DS Daily - 22nd February 2013 |
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A losing bet - Alcohol and gambling: investigating parallels and shared solutions (PDF)
There is a great deal in common between alcohol and gambling problems, and the ways they can be prevented and treated. That’s the conclusion of a report jointly published today by Alcohol Concern Cymru and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPysch) in Wales. Press release here | Alcohol Concern, UK
Gambling and alcohol addiction linked, report says
Gambling and alcohol addiction share greater similarities than previously realised, a new report claims | BBC, UK
European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012–2020 (PDF)
Countries that take stronger action on alcohol will reap considerable gains in terms of better population health and well-being, enhanced employment and productivity, increased health and social welfare savings, greater health and economic equality, and greater social cohesion and inclusion | WHO Europe
Drug treatment and the court system: it isn't a waiting game
NTA Chief Executive, Paul Hayes, responds to an article in The Daily Telegraph of 19 February 2013 ("Fast-track justice to tackle street crime") | NTA, UK
Drug taking perception needs to change, agency warns
Drug users have been warned there is no way of knowing what they are taking after a number of deaths and injuries in north Wales and north west England | BBC, UK
Tighter controls on painkiller tramadol needed - ACMD
Tighter controls should be put on the painkiller tramadol according to the UK's official drugs advisers | BBC, UK
Tobacco giant wants to help you quit smoking
British American Tobacco aims to turn electronic cigarettes into medicines in the UK. It's a welcome move, but leaves a bitter taste in the mouth | New Scientist, UK
Payment by results consultation events (March 2013)
Clinks is running a series of consultation events to identify what support the Sector needs to be confident about making the right decision about whether and how to bid for and deliver payment by results (PbR) contracts | Clinks, UK
Alcohol proposals too timid, says BMA
Government efforts to introduce minimum alcohol pricing and curb consumption in other ways are welcome but do not go far enough, the BMA maintains | BMA, UK
FBI agents caught sexting and dating drug dealers
Dating drug dealers, harassing ex-boyfriends with naked pictures, and pointing guns at pet dogs: these were just a few of the offences committed recently by serving FBI agents, according to internal documents | Telegraph, UK
Fifty-Three Per Cent of Brits Support Cannabis Reform: It's Time for An Impact Assessment
Transform Drug Policy Foundation has released results from an Ipsos MORI poll showing that 53% of the British public are ready to 'legalise or decriminalise' cannabis. The findings received various different reports from the mainstream press | Huffington Post, UK
The end of prohibition- picture of the day
A photographic highlight selected by the picture desk. Jubilant New Yorkers celebrate the end of prohibition in the US. Congress proposed the 21st amendment to the constitution, setting in progress the end of the government ban on alcohol on this day in 1933 | Guardian, UK
Illegal drug use on the rise in Africa
Africa now occupies second position worldwide in the trafficking and consumption of illegal drugs. An international conference on drug abuse in Kampala is hoping it can help reverse this trend | DW, Germany
Throwaways: Recruited by Police & Thrown into Danger, Young Informants are Drug War’s Latest Victims
New Yorker staff writer Sarah Stillman has just been awarded a George Polk Award for her article, "The Throwaways," which investigates law enforcement’s unregulated use of young confidential informants in drug cases | Democracy Now, USA
Scrap 'Unwinnable' Drugs War and Divert Funds Into Curbing Global Antibiotic Misuse, Experts Say
Governments around the world should stop squandering resources fighting an "unwinnable war" against illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. Instead, they should use the cash to curb antibiotic misuse, which poses a far more serious threat to human health, claims a leading ethicist in the Journal of Medical Ethics | Science Daily, USA
Doctors debate telling patients to smoke marijuana
Perhaps you know whether you’d want to use marijuana to relieve severe pain or nausea. But if you were a doctor, what would you tell patients who asked about taking something that’s against federal law? | LA Times, USA
God bless you, Sen. Feinstein
Sen. Dianne Feinstein began her war on allergy and cold sufferers in 2005. In an effort to prevent small-time dealers from buying allergy and cold drugs and cooking them into methamphetamine, she pushed through legislation requiring consumers to show identification before purchasing products with pseudoephedrine | SF Gate, USA
Guatemala: Investigating Whether Drug Lord Was Killed
Guatemala's government said it was investigating rumors that a shootout in the remote Petén jungle near Mexico's border had killed Mexico's most wanted drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán | Wall Street Journal, USA
Drivers test how a legal marijuana high effects their driving
Does having a joint effect your driving? An experiment captured on video in the US has tested the driving competence of people who smoked a small amount of marijuana | Daily Telegraph, Australia
Getting Stoned May Not Be Making Teens Stupid
A previously reported causal link between teenage marijuana use and a reduction in IQ may be erroneous. A Norwegian researcher re-examined data from the Dunedin longitudinal study of cannabis users in New Zealand and found that the decrease in IQ observed may instead be linked to lower socioeconomic status | Australasian Science, Australia
US business groups attack NZ plain-packaging
Powerful US business organisations have issued a joint statement expressing "deep concern" with the New Zealand government's decision to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products | Canberra Times, Australia
Alarm at Kronic suicide link
The possible health risks of long-term use of synthetic cannabis have begun to emerge - with the risk of suicide and self-harm in users alarming health professionals | NZ Herald, New Zealand