Daily news - 2nd June 2015 |
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UK news
Solutions from the Frontline
Solutions from the Frontline is based on the ideas and experiences of people with multiple needs. It sets out how the new Government, as well as national and local policy makers and commissioners, can act to reduce stigma, improve services, and support people to achieve their ambitions | MEAM, UK
Psychoactive Substances Bill [HL] 2015-16
Progress timeline. First reading took place on 28 May 2015. This stage is a formality that signals the start of the Bill's journey through the Lords. Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the Bill - takes place on 9 June 2015 | parliament.uk, UK
New Psychoactive Substances (PDF)
Theresa May's letter to Les Iversen, chair of ACMD, on the consultation on the new law to ban NPS (PDF) | Home Office, UK
Global Drug Survey: what made you stop taking drugs?
Whether you have stopped consuming alcohol or using illegal substances we’d like to know why you made that life changing decision | Guardian, UK
Smoking-attributable rate of hospital admissions twice as high amongst men than women
Tenth annual statistical compendium reports on number of hospital admissions of adults aged 35 and over due to diseases which can be caused by smoking | HSCIC, UK
Smoking ban in cars carrying children put to vote in Wales
A vote on banning people from smoking in cars when children are present is to take place in the Welsh Assembly | BBC, UK
Lib Dem leadership candidate Norman Lamb calls for cannabis legalisation
Lamb criticises ‘catastrophic failure’ of war on drugs and urges rational, education-based approach | Guardian, UK
Delivering alcohol and drug education: Advice for teachers
What are the underlying principles of alcohol and drug education? And what are the best teaching methods to use when delivering alcohol and drug education in your classroom? This briefing paper provides advice and tips for teachers and educators responsible for delivering alcohol and drug education | TES, UK
Toddler put up for adoption because parents are heavy smokers
A judge recommends that a two-year-old boy is taken into care after social workers say his parents heavy smoking is causing him to suffer breathing difficulties | Telegraph, UK
The Two Faces of the Tobacco Industry Shouting about Illicit Trade While Still Complicit in it
A new briefing paper from Action on Smoking and Health, published on World No Tobacco Day (theme: “Stop illicit trade of tobacco products), reports on how the tobacco industry is showing its two faces over the illicit tobacco trade | ASH, UK
Community links: Changes - Support for women with complex needs and personality disorder in Yorkshire (PDF)
Community Links is an award winning client and recovery focused mental health charity supporting over 1,200 people across Yorkshire and the Humber. They offer support for a wide range of mental health issues including anxiety and depression, psychosis, and personality disorder. Their training department also offers over 30 courses to practitioners covering mental health awareness and wellbeing | Clinks, UK
Parental smoking puts nearly half a million UK children into poverty
Smoking is not only bad for your health; it also puts 400,000 children in poverty. Smoking places a financial burden on low income families, suggesting that parents are likely to forgo basic household and food necessities in order to fund their addiction, according to UK research published | MNT, UK
Ed Sheeran debuts new love song 'Sweet Mary Jane' about relationship with marijuana
Featuring the lyrics 'I’m so Damn high / Can you see my eyes?' | Independent, UK
Roadside drug-driving tests being used for first time by Greater Manchester Police
The saliva testing kits will be used to test motorists for cannabis and cocaine ahead of more advanced tests at police stations | Manchester Evening News, UK
Residents' anger over pub being turned into a alcohol recovery facility
Furious residents have told a drugs charity to stay away from their community after coming face to face with its bosses for the first time | Northern Echo, UK
What MPs secretly think of God, Rangers, Trident, cannabis, Corrie and the Queen
Last month Scotland sent 59 MPs to London, 46 of them for the very first time | Herald, UK
Khat in Your Community: An Event
Fast Forward would like to invite you to join them at an event to discuss the impact of the Khat Ban and the way forward. It’s open to any community members and service providers with an interest in any of the above topics | SPEN, UK
International news
Smoking bans: How they vary around the world
You can't smoke inside public areas in China's capital city Beijing any more | BBC Newsbeat, UK
France bans smoking in playgrounds
Smoking is to be banned in the children's play areas of public parks in France from next month | Telegraph, UK
Beijing bans smoking in public places
More than 1,000 inspectors, hefty fines and a widespread media campaign support crackdown in city with 4.2m smokers | Guardian, UK
Cannabis plants appear to have been planted in Kazakh capital
Cities can be cold and heartless places. So what about brightening up your main street with some delightful green grass? | BBC Newsbeat, UK
Cold turkey and shackles – how Afghan 'clinic' helps drug addicts
Private home in Uruzgan province is the only drug rehabilitation centre in Afghanistan’s impoverished southern region | Guardian, UK
Alcohol price controls 'vital in tackling rising abuse'
Price controls must form a vital weapon in Ireland's battle to tackle alcohol abuse, according to a leading addiction expert | Independent, Ireland
Civil Society Survey Launched For The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drug Policy 2016
This is the most signficiant opportunity to hold a global discussion on international drug policy in almost 20 years. Your participation in the survey is the first crucial step in civil society engagement in this process | EURAD, Belgium
Teen drinking countered by laws that curb adult binge drinking
A new study by Boston University and Boston Medical Center (BMC) researchers reveals that U.S. states with stronger alcohol policies have lower rates of youth overall drinking and binge drinking. The study's results, published in the journal Pediatrics, further suggest that the link is largely a result of policies intended mostly for adults and their effects on reducing adult binge drinking | EurekAlert, USA
Medical marijuana creates hope of revival around New York State
Don Crawford comes from a long line of Orange County farmers | NY Times, USA
DAPC Grants 2015 in the context of the UNODC Youth Initiative
Grants may be awarded for activities in low- and middle- income countries which fall within the general sphere of prevention of drug use among youth | UNODC, USA
Medical Marijuana And Aka Foragers: Drug Possibly Curbed Intestinal Infections In Hunter-Gatherers
The history of medical cannabis is quite long: Humans have been using marijuana to cure headaches and chronic pain, as an anesthetic, and to treat wounds throughout the majority of human existence. In ancient China and Taiwan, surgeons used cannabis as an anesthetic during surgery; in Egypt, it was used to relieve hemorrhoid pain | Medical Daily, USA
Facebook profiles portraying 'boozy' social lives impact drinking habits of young people, study finds
Having friends who use social media to show off their "boozy" social lives can impact young people's drinking habits, research from the University of Sydney has found | abc.net.au, Australia
Comment, blogs and opinion
Psychedelic drugs should be legally reclassified so that researchers can investigate their therapeutic potential
Trials of physiologically safe and non-addictive drugs such as LSD are almost impossible, writes James J H Rucker, calling on the authorities to downgrade their unnecessarily restrictive class A, schedule 1 classification | BMJ views, UK
A successful approach to tackling drug-related crime
The prison drug treatment charity RAPt recently (12 May 2015) launched a series of briefings on a range of issues around drug-related crime. The briefings are based on the organisation’s experience but also on a large database of over 6000 drug and alcohol dependent offenders who have participated in RAPt’s intensive prison treatment programmes | Russell Webster, UK
Things you own which the legal highs bill is going to make illegal
A few days after the draft psychoactive substances bill was published, its full ramifications are still becoming clear. It is one of the weirdest pieces of law ever proposed by a British government. And at a stroke, it seems to criminalise the majority of households in the UK | politics.co.uk, UK
What is a feminist view on drug prohibition?
Drug prohibition has become a mainstream political issue. What was once dismissible as a vain hope has not only become a possibility but a reality in many parts of the world. It is an issue that has a societal impact that extends beyond just collegiate stoners getting high | SSDP, UK
Gastro-stoners: please, can we stop putting cannabis in everything?
A weed-inspired London pop-up is the latest in a long line of ventures putting food and cannabis together. Josh Barrie has had enough | Telegraph, UK
The World's Toughest Rehab Is a Monastery in Thailand
Alesha flinched as a monk uncorked a dusty bottle and lifted it to a shot glass. He poured out a 25-centiliter measure of tarry brown liquid. Sweating in the early-afternoon sun, Alesha—a detoxing heroin addict—gulped hard before swallowing the evil-looking mixture. He washed it down with warm water from a stainless steel bucket. A minute or two later, he was hunched on all fours, violently heaving the contents of his stomach into an open drain | VICE, UK
The Twisted Legacy of Colombia's Aerial Cocaine Crop Spraying Programme
After 30 years of dubious results and loud protests, the flagship of the supply-side drug war in North America has finally been brought to ground | VICE, UK
5 Ways Harm Reduction Can Help Modernise Policing
Police are under constant scrutiny (some more than others) about their policing and law enforcement practices and priorities. Criticism sometimes centres on their lack of capacity to keep up with rapid changes in society | LEAHN, International