DS Daily - 2nd June 2011 |
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Global Commission on Drug Policy Report
Commission members have agreed on four core principles that should guide national and international drug policies and strategies, and have made eleven recommendations for action. Press release | Global Commission on Drug Policy
Global war on drugs has 'failed' say former leaders
The global war on drugs has "failed" according to a new report by group of politicians and former world leaders - video | BBC, UK
Decriminalise possession of drugs, celebrities urge government
Campaign headed by actors, academics and lawyers says current drugs laws stigmatise people and damage communities | Guardian, UK
Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United States
Locking up millions of people for drug-related crimes has failed as a public-safety strategy and has harmed public health in the communities to which these men and women return. A new evidence-based approach is desperately needed | New England Journal of Medicine, USA
Better drug laws
Release's new campaign engaging the public around the issue of drug policy. The failure of the current system is clear, it is time to stop criminalising 10,000s of people in the UK every year - it is time for better laws | Release, UK
Many agree, none act: to ease untold misery, legalise drugs
The war on drugs is lost, as a global commission is set to admit. But no one in power has the courage for a switch to regulation | Guardian, UK
Drugs and the law: state of confusion
The laws governing drug possession and abuse aren't clear | Guardian, UK
New guide safeguards children affected by substance misuse
A new practical guide issued on Wednesday, 1st June by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse says those responsible for drink and drug treatment must take a wider, more preventative approach, identifying early on when families need help as well as protecting children from neglect and harm | NTA, UK
Psychiatrists document adverse effects of mephedrone
Psychiatrists in Scotland have published the first known case series documenting the adverse psychological effects of mephedrone | Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
Justice Secretary to target cocaine dealers
New laws could be introduced to further criminalise illegal drug industry | STV, UK
“Its really crazy how something so normal can be such a high” Ruben’s Story
A number if times I tried to stop, would end up back in prison and again would leave as an addict | Inexcess TV, UK
Alcohol attitudes need seismic shift – Bishop
Attitudes towards alcohol need to undergo the same seismic shift that changed attitudes towards tobacco, according to the Bishop of Stafford | Diocese of Lichfield, UK
Public Health and Licensing
Alcohol Focus Scotland is working to clarify and provide practical advice on the taking a public health approach in licensing | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
Accountability in the NHS
Implications of the government's reform programme. Download | The King's Fund, UK
£6 million to support big society in health and social care
The Department of Health Volunteering Fund National Awards were announced today, the first day of Volunteering Week. Through this scheme, the Department has committed to delivering £6m to support volunteering projects in health and social care | Department of Health, UK
Tobacco firm's new challenge to display ban
One of the UK's biggest tobacco firms has launched an appeal against a ban on the display of cigarettes on shop and supermarket shelves | Scotsman, UK
HIV & AIDS in Ireland 2010
The purpose of this report is to present data on cases of HIV and AIDS that were reported to the HPSC during 2010 | Health Service Executive, Ireland
HIV & AIDS Diagnoses in Ireland
Supplementary Tables & Figures | Health Service Executive, Ireland
Legal high could be banned
Department of Home Affairs member Bill Malarkey MHK said legislation put in place last year to outlaw previously legal highs would allow the government to act quickly if a ban was necessary | Isle of Man News
Retroactive Reductions Sought in Crack Penalties
In a proposal that could allow as many as 5,500 federal inmates to apply for reduced prison terms, the Obama administration on Wednesday backed retroactively lightening some sentences for past crack cocaine convictions | New York Times, USA
Drugged Out
The Golden Triangle — probably named after the gold once traded for opium — didn't die. It did what any good business does in our globalized age: expand its markets and diversify its product range | TIME, USA
Prescription drugs worth millions to dealers
Prescription drug abuse is the scourge of the nation and pills, like these Oxycontin tablets seized in Los Angeles, are scoring big bucks on the street | CNN , USA
Big Donations from Big Tobacco Continue as Tony Abbott Ignores his MPs
Pressure is mounting on Tony Abbott to listen to the chorus of voices, including from his own MPs, and end the Liberal Party’s dangerous practice of accepting big donations from big tobacco | Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon, Australia
Fetal alcohol syndrome: dashed hopes, damaged lives
Alicestine October reports from South Africa’s Western Cape province, which has the highest reported rate in the world | World Health Organisation
Brazil sees spread of Amazon 'crack cocaine' oxi
The drug has taken hold in towns and cities in the Amazon thanks to its low price - about $1 (60p) a hit - and extreme addictiveness | BBC, UK
Towards zero infections
The UK’s position paper on HIV in the developing world | Department for International Development, UK
UK government issues global HIV spending statement
The United Kingdom government has issued a new policy statement on global HIV spending, saying it will target HIV funding up to 2015 towards prevention, with its main focus on countries with a high burden of HIV in southern Africa | Aidsmap, UK
HIV & Islam
Responsible religious response to HIV & AIDS in Malaysia. PDF from Malaysian AIDS Council | IDPC
Interventions to Prevent Hepatitis C Virus Infection in People Who Inject Drugs
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Prevent Hepatitis C Virus Infection in People Who Inject Drugs | Journal of Infectious Diseases