Daily news - 7th June 2019 |
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UK news
Mother of epileptic girl has medicinal cannabis seized for second time
Emma Appleby had £2,500 of drug she had bought in the Netherlands confiscated at Gatwick airport | Guardian, UK
Cannabis oil mum: 'I'm forced to live abroad to save my child'
Julie Galloway left Scotland with seven-year-old Alexa, who has epilepsy and a rare neurological condition, almost a year ago to live with relatives in Rotterdam | BBC, UK
Lower doses of antidepressants should be prescribed, study suggests
A new study, led by the University of Oxford, suggests prescribing at the bottom end of the recommended amount achieves “optimal balance” between effectiveness and limiting adverse side effects | ITV, UK
Steroid Drugs: Side Effects
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) health risks and (b) psychiatric side effects of oral corticosteroid treatments | They work for you, UK
Mescaline, with Mike Jay - podcast
Say Why to Drugs returns! In this episode Suzi chats to author Mike Jay about mescaline, arguably the first psychedelic.Jay details the dual history of the substance - found in two types of cacti in central and south America, as well as being extracted and used in psychiatry in the USA and Europe. Jay has just written a book called Mescaline, and tells us about his research and findings that went in to the book | Say why to drugs, UK
Teacher who rarely drank alcohol killed by wine on a summer afternoon
A primary school teacher who rarely drank alcohol died after drinking more than one bottle of red wine on a summer afternoon | Telegraph, UK
Argos urgently recalls SIX e-cigarettes - because they could overheat and start a FIRE
Shoppers at the popular high street giant, which operates stores in Birmingham, have been told of the product recall | Birmingham Live, UK
Britain's biggest cannabis farm is in Sittingbourne - and it's legal
The farm is run by GW Pharmaceuticals and scientists are set to develop medicinal uses for the drug | Kent Live, UK
Edir Frederico Da Costa: Police restraint death 'misadventure'
Edir Frederico Da Costa died after being stopped by officers in east London in 2017, having put 88 wraps containing class A drugs in his mouth | BBC, UK
International news
'Cocaine call centres' set up across Europe, drugs agency says
Enterprising criminals have set up "cocaine call centres" across Europe to provide fast and flexible delivery services, the EU drugs agency says | BBC, UK [See EMCDDA report below]
The Inside Story of Europe's First Narco-State
A young generation of Albanians are caught between organized crime's politics, rampant unemployment, and the fast cash of Class A drugs | VICE, UK
‘El Chapo’: the last of the cartel kingpins?
As the capture and conviction of Mexico’s notorious drug lord has shown, taking down the boss doesn’t mean taking down the organisation | Guardian, UK
Australia's biggest meth bust: Drugs found hidden inside speakers
The drugs, with an estimated street value of A$1.2bn (£660m; $840m), were found hidden inside stereo speakers in a shipment at a Melbourne port | BBC, UK
Guidelines issued for non-alcoholic drink ads to avoid ‘confusion’
Non-alcoholic product variants should not target children, watchdog rules dictate | Irish Times, Ireland
European Drug Report 2019
What are the latest drug trafficking trends and what lies behind them? What substances are causing the most harm today? What’s new in the areas of drug prevention, treatment and policy? These, and other, questions are explored the annual overview of the European drug situation. #EDR2019 | EMCDDA, Portugal
European Drug Report 2019: highlights
Three minute video covering highlights of the report | EMCDDA, Portugal
Country drug reports
On this page you can access top-level overviews of the drug situation by country in all EMCDDA reporting countries*, covering drug supply, use and public health problems as well as drug policy and responses | EMCDDA, Portugal
The nicotine in e-cigarettes appears to impair mucus clearance
E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to hamper mucus clearance from the airways, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society | EurekAlert, USA
Expert urges cautious approach to ketamine use
Physicians and patients are excited about ketamine, the latest drug to treat depression, but Stanford psychiatrist Alan Schatzberg says we need to tread carefully | Medical Xpress, USA
Probation Officers Should Never Direct Medical Care for People With OUD
The Oregon State Senate voted in April to decrease barriers to lifesaving medical treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Senate Bill 910 passed unanimously | Filter Magazine, USA
Overdose deaths would be at least twice as high without emergency harm reduction and treatment response
The rapid expansion of harm reduction services in response to B.C.’s overdose crisis prevented more than 3,000 possible overdose deaths during a 20-month period, suggests new research led by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) | BC Centre for Disease Control, Canada
Data showing no rise in life expectancy due to opioids need to be Canadian election issue, B.C. doctor says
Opioid-related deaths of young people in B.C. and Alberta are a leading factor, StatsCan says | CBC News, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
There's a very good reason cocaine dealing has become like Uber for drugs – but there's also a way to fight back
Forget for a moment the drug is illegal and it looks like a cure for the just-about-managing generation | Independent voices, UK
“I’ve been privileged to see people at their best and worst”
Communications Officer Kate Holley talks with Community Development Manager Debra Anderson about what brought her to Mentor and what drug prevention work means to her | Mentor, UK
The hidden generation of drinkers: how can we help more over 50s access support?
People over 50 are using alcohol as a way of dealing with factors like divorce and bereavement. We need to show them they aren’t alone | Addaction blog, UK
Magic mushrooms, illegal in most places, may have therapeutic uses
The active ingredient, psilocybin, offers hope in treating depression | Economist, UK
Review. ‘Cannabis Health’ Magazine
“This is a milestone in cannabis law reform. A glossy magazine, produced to the highest standard, fit to sit alongside Country Life, Cosmopolitan or Vogue. It treats the subject with intelligence, with insight and the stories it tells are told with respect, sensitivity and common sense.” | Clear, UK