Daily news - 19th May 2015

We woud like to thank the Association of Police Controlled Drugs Liaison Officers for their generous donation to help keep DS Daily running.

UK news

Ministerial role: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health - Jane Ellison MP

Responsibilities include health improvement - including alcohol, drugs, smoking and addiction to medicines | Gov.uk, UK

Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice: The Rt Hon Mike Penning MP

Responsibilities include Drug and Alcohol Licensing and Policy | Gov.uk, UK

Lower drink-drive limit, Police Federation says

The drink-drive limit in England and Wales should be cut to match that in Scotland, the Police Federation says | BBC, UK

Alcohol as a risk factor for hypertension

Visit the articles and videos sections of the Resource Centre for selected content on this topic | Psychaitry Research Focus on Alcohol Use Disorders Resource Centre, UK

Home-brew heroin: soon anyone will be able to make illegal drugs

Humble fungi and a home-brewing kit could soon do what the combined might of the West failed to – halt the thriving poppy industry in Afghanistan, the source of 80 per cent of the world's opium. Genetically engineered yeasts could make it easy to produce opiates such as morphine anywhere, cutting out the international drug smugglers and making such drugs cheap and more readily available | New Scientist, UK

Vaping risks: Chemicals used to flavour e-cigarettes could damage lungs in a similar way to tobacco

Some of the chemicals used to flavour e-cigarettes could alter cellular functions in lung tissue in a similar way to tobacco and could also be toxic in high doses, according to new research | Independent, UK

Smoking cannabis 'may stunt growth in boys'

Scientists studied hormones in the blood of 437 boys, including 217 who habitually smoked cannabis before reached puberty | ITV, UK

Pressure grows on government to ban so-called legal highs after Stormont backs fight for change in law

The government is under increasing pressure to ban so-called legal highs after Stormont’s politicians united behind a campaign to rid the streets of the deadly drugs | Belfast Live, UK

Review of a 'test on arrest' pilot and core criminal justice provision for drug-using offenders in Hertfordshire (PDF)

This independent review, funded by the Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), and supported by the County Community Safety Unit, was undertaken by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London. It sought to assess the impact of introducing a pilot of drug testing on arrest and required (initial and follow-up) assessments within one of HCC's police custody suites. It also critically assessed the views and experiences of key stakeholders involved in the implementation, development and delivery of interventions with criminally involved drug misusers across HCC | ICPR, UK

It’s about the night out, not the hangover

An innovative pilot project is looking for ideas from local residents about how bars and pubs in Hackney could be more welcoming for people who want to drink less alcohol on a night out, or not drink at all | Hackney Council, UK

Want to know where to get high? There's an app for that

Cannabis users looking for someone to share a joint with have a new app that lets them find like-minded smokers around the world | Reuters, UK

International news

Harm reduction lessons work in Australia

Substance use education targeting reducing harm rather than preventing use gains ground with the alcohol-related results from this large-scale trial in Australian secondary schools; the researchers call for the approach to replace ineffective usual lessons | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

NGOs highlight human rights violations committed in the name of drug control

Based on Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/28/L.22, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is planning to draft a report on the impact of drugs and drug control on human rights in order to feed into the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, which will be held in 2016 | IDPC, UK

Hooked - Part 1

Known as Africa's first narco-state, Guinea-Bissau has been a key hub in the international drugs trade for nearly a decade. Hit by military coups and poverty, it's used by South American drug cartels as a route to smuggle cocaine to Europe. Hooked is a five-part report in graphic novel style of the human impact of that trade. It explores difficult themes of drug taking | BBC, UK

Hooked - Part 2

Buba, a young man in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau, is enjoying the money he got from selling a package of cocaine washed ashore after a shipwreck | BBC, UK

Breaking Bad in China: chemistry professor 'in meth gang'

Police say man worked as an academic before teaming up with a drug manufacturer to produce methcathinone, a drug similar to methamphetamine | Guardian, UK

China busts fake drug squad cop

A 37-year-old gambling addict spent five years pretending he was spearheading China's war on drugs in the hope that it would help him find a wife | Telegraph, UK

Johann Hari: Heroin injection centres could save State money

Bestselling author says attitude shift needed in Ireland to better treat drug addiction | Irish Times, Ireland

Fall in public order offences linked to fewer late bars

Drop in special exemption orders allowing alcohol until early hours saw fewer crimes | Irish Times, Ireland

Prison drug and alcohol addiction services for review

Misuse of substances a key factor contributing to offending behaviour, says Minister | Irish Times, Ireland

Adolescents, drugs and dancing

NYU study finds use of illicit drugs other than marijuana is 20% higher among “teen ravers” | New York University, USA

Substance abuse risk not greater in those using medical marijuana with prescribed opioids

Among people who use medical cannabis for chronic pain, those who also take prescription pain medications are not at increased risk for serious alcohol and other drug involvement, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs | EurekAlert, USA

PartySmart: Could the infamous 'hangover' become extinct?

It's a Sunday morning, you didn't get back home until 3:30am, your head is banging, your throat is sore and to top it off, your mouth is dry. Later the fatigue will kick in, making it impossible to leave your bed. Welcome to the dreaded hangover. Now wouldn't it be good if the infamous 'hangover' were to become extinct? | Science Daily, USA

Meet flakka, the drug police say is making people run around nude and have sex with trees

What does it take for a man to run naked through a Florida neighborhood, try to have sex with a tree, and claim to be the mythical god Thor? According to a report by the Associated Press, the culprit is flakka — a synthetic drug that's been reportedly linked to deranged behavior in the Sunshine State | Vox, USA

Largest U.S. needle exchange tries free meth pipes in Seattle

Occasional crystal meth smoker Richard Russell ambles up to a church storage garage in a Seattle alley and a recovering drug addict hands him two brand new meth pipes, no questions asked | Reuters, USA

Tobacco industry threatens to launch super-cheap ciggies as officials want more power to seize illicit tobacco

The tobacco industry has threatened to launch super-cheap cigarettes costing just $9 a pack in response to a growing black market in cheap, illegal tobacco, which health officials claim they are powerless to seize | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

NZMA releases briefing on reducing alcohol-related harm

The New Zealand Medical Association has released a policy briefing—Reducing Alcohol-related Harm—that recommends a suite of measures to be considered as part of an approach to reducing the harm caused by drinking alcohol | NZMA, New Zealand

Blogs, comment and opinion

Interestig things you may have missed May 2015

Andrew Brown, who works with MEAM providing expertise on drug and alcohol issues, regularly surveys new statistics on the prevalence, treatment and public health issues around substance misuse. Here is his latest round-up, which looks at issues such as which drugs are perceived as safe, and evidence on the effectiveness of treatment | MEAM, UK

How alcohol makes you friendlier – but only to certain people

Drinking alcohol is associated with aggressive behaviour, accidents and ill health. Yet many of us choose to drink socially. This may reflect alcohol’s actions on specific brain circuits which make us feel euphoric and less anxious. Alcohol may also make us more empathic and cause us to see other people as more attractive. But why do these reactions occur and are the positive effects of alcohol expressed towards everybody we interact with?| Conversation, UK

New factsheet highlights risk of hypertension with regular drinking

A new factsheet from Alcohol Concern, released on Monday 18 May, looks at the increasing risk alcohol has on hypertension | Alcohol Concern Blog, UK

The real UN debate around the war on drugs and the war on youth

Taking place next year, from April 19th to the 21st, is the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in New York. The General Assembly is the highest policy making and representative organ of the United Nations, and its infrequent Special Sessions focus on key topic areas at the request of member states | Transform Blog, UK

Maternal substance abuse: Exploring mother-infant relationships and brain responses

Motherhood is often described as a unique, remarkably challenging and rewarding experience. The maternal brain goes through a series of changes to prepare and assist the mother in adequately and promptly responding to her infant. In addition, a mother’s own experiences in childhood and relationships with her caregivers may set a template for when she becomes a mother, whereby she may repeat patterns with her own child | BASIS, UK

The effect of smoke-free psychiatric hospitals on smoking behaviour: more evidence needed

One in three people with mental health illnesses in the UK smoke, as compared with one in five of the general population. In addition, smokers with mental illnesses smoke more heavily, are more dependent on nicotine and are less likely to be given help to quit smoking. As a result, they are more likely to suffer from smoking-related diseases, and on average die 12-15 years earlier than the general population | Mental Elf, UK

Medical Marijuana and the Ecological Fallacy

Some recent studies have shown that states with more medical marijuana availability have lower rates of opioid overdose and young male suicides. This was interpreted as meaning that people who use medical marijuana are at lower risk of overdose and less likely to take their own lives | Samefacts.com, USA

How America Overdosed on Drug Courts

Hailed as the most compassionate way for the criminal justice system to deal with addicts, drug courts were designed to balance punishment with rehabilitation. But after 25 years, the verdict is in: Drug courts embolden judges to practice medicine without a license—and they put lives in danger | PS Mag, USA