DS Daily - 19th December 2011

Substance Misuse Skills Consortium Conference

Building recovery in the workforce: developing an inspirational, recovery-orientated drug and alcohol workforce. Tuesday 14th February 2012 9.30am - 4.30pm at Skipton House, 80 London Road, London SE1 6LH

Warning to party-goers about drug linked to deaths

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency has raised particular concern about ParaMethoxyMethylAmphetamine (PMMA) which has been found in tablets that look like ecstasy and is believed to have been responsible for at least 19 deaths in Europe since summer 2010 | The Herald, Scotland, UK

Adfam responds to troubled families announcement

Mentions of drugs and alcohol are conspicuous by their absence in the suggested headline goals of the programme, which may present a gap as the Government begins to work alongside local areas to design how the scheme will be implemented | Adfam, UK

Letter to Louise Casey, Troubled Families Unit

The FIDA Policy Group wrote to Louise Casey, following the Prime Minister's announcement of nearly £450 million in support for 'troubled' families, raising concerns about the ability of these programmes to respond effectively to survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence, and their children | Family Interventions & Domestic Abuse, UK

CBT pulls some of the right levers but few methadone patients participate

New report from an English study conducted in the mid-2000s casts doubt on whether methadone patients will accept and benefit from psychosocial therapy, one hoped-for route to promoting recovery and treatment exit. Researchers found staff held nihilistic views of therapies and the ability of patients to change | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Youth Advertising Standards Advisors

Autumn 2011 report | YASA, UK

Young people speak on alcohol ads

Young people call on advertisers to respect the spirit of the code regulating alcohol advertising | Alcohol Concern, UK

Britain's alcohol crisis: Is there a cure for the biggest hangover in Europe?

Health Secretary rejects laws on drink prices, and says he has a plan to sober up some of Britain's drunks | Independent, UK

Call for Soho Alcohol Recovery Centre to open all year

The head of a centre where drunken revellers are taken to recover during nights out in the festive season has called for it to remain open all year | BBC, UK

Joint Committee publishes report on the Welfare Reform Bill

Twenty-first report: Legislative Scrutiny: Welfare Reform Bill - Download | Parliament, UK

Youth services will not be ringfenced from budget cuts

Despite government report linking closures of youth clubs to riots, councils urged to share resources for the young | Guardian, UK

The case for a more liberal drugs policy

Drugs prohibition in Britain is dangerously counterproductive from an economic, practical and moral perspective | Institute of Economic Affairs, UK

Alcohol, work and productivity

Scientific Opinion of the Science Group of the | European Alcohol and Health Forum

Parents urged to cut down on drinking over Christmas

Parents who get drunk in front of their children are being targeted in a campaign aimed at people across the north west who drink in the home | Belfast Telegraph, UK

Public health recommends safe injection sites

Montreal's director of public health is recommending the creation of safe injection sites for the city | CBC News, Canada

New study finds binge drinking as contagious as the common cold

Romantic partners are a powerful influence. But a new study conducted by Dalhousie University researchers has revealed that dating couples may have more influence over each other than you think – especially when it comes to binge drinking | Dalhousie University, Canada

Evo does not convince the INCB on coca chewing

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales asked inspectors of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the United Nations to support his petition to decriminalize coca leaf chewing or "akulliku" but acknowledged that he failed to convince everyone | Transnational Institute, Netherlands