DS Daily - 27th February 2013 |
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Mexxy, Black Mamba and other 'legal highs' become Class B drugs
Following advice from the government's independent drug experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), new synthetic cannabinoids (such as those contained in Black Mamba and Annihilation), O-desmethyltramadol, methoxetamine (sold as Mexxy) and similar compounds have been classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 | Home Office, UK
Recovery Festival 2013 – March 12th & 13th: delegate places
Places are available to attend the Recovery Festival at the QEII Centre, Westminster, London on 12th and 13th March. The delegate rate is £25 for one day and £40 for both days. To register a place and for information about the speakers, workshops and exhibition opportunities visit the Recovery Festival website | Recovery Partnership, UK
The Anonymous People – documentary video
The Anonymous People is a documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction. The vacuum created by silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of addiction. This recovery movement is fueling a changing conversation that aims to transform public opinion, and shift problematic policy toward lasting recovery solutions | Kickstarter.com, USA
Parental substance use through the eyes of the worker
Based on interviews with social workers, treatment providers and other support workers across the country, the report (PDF) assesses what has changed over the last 10 years since Hidden Harm was first published and highlights further areas for improvement | Adfam, UK
Social workers need compulsory substance misuse training, say experts
Report (PDF) reveals widespread fears that social workers are not given adequate training or management supervision on substance misuse and its impact on parenting | Community Care, UK
What’s blocking improvements in substance misuse training for social workers?
Repeated calls for social workers to receive compulsory substance misuse training have fallen on deaf ears. Andy McNicoll asks a social work expert in the field, what lies behind the lack of action? | Community Care, UK
Seven million 'take painkillers so they can work'
Many who take medicines such as tramadol and those containing codeine fear they are becoming dependent on them, found research by the firm Nuffield Health | Telegraph, UK
Ban smoking in cars, says health minister
Smoking should be banned in cars carrying children, says England's public health minister | BBC, UK
Level of excess drinking of alcohol 'is underestimated'
The amount of alcohol consumed in England could be much higher than previously thought, a study suggests | BBC, UK
Brighton and Hove considering parent contracts to reduce youth drinking
The BBC are reporting that Brighton and Hove Council are considering whether to ask parents to sign contracts pledging not to give their children alcohol | MentorThinks, UK
Can politicians save Britain's pubs?
Thousands of publicans are struggling to make a living, with the smoking ban, high beer tax and "unfair" prices charged by pub companies being blamed. The government has promised to act, but will it do enough? | BBC, UK
Train death cricketer Tom Maynard was high on cocaine and ecstasy, inquest hears
The Surrey cricketer Tom Maynard had been a habitual user of cocaine for several months, and was four times over the legal limit for drink driving when his body was discovered on a railway track in south east London last summer | Independent, UK
Surrey act to stamp out recreational drug use after tragic death of their batsman Tom Maynard
Surrey have issued their players and coaches with a special set of guidelines in an attempt to stamp out the use of recreational drugs after cricket was left reeling by revelations which emerged at Tom Maynard’s inquest on Tuesday | Telegraph, UK
Severn Bridge raids: Eight held after £3.5m of cannabis seized
Police have seized more than 7,500 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £3.5m in a series of raids in south Wales and west England | BBC, UK
Police detective 'sold seized drugs'
A West Yorkshire Police detective stole seized drugs and conspired to sell them with his brother, making at least £600,000, a jury has heard | BBC, UK
Mexican police find 'drugs cannon' used to fire marijuana into California
Police in the Mexican border city of Mexicali say they have recovered a powerful improvised cannon used to hurl packets of marijuana across a border fence into California | Telegraph, UK
No one is safe from Argentina's drug war
For years the country was largely untouched by the brutal cartels that control the narco trade in Mexico. But an eight-year-old boy is proof those days are over | Independent, UK
Regulation of private landlords needed to help prevent homelessness
A new system regulating private landlords is just one of a basket of measures being called for to help end homelessness in England | Homeless Link, UK
Tackling the telltale signs of drug use
Q I think my 17 year old has started using cannabis and I am worried. Last week when I was cleaning his room, I found some of the paraphernalia for smoking cannabis. When I confronted him he went ballistic that I was “searching” his room and then denied he was smoking, before storming off | Irish Times, Ireland
Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of diabetes
A population-based longitudinal study in Norway showed a lower risk of developing type II diabetes, and a tendency for less auto-immune diabetes, among subjects reporting moderate alcohol consumption | International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, USA
FDA Approves Generic Suboxone
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved generic versions of Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare's Suboxone sublingual tablets | Drugs.com, USA
Aerial spraying of coca routinely destroys legitimate food crops in Colombia - video
Colombian NGO as the association of women pineapple growers and the action board of community of Orocayo in Putumayo, Colombia, denounce the destruction of legitimate food crops produced by the aerial spraying of coca | IDPC, USA
Alcohol counseling may aid domestic abuse therapy
For heavy drinkers in treatment for domestic violence problems, an extra therapy session targeting alcohol abuse may help to speed overall improvement in violent behavior, according to a new study | Reuters, USA
Just Say No to Talking About Your Own Drug Use with Your Kids
Parents who talk to their kids about their own, past drug may not be helping their kids to avoid drugs | Time, USA
Court rejects Florida law requiring drug testing for welfare recipients
A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a temporary ban on a law requiring drug testing of Florida's welfare recipients | Fox News, USA
A Dazzling Priest’s Lurid Fall, to Drug Case Suspect
From the time he joined the priesthood three decades ago, he seemed destined to become a star. As a confidant to two bishops and then as the erudite and clubbable pastor of two churches, Msgr. Kevin Wallin was a towering figure in the Roman Catholic Church in southwestern Connecticut | NY Times, USA
Mexico Says 26,121 Reported Missing During Drug War
An official count shows at least 26,121 people were reported missing during the term of President Felipe Calderón, who launched the country's offensive against drug cartels, Mexico's new administration said Tuesday | Wall Street Journal, USA
Population based study provides new alcohol and pregnancy data
Indigenous and non-Indigenous children of mothers with an alcohol-use disorder have the same risk of intellectual disability, a Curtin University study has found | Science Network, Australia