offences
Drug crime up 137 per cent, increased at a much higher rate than any other form of criminal activity in the five years from 2004 to 2008 [Irish Times]
Garda Recorded Crime Statistics 2004-2008
Chapter 10 Controlled Drug Offences [Central Statistics Office, Ireland]
Drugnet Europe 69
EMCDDA's quarterly newsletter, provides regular information on the Agency's activities to a broad readership [EMCDDA]
Hooked 33: Nicotine
So a show on nicotine, at some point it had to be done, but was it really fair of me to not warn my co-host that we where going to do it. Especially as she'd only just stopped smoking [Injecting Advice, UK]
EU policymakers urged not to bow to tobacco industry pressure
Experts have urged the European Commission to ensure it focuses on public health when developing policies, rather than succumbing to pressure from the tobacco industry [Cancer Research UK]
Major Drug Conference in Mexican Drug War Says Prohibition Has Failed, Calls for New Policy
Coming as Mexico's war on drugs turns bloodier by the day, the conference concluded that current prohibitionist policies are a disaster [AlterNet, USA]
Ritalin is students' new drug of choice for parties and studying
Hard data in Australia is almost non-existent. But anecdotally, increasing numbers of university and college students are acquiring ADHD drugs under the table to give themselves a brain boost [SMH, Australia]
ALAC Welcomes No Alcohol for Drivers Under 20
The Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) has welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will adopt a zero blood alcohol limit for drivers under 20 [Scoop, New Zealand]
Russia blames Nato for heroin surge from Afghanistan
The head of Russia's federal drug control agency has accused Nato of not doing enough to curb the production of heroin in Afghanistan [BBC, UK]
Methadone Programme Launches in Kabul
Opium substitution treatment component is now available two years after the National Consensus Conference on Opioid Substitution Therapy, which was held with the involvement of the Afghan Ministry of Public Health [IHRA]
Desperate mother killed drug addict son
According to Rob Young, the chief of police, drugs account for 80% of violent crime in the city. In South Africa there is a murder every 25 minutes. The drug epidemic is pushing parents to take desperate measures [Times, UK]