Daily news - 4th June 2015 |
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European Drug Report 2015 - launching at 10.00am today
The EMCDDA will present its annual overview of the European drug situation on 4 June in a multilingual, multimedia information package focusing on today’s rapidly shifting drug phenomenon | EMCDDA, Portugal
UK news
The BMA calls for ban on alcohol ads at children's events
The British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland has called for alcohol advertising at events aimed at children to be banned | BBC, UK
Poor heavy drinkers most affected by minimum price
With this first UK survey providing data on price paid for alcohol plus consumption and income, the evidence is converging on the conclusion that poor heavy drinkers would be most affected by a minimum per unit price, gaining most in health, but losing most either in having to spend more or cut back on their drinking | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Drugs:Written question - 269
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to increase awareness of new psychoactive substances and their dangers in the last five years; and what the cost of such work has been | parliament.uk, UK
Baroness Meacher - Queen's specch debate
On the subject of my contribution today, I welcome the opportunity presented by the Psychoactive Substances Bill to have a detailed debate over the coming weeks about how best to reduce the importation and use of high-risk psychoactive substances | They work for you, UK
Mental health patients 'smoke three times as much'
Mental health patients smoke more than three times as much as the general population, a Public Health England and NHS survey of 105 care units suggests | BBC, UK
Plan to ban smoking on beach and in parks in Pembrokeshire
Smoking could be banned in parks, sports grounds, playing fields, car parks and one beach in Pembrokeshire | BBC, UK
Allan Wells 'took drugs ahead of gold medal win'
A BBC investigation has uncovered claims of drug taking by British 100m Olympic gold medallist Allan Wells | BBC, UK
Drive time with Eddie Nestor, BBC Radio London - Alcohol and failing schools
Alcohol addiction and failing schools to be academies | BBC Radio iPlayer, UK
'Vertex' legal high: Warrington woman seriously ill
A woman is in a serious condition in hospital after taking a legal high in Warrington, police believe | BBC, UK
Aberdeen 'legal high' shop Harminasion is closed down
An Aberdeen shop which sells "legal high" drugs has been closed in what is believed to be a Scottish first | BBC, UK
School seminar: Reclaiming & Redefining Recovery- Austerity, Inequality
Preston, June 17th. This free seminar critically examines the implications accompanying the introduction and implementation of recovery-based policy in England. The mixed and conflicted parentage of ‘recovery’ has constructed a discourse fraught with tensions from which many potential problems arise | UCLan, UK
International news
New Hampshire governor vetoes bill to allow images of minors on beer labels
Maggie Hassan cites underage drinking in vetoing bill sponsored by legislator who runs tavern and wanted to buy Founders Brewing Co’s breakfast stout | Guardian, UK
Nineteen members of Italian mafia drug ring arrested in Canada
’Ndrangheta key players charged with conspiracy and trafficking of marijuana and cocaine in two-year Toronto operation, Canadian police said | Guardian, UK
What can Ireland learn from a country that decriminalised drugs?
TDs are off to Portugal to find out | Journal, Ireland
NGOs resign from Alcohol and Health Forum as Commission ignores Member State and European Parliament Calls for Alcohol Strategy
Dear Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Dr. Andriukaitis, We write to you as a group of public health organisations to express our deep concerns that there are no plans to develop a comprehensive EU Alcohol Strategy and to tender our collective resignations from the EU Alcohol and Health Forum | EuroCare, Belgium
Hilary Clinton focuses on drug addiction after hearing the scale of the problem
Mrs Clinton called heroin and methamphetamine addiction in rural America a 'quiet epidemic' | NY Times, USA
What were the most popular drugs on Silk Road?
Just what was the most popular product sold on the Silk Road, the anonymous online marketplace whose founder has been sentenced to life in prison without parole? A study by a Carnegie Mellon researcher offers an answer | CNBC, USA
All forms of smoking detrimental to cardiac health
Studies suggest that smoking with waterpipes, also referred to as shisha and hookah, may be associated with even greater toxin exposure because sessions are longer and involve more and larger "puffs," leading to smoke inhalation as much as 100 times higher than that associated with cigarette smoking | Medical Xpress, USA
World first: Local program reduces risky drinking
An independent study by University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Population Health and Deakin University has found that the Australian Drug Foundation's Good Sports program reduces the risk of risky drinking at sports clubs by 37 per cent and the risk of alcohol-related harm to club members by 42 per cent. Australian Drug Foundation CEO John Rogerson said the randomised control trial is proof that community prevention programs can work in changing the way people drink - preventing harm before it happens | Good Sports, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
‘Everything works’: the need to address confirmation bias in evaluations of drug misuse prevention interventions for adolescents
The evidence base of prevention research appears to comprise predominantly chance findings that emerge from flexible data analysis practices motivated by confirmation bias. This area needs to urgently adopt the kinds of mandatory pre-registration practices required of clinical trials as a first step to creating a credible evidence base | BMJ editorial, UK
Volunteer stories
We would love to hear stories from our volunteers at Blenheim to feature on this site. If you are a volunteer and would like to share your experiences – and inspire others to join our volunteering team – then drop us a line today | Blenheim CDP, UK
David Cameron, you were right about drugs. Don’t err and stray now
The ‘war on drugs’ does not work, as Cameron himself once said. The latest crackdown on legal highs such as poppers is madness | Guardian CIF, UK
Why ban laughing gas? All the best things in life are psychoactive
Theresa May’s proposed ban of legal highs is based on emotion, not evidence. God forbid that anyone might end up thinking differently | Guardian CIF, UK
Why giving up booze is only half the battle for a recovering alcoholic
After decades of alcoholism, author John Doran beat the disease at the age of 37 – and immediately found out that it was only the first step in an ongoing fight to reclaim his life | Telegraph, UK
We all have a problem with drink, not just Charles Kennedy
There is a case for closing down the bars at Westminster | Independent Voices, UK
Charles Kennedy’s alcohol problem was also Britain’s alcohol problem
Blurring the difference between a ‘normal, fun life’ and alcoholism is one of this country’s defining features – and not one it should be proud of | Guardian CIF, UK
The place where it's hard to avoid drink
Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who has died at the age of 55, found Parliament an apt arena for his charisma and political acumen. But was Westminster a particularly dangerous place for someone with an addiction to alcohol? | BBC, UK
The fall of Silk Road isn’t the end for anonymous marketplaces, Tor or bitcoin
Ross Ulbricht, aka the “Dread Pirate Roberts”, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole by a Manhattan Federal Court for masterminding the Silk Road anonymous online illegal marketplace. Ulbricht was labelled a drug dealer and criminal profiteer, and Judge Forrest was unequivocal in stating that “a message must be sent out that no one is above the law” | Conversation, UK
Spice Hospitalizations Make Case for UK Drug Regulation, Not Blanket Ban of Psychoactive Substance
Hospitalizations in the UK from taking synthetic cannabinoids could be avoided through implementing a strict regulatory model for drugs. Instead, the government is pushing ahead with a blanket ban of these and similar substances that will only increase their dangers | Talking Drugs Blog, UK
Social Anxiety and Addiction
Around 20% of people suffering from social anxiety also developed an alcohol use disorder. There is also a reverse relationship, with 15% of alcohol abuse cases being associated with symptoms of social anxiety | Castle Craig Blog, UK
Inmates cut off methadone less likely to seek it after release
New trial results published in The Lancet show that inmates forced off of methadone maintenance treatment upon incarceration — a widespread policy in U.S. prisons and jails — were significantly less likely to return to the effective addiction-controlling remedy after they were released than those who, because of the study, were allowed to remain in treatment | Science Blog, USA
National Ice Taskforce stakeholders seek comprehensive action
UnitingCare ReGen CEO Laurence Alvis participated in the recent Prevention and Treatment roundtable sessions of the National Ice Taskforce hearings in Sydney. With Taskforce public consultations now closed, the following provides a summary of his notes on the key issues raised by roundtable participants. Overall, the roundtable participants stressed the need for comprehensive, long-term and evidence-based interventions that addressed the broad issues affecting people who use ice, including in areas such as housing, employment and mental health | Croaky: The Crikey Health Blog, Australia