DS Daily - 15th March 2011 |
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Drug overdose deaths highlight Britain's recent heroin shortage
Batches of rogue high-quality heroin thought to have triggered deaths due to users' reduced tolerance levels [Guardian, UK]
IDHDP Letters
This section holds copies of lobbying letters sent by IDHDP in support of our ongoing campaign to inform policy makers and bring about change in policies that adversely affect people who use drugs [SMMGP, UK]
Landlord cannabis farm claims reach new high
Aviva report a 30% rise in claims over damages to properties used to grow the drug [Guardian, UK]
Drug Strategy blog
50 responses to Welcome to the Drug Strategy blog! [Home Office, UK]
Drug treatment statistics: only 1.2% of addicts get rehab
The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse today issued a statement on drug treatment statistics claiming that Addiction Today, published by the Addiction Recovery Foundation charity, was inaccurate in one sentence of its four-page cover story [Addiction Today, UK]
Alcohol is costing us dearly – we need action now
A 'responsibility deal' is not enough. The BMA believes we need tough legislation to tackle the damage caused by alcohol [Guardian, UK]
Alcohol Concern pulls out of 'responsibility deal on alcohol'
This is the worst possible deal for everyone who wants to see alcohol harm reduced. There are no firm targets or any sanctions if the drinks industry fails to fulfil its pledges. It's all carrot and no stick for the drinks industry and supermarkets [Alcohol Concern, UK]
Leading supermarkets join healthy lifestyles deal
Alcohol Concern said the deal represented "the worst possible deal for everyone who wants to see alcohol harm reduced" [BBC, UK]
That’s quite a sobering thought
Scottish Government research has revealed that 40% of women exceed the official recommended drinking limits [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
London pubs and brewers pump more than £3bn into economy
The BBPA is using the stats to try and persuade the government not to put up beer duty by the expected seven per cent at next week’s Budget [The Publican, UK]
Submission: Giving Green Paper
Adfam welcomes the sentiment contained in the Green Paper of wishing to ‘increase levels of giving and mutual support in our society and catalyse a culture shift’ [Adfam, UK]
Number of women jailed in Scotland doubles over past decade
The growth in female imprisonment was "primarily a result of sentencers" increasing tendency to impose custodial sentences for specific categories of crime", such as drug-related offences and breach of bail, as courts became "increasingly punitive" [The Scotsman, UK]
Breaking the Cycle
Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders [Adfam, UK]
Cuts to probation service could pave the way to disaster
The Howard League for Penal Reform has today published its response to the government’s justice green paper, ‘Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders’ [Left Foot Forward, UK]
Healthy Lives, Healthy People
Including - the need for all commissioning plans around the future of drug and alcohol services to be systematically inclusive of small third-sector providers [Adfam, UK]
Home Office Drug Strategy blog†The blog will run for two weeks to capture comments and thoughts from delivery partners and will then be evaluated to see if it is a useful way to share views and ideas, successes and challenges [Home Office, UK] |
Tobacco-Free NZ A Step Forward
The Heart Foundation is totally supportive of the Government’s commitment to work towards a smoke free New Zealand by 2025 [Scoop, New Zealand]
Owsley Stanley: man who drugged the world
Owsley Stanley, who died this weekend, made most of the world’s supply of mind-bending drugs in his tiny kitchen, thus helping to create flower power, hippiedom and a warped revolution [Daily Express, UK]