Daily news - 26th March 2021 |
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UK news
Women affected by domestic abuse and someone else's substance use
The Adfam Women’s Project, funded by the DCMS Tampon Tax Programme, aims to reduce the risks to women experiencing domestic violence in homes where drugs and alcohol are misused. This project has now finished, and our findings have been published in a research report (PDF), with recommendations for policy and practice | Adfam, UK
How social workers can work with domestic abuse, substance use and mental ill health
Community Care Inform’s guide to working with domestic abuse, substance use and mental ill health is now available as a free download to support all practitioners | Community Care, UK
More evidence needed to back cannabis as pain treatment, says review
The appraisal of evidence, carried out by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), is believed to be the largest to date. It looked at all relevant published laboratory and clinical research on the topic of active compounds in cannabis, called cannabinoids, and reducing pain | Imperial College, UK
Covid-19: Pubs could require vaccine passports - Boris Johnson
Pub goers could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate, Boris Johnson has told MPs, saying it "may be up to individual publicans" | BBC, UK
Alcohol-Specific deaths in Northern Ireland: Socio-Demographic Analyses
Northern Ireland has observed notable increases in alcohol deaths in the last two decades despite increased awareness of, and the public being more educated on, the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In Northern Ireland, problematic alcohol use is acknowledged as being a major healthcare problem. Northern Ireland has the second highest alcoholspecific death rate in the UK after Scotland | NISRA, UK
Safety chiefs call for alcohol locks to tackle drink-driving
[Free one month trial available] European-style “alcolocks” should routinely be fitted to cars to curb persistently high drink-driving rates in the UK, ministers have been told | The Times, UK
Smoking: Poverty
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps local stop-smoking services are taking to reduce smoking rates amongst the poorest in society where smoking prevalence is highest | They work for you, UK
What would a regulated stimulant market look like?
In this webinar, Steve Rolles and Roz Gittins explain how we could regulate a stimulant market to improve the safety of drugs which will be used whether they are legal or not | Drug Science, UK
Addiction Audio: alcohol policy and gender with Petra Meier
In this episode, Rob Calder speaks to Professor Petra Meier about her research using computer modelling to estimate how the impact of alcohol pricing policies might differ according to gender | SSA, UK
'All Good Points' - Cannabis Capitalism + WIN £50 CBD CiiTech Voucher!! - video
In this episode George and Paul discuss how the tobacco industry should navigate the cannabis space and if it should be permitted by governments + regulators! | Volteface, UK
Two members of Freshwater Five lose appeal against drugs convictions
Jonathan Beere, 51, and Daniel Payne, 46, had presented radar evidence to the court | Guardian, UK
LCDPR Hosts: Let’s Talk Drug Policy Reform (one-off Momentum Primary event)
Mon, 29 March 2021, 18:30 – 19:30 BST. A one-off event: LCDPR to independently host and facilitate Let's Talk Drugs, a Momentum primary event | LCDPR, UK
£3m ‘Chemsex’ drug dealers jailed over moped delivery service
The final gang members who ran a sophisticated network delivering party drugs across London from orders placed on WhatsApp were jailed today | Evening Standard, UK
'UDA commander' among men facing cocaine charges
A man described in court as the commander of the UDA in South East Antrim is one of four men charged with conspiring to supply cocaine | BBC, UK
Jockey Adrian McCarthy regretful after ban for being 1,000 times over cocaine limit
A jockey has expressed regret after he was 1,000 times above the cocaine limit in a test at Chelmsford races in 2020 | BBC, UK
International news
Getting ready for harm reduction budget advocacy
How money is collected and distributed through public budgets influences the lives of millions of people in every country in the world. Those decisions might ensure food and shelter for many, or deprive others from essential healthcare services. Budget advocacy, which is a tool to influence those decisions, can make an impact on millions of lives | HRI, UK
New York state lawmakers strike deal to legalize recreational marijuana
The New York Times reported that lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday. A Siena College poll conducted earlier this month found that nearly 60% of New York voters favor legalizing recreational marijuana | Guardian, UK
Hidden epidemic of drug use among older people highlighted by International Narcotics Control Board's Annual Report
At a time of increased demand for controlled medicines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warns of 'a hidden epidemic: drug use among older persons' and the harm the pandemic has caused to the health and well-being of this population group | INCB, Austria
How COVID Has Worsened the Opioid Epidemic
There is another epidemic we cannot lose sight of: the opioid epidemic, which has become only more acute in the United States and elsewhere amidst the disruptions and stress caused by COVID-19 | Yale Insights, USA
Carrying naloxone can save lives but newly abstinent opioid users resist
"Opioid overdoses cause the largest number of accidental and avoidable deaths," said Peter Davidson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. "The human toll of drug addiction is devastating. Using naloxone to prevent opiate overdoses can and has saved many lives." | EurekAlert, USA
UCSF and Johns Hopkins University Launch Digital Trove of Opioid Industry Documents
UC San Francisco and Johns Hopkins University today announced the launch of the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, a digital repository of publicly disclosed documents from recent judgments, settlements, and ongoing lawsuits concerning the opioid crisis | UCSF, USA
N.J. school district joins anti-vaping lawsuit against Juul
A New Jersey school district has joined a nationwide class-action lawsuit against e-cigarette maker Juul, alleging that company minimized the health risk of its products in marketing campaigns to minors, which led to widespread vaping in the district’s six buildings | NJ.com, USA
Starting smoking cessation in hospitalized patients would reduce many premature deaths
Smoking cigarettes causes 480,000 premature deaths each year in the United States, due mainly to a two-fold risk of cardiovascular disease and a 20-fold risk of lung cancer. Although smoking rates have declined dramatically, there are currently 35 million smokers in the U.S | Florida Atlantic University, USA
Nearly half of poison control calls for supersized alcopops involve underage drinkers
Supersized alcopops are ready-to-drink flavored alcoholic beverages with high alcohol content that are disproportionately consumed by underage drinkers | Medical Xpress, USA
Cambodia Issues Asia’s Latest Nicotine Prohibition
On March 23, Cambodia issued a ban on heated tobacco products (HTPs). The move, as reported by the English-language newspaper The Khmer Times, was announced by the National Authority of Combating Drugs | Filter Magazine, USA
On Canada’s East Coast, an Unexplained Influx of Pure Cocaine
Nobody knows the smell, taste or feeling of pure cocaine like someone who injects it. Eric Sampson, who’s well known on the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is one of those people. But a few months ago, a shot hit him in a way he’d never known was possible | Filter Magazine, USA
This Is What It's Like Trying to Buy Drugs During Venezuela's Economic Crisis
Hyperinflation has hit so hard that even the street drug trade is collapsing | VICE, USA
Shedding stigma remains key factor in battle against opioids
Local officials say there is still plenty of work to do to shed the stigma surrounding drug use and addiction | EveryhtingGP, Canada
‘It saves lives’: Government stands firm on location of Richmond injecting room
Acting Premier James Merlino has stood by the decision to run a safe injecting room next to a primary school in Richmond after emotional parents addressed a residents’ meeting on Wednesday night | The Age, Australia
New PTSD and substance abuse program for veterans to commence
World first PTSD and substance abuse recovery program to begin on 20 April, following US and Australian recovery research | Defence Connect, Australia
Ayahuasca In Australia: A First-Hand Guide
When everyone asked what I was doing for my 30th birthday, I lied. I used “luxury yoga retreat” as a decoy to go off-grid. In reality, I was planning to sit in a circle of strangers, with a bucket and roll of toilet paper, to (hopefully) vomit my way to enlightenment with Ayahuasca right here in Australia | Boss Hunting, Australia
Bod to trial medicinal cannabis product as treatment for Long Covid
od Australia has entered into a collaboration agreement with Drug Science UK to assess the efficacy of its MediCabilis product in managing symptoms associated with the long-term impact of Covid-19 (Long Covid) | Cannabiz, Australia
Construction due to start on ‘world’s largest medicinal cannabis farm’
Construction is due to start on what is claimed to be one of the world’s largest medicinal cannabis farms near Toowoomba, Queensland | Cannabiz, Australia
Professor Michael Farrell – 10 Years as NDARC Director
We have been lucky enough to have Michael Farrelll as NDARC’s Director for ten years this month, and many of his longstanding colleagues have contributed their reflections of working with Michael and his contributions to the Centre over that time. We’d like to share some of those with you | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Developments in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders – a UK perspective
Dr Lisa Schölin from the UK FASD Research Collaboration discusses FASD in the UK with a focus on the Scottish context, including recent research and developments | SHAAP blog, UK
The Spike in Drug Overdose Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Policy Options to Move Forward
Since COVID-19 first started upending day-to-day life for Americans in March 2020, public health officials have been sounding the alarm about a potential surge in drug overdoses | The Commonwealth Fund blog, USA