DS Daily - 17th January 2011 |
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Drink and Drugs News
Welcome to our first issue of the new year. Editorial and Magazine Features [DDN, UK]
Specification issued for new drug screening device
The document sets out what the device will do and the standards it must meet. Manufacturers will now submit devices to the Home Office for testing [Home Office, UK]
Concateno welcomes Home Office drug driving product specification
Concateno has been campaigning for several years for the introduction of drug detection devices, drawing on its extensive experience overseas [Concateno, UK]
Forty new legal highs made in China are being sold in Britain
At least 40 new "legal high" drugs have flooded into Britain in the past year sparking fears they could lead to a spate of deaths [Telegraph, UK]
Therapeutic communities and methadone maintenance treatment
Do they work? Yes, there is evidence available to show that they do, at least in terms of reducing drug and alcohol use, improving mental health, reducing crime and increasing the liklihood of employment [Binge Inking]
The future of cannabis law reform campaigning reprise: The LCA reborn?
Cannabis has hardly been out of the news at all over the past 10-15 years and yet there is no really high profile law reform campaign in this country [UKCIA]
My son's a drug addict and it's my fault, says mother who quit London for a quiet Suffolk town
Crime rates in Suffolk are now at their lowest for almost a decade. But, as in so many small towns, the contemporary drug culture festers beneath the surface [Daily Mail, UK]
Where the bloody hell are you? Social Media and Harm Reduction
While this is not conclusive evidence of the under-performance of the harm reduction sector in disseminating our messages online (harm reduction does not preclude being drug free, it’s just not the only option on offer) it definitely shows that we could do better as a sector [Stonetree Harm Reduction]
From homelessness to Harvard
How the daughter of drug addicts turned her life around [Daily Mail, UK]
Mummy's little helper: The truth about parents and alcohol
Wine at a play date. Another to get through bath-time. Parents are using alcohol to take the stress out of child rearing. Problem? [Independent, UK]
Health chiefs issue stark warning over damaging effect of NHS reforms
The analysis by the NHS Confederation – comprising the British Medical Association, the Faculty of Public Health and the royal colleges representing GPs, surgeons and hospital doctors – comes ahead of publication of the government's flagship Health and Social Care Bill on Wednesday [Observer, UK]
Risk and Protection Factors for Substance Use among Young People
A comparative study of early school-leavers and school attending students [NACD, Ireland]
European Action on Drugs 2010/2011
The European Action on Drugs (EAD) is designed to provide European civil society with a platform to increase awareness and commitment as regards drugs and the risks related to drug abuse, and to promote dialogue and exchanges of best practice [European Commission]
Use of drugs in mental health
I had witnessed the closure of some hospital premises, with patients discharged to live in facilities much cheaper to run, hostels with no rehabilitation facilities and no appropriately trained staff, where they ended up living in an equally institutionalised setting in which medication continued to be the main element of care - Letter [Irish Times]
Loophole allows head shops to sell cannabis 'grow kits'
A number of so-called head shops have begun selling equipment that can be used to cultivate cannabis plants – and thanks to a loophole in recently introduced legislation they cannot be prosecuted for the practice [Irish Times]
Why Intelligent People Use More Drugs
Intelligent people don’t always do the right thing [Psychology Today]
Fatal-overdose prevention plan in works for Downtown Eastside heroin addicts
Emergency kits would contain new nasal spray formulation of antidote [Vancouver Sun, Canada]
Daily marijuana use increased among teens
This year's Monitoring the Future Survey raises concerns about increases in drug use among the Nation's teens, particularly the youngest [NIDA, USA]
Bid to legalize marijuana all smoke and mirrors
It's difficult to raise the topic of marijuana usage in America today without somehow touching off intense debate over whether this relatively mild, but still harmful drug should be decriminalized, even fully legalized. That's how much the pro-pot crowd has hijacked the national conversation over the nation's ongoing struggle with drug use [LA Times, USA]
Drug experiment
What happens when an entire country legalizes drug use? [Boston Globe, USA]
Mexican drug cartels now operate in every major city across the United States
Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center released a situation report, illustrating just how widespread the activities of Mexican drug cartels have become throughout the U.S. [Examiner, USA]
Inadequate Fight Against Drugs Hampers Russia’s Ability to Curb H.I.V.
The country has become one of the world’s low points in the effort to fight the spread of H.I.V., and unchecked intravenous drug use is the biggest cause, international health officials say [New York Times, USA]
National Drug Strategy
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Complementary Action Plan 2003-2009 [Australian Government]
Defence to deal with its alcohol, drug abuse culture
The Defence Force is moving to tackle the rising incidence of drug and alcohol abuse within its ranks, after a year marred by several serious incidents linked to it [SMH, Australia]
Tough drug laws 'futile'
A retired Perth judge has called for major legal reform to be considered to tackle drug abuse, including decriminalising some drugs and prescribing heroin to some offenders battling substance abuse [West Australian]
Addicted to dangerous policy: drug prohibition has not worked
It's getting hard to find credible people in Australia prepared to defend drug prohibition [The Australian]
European Union gives 2.5 million dollars to Lao opium growers
The European Union is to provide 1.9 million euros (2.5 million dollars) to wean villagers in Laos from the opium growing habit to counter a 58-per-cent jump in production in the country last year [Earth Times]