DS Daily - 8th February 2011 |
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New testimonial about DS Daily from NTA
"There’s no denying the value of DS Daily in getting to those involved in the drug treatment sector. Thank you for this very useful service." Testimonials can be sent to the editor Jim Young at jimy@drugscope.org.uk
The Home Secretary writes to the ACMD on the government's priorities for 2011–2012
A letter from the Home Secretary setting out the government's priorities for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for the forthcoming financial year 2011-2012 [Home Office, UK]
Response to the ACMD’s report on ‘MDMA (‘ecstasy’)
A review of its harms and classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971’ (2009) [Home Office, UK]
EADP strategy to tackle substance misuse in Edinburgh
An ambitious new strategy outlining a partnership approach to preventing harm caused by alcohol and drug use in our communities, and in supporting recovery from drug and alcohol dependence was launched on 7th February by MSP Fergus Ewing [Edinburgh Alcohol & Drug Partnership, UK]
Rumours damage fight against addiction
Don't look for evidence of the widely reported heroin drought in Edinburgh, says Mev Brown [The Scotsman, UK]
Supporting People
DrugScope is part of a group of charities that has produced a new briefing on Supporting People cuts [Supporting People, UK]
LDAN/DrugScope conference 2011
Capital Concerns - the future for drug and alcohol services [DrugScope, UK]
New Factfile on Substance Misuse and young adults in the criminal justice system
Young People in Focus has produced the first of four fact files that it is producing this year on different issues related to young adults in the criminal justice system, as part of its work as a member of the [T2A Alliance, UK]
Delivering affordable housing in troubled times: Scotland national report
An assessment of alternative ways to fund new affordable housing in Scotland at a time when public resources for housing are being significantly reduced [Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK]
More effective responses to anti-social behaviour - a consultation
Public and partners are invited to comment online on the propositions in this consultation, which intends to reform the toolkit to tackle anti-social behaviour [Home Office, UK]
Lets stop saying 'clean'
I want to ban the word 'clean' from drug services, granted it's only a word so you might think I'm just being picky, but words like this carry both a lot of power and a wide range of meanings [Injecting Advice, UK]
Why was Dr Raabe sacked?
A controversial sacking, mutiny, resignations, appointments, threats of another mutiny and now a Christian doctor forced out for having "embarrassing" views: welcome to the strange world of government drugs advice - Mark Easton [BBC, UK]
Dr Hans-Christian Raabe of the ACMD
It doesn't matter that you're a Christian, you're just no good with evidence [Telegraph, UK]
I'll go to court, says Christian GP sacked as a drugs adviser for his views on homosexuality
The Christian GP sacked as a Government drugs adviser over his views on homosexuality is considering legal action [Daily Mail, UK]
Call for alcohol screenings in prisons
Up to three quarters of male inmates in Scotland's prisons have a problem with alcohol, according to a new study [stv, UK]
Employment minister Chris Grayling will face questions from mental health activists
Employment minister Chris Grayling will face questions over welfare reform from mental health activists this Thursday (10 February), as he takes part in a live web chat hosted by leading mental health charity [Rethink, UK]
Ministers risk raising false hope among mentally ill
In an interview with Community Care, Professor David Richards said that talking therapies services were already being cut despite the allocation of dedicated funding worth £173m this year, with therapist posts being frozen and others being made on short-term contracts [Community Care, UK]
Small Grants Scheme 2011
Funding under this scheme will provide once-off grants of up to €5,000 for innovative projects which are consistent with aims/objectives of the North Dublin City and County Regional Drugs Task Force [City Wide, Ireland]
Alcohol in Canada
Reducing the toll through focused interventions and public health policies [Canadian Medical Association Journal]
Victoria shows "nice" attitude over drug ads
The tagline for a British advertising campaign that caused such uproar it was pulled from London double-decker buses doesn't seem to be drawing the same concern in Victoria, where it's being used to call attention to Anti-Stigma Week [Times Colonist, Canada]
An H.I.V. Strategy Invites Addicts In
Insite, situated on the worst block of an area once home to the fastest-growing AIDS epidemic in North America, is one reason Vancouver is succeeding in lowering new AIDS infection rates while many other cities are only getting worse [New York Times, USA]
An Addict’s Tale of Overdose and Insite
The medical staff at the Insite safe injection center in Vancouver saved Gregory Reeve’s life [New York Times, USA]
Does Liberal Opioid Dosing Spur Misuse or Abuse?
It is often assumed that, as opioid analgesic dosing levels are increased, there may be directly-associated risks of medication misuse and abuse. Evidence from a recent, long-term study suggests this is not the case even among patients at high risk for such problems [Pain-Topics, USA]
Past Month Alcohol Use Among U.S. 8th, 10th, and 12thGraders Reaches Record Low
Less than one-half (41.2%) of 12thgraders reported drinking at least one sip of alcohol in the past month in 2010, compared to the peak prevalence of 72.1% in 1978 [CESAR Fax, USA]
Cannabis hastens onset of psychosis: researchers
A new Australian study has found conclusive evidence that using cannabis can hasten the onset of psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia [ABC News, Australia]
Providing cannabis treatment through the post: Research summary
This pilot study has shown promising results and the issue warrants further attention in future research [National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, Australia]
Substance use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the prevalence of substance use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as the use of services for substance abuse [AIHW, Australia]
Bans on drinking and phones would save lives: report
Drink-driving laws could be toughened to reduce the limit from .05 to .02 or even zero for people aged under 26, after a national road safety report found younger drivers contributed to more than a third of alcohol-related road deaths [The Age, Australia]
Manufacturing Bullshit
The alcohol industry spends $73m each year to make their brands look sophisticated and sexy. Their marketers and advertisers work hard to manufacture a drinking culture and keep New Zealanders drinking to excess - Have your say on alcohol marketing. Submissions close 18 February [You Tube]