Daily news - 22nd April 2014

Evaluation of ESF Peer Mentoring Wales (PDF)

This report presents a process and outcome evaluation of the Peer Mentoring Wales (PMW) project. The project, overseen by the Welsh Government, has the primary aim of assisting ex-substance misusers across Wales to enter employment or further learning | Welsh Government, UK

Interventions to reduce substance misuse among vulnerable young people: review decision

Public health guidance is reviewed every 3 years to determine whether all or part of it should be updated | NICE, UK

Cannabis linked to brain differences in the young - Behind the Headlines

“Using cannabis just once a week harms young brains,” the Daily Mail reports | NHS Choices, UK

Some thoughts on the tricky problem of ‘legal high’ drugs education

It’s common to hear that we need ‘better’ and ‘more’ drugs education as part of our response to novel psychoactive substances (NPS; ‘legal highs’), and intuitively this seems like a good idea | Centre for Public Health, UK

Why should alcohol and drug education be part of PSHE?

Alcohol and drug education is currently a statutory part of the national science curriculum. But is the science curriculum enough to provide our pupils with a comprehensive education about alcohol and drugs? | Mentor - ADEPIS, UK

Is alcohol more dangerous than drugs? - video

Our penultimate Ask Andrew vodcast poses the question: is alcohol more dangerous than drugs? | Mentor, UK

E-cigarettes and the vape debate

Electronic cigarettes, which some say are a safer alternative to smoking or a first step to quitting, are under fire | BBC, UK

The WHO Health Promoting School framework for improving the health and well-being of students and their academic achievement

The World Health Organization's (WHO’s) Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is an holistic, settings-based approach to promoting health and educational attainment in school. The effectiveness of this approach has not been previously rigorously reviewed | Cochrane Review, UK

SMMGP Snap Survey: What is going on with primary care based treatment in your area?

There has been a steady trickle of comments on our online forums regarding the state of primary care based treatment in certain areas of the UK. In order to provide our service to the best of our abilities, and advocate nationally for best practice in primary care treatment for people who use drugs and/or alcohol problematically, we need to know what is going on. SMMGP may be able to provide targeted support for primary care based drug treatment in local areas, if we have the information we need | SMMGP, UK

New evidence update from NICE on the prevention of problem drinking

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently published an evidence update focussed on preventing harmful drinking | Mental Elf, UK

Focus on damage drugs do, not how they are classified'

Police smart when they hear the term "legal highs" | Herald, UK

Can problem drinkers effectively be treated in prison?

The cover of these World Health Organization guidelines poses the key dilemma. Their subtitle (“An opportunity for intervention”) seems belied by the forbidding, barbed wire-topped concrete wall, yet the walls create the ‘dry space’ in which intervention seems possible | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Opioid substitution therapy as a strategy to reduce deaths in prison: retrospective cohort study

To describe deaths in prison among opioid-dependent people, and examine associations between receipt of opioid substitution therapy (OST) and risk of death in prison | BMJ Open, UK

The non-medical use of tramadol in the UK: findings from a large community sample

Prescription drug misuse has become a public health problem in several developed countries. In the UK, there has been no increase in people seeking treatment for prescription drug dependence, but there has been a progressive rise in fatal overdoses involving tramadol | PubMed, UK

E-cigarettes: no smoke without fear

E-cigarettes are big business. How did they start? How do they work? And what is big tobacco doing to protect its market share? | FT Magazine, UK

Tobacco industry-funded research, peer review, and nannying

Another journal bans research funded by the tobacco industry. It's time to stop treating us like children | Guardian, UK

Our e cigarettes are going to melt our faces and burn our houses down

Why sugarcoat it? Judging from the heavily trafficked articles on the Daily Mail and Huffington post, it looks like e-cigarettes aren't going to stop at poisoning children | VICE, UK

Police called in over drug scandal at major football club in England

A major football club in England has been rocked by a drugs scandal that has gone as far as the police and the English authorities, theObserver can reveal | Observer, UK

Sheffield deaths 'could be linked' to heroin batch

A rogue batch of heroin could be behind the deaths of three people in Sheffield inside a week, police fear | BBC, UK

Is Britain hooked on happy pills?

Is Britain depressed or just medicalising a normal range of emotions, asks psychiatrist Dr Joanna Moncrieff | Telegraph, UK

New support to give homeless people ‘basic building blocks’ for work

A new pilot scheme will give the most vulnerable homeless people the right skills and training to get into work, Housing Minister Kris Hopkins and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock announced | Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, UK

New ‘Google’ for the Dark Web Makes Buying Dope and Guns Easy

The dark web just got a little less dark with the launch of a new search engine that lets you easily find illicit drugs and other contraband online | Wired, UK

Damon Albarn defends past heroin use

Drug use was 'part of me growing up', says singer on eve of release of solo album, which mentions taking substance | Guardian, UK

Gangsters secretly making deadly 'legal high' drugs

Scottish crime groups have started manufacturing the drugs once labelled "legal highs" as they seek to compete with importers | Herald, UK

Shropshire criminals ‘using unmanned drones and infrared cameras to find illegal cannabis farms’ – and then steal from the growers

New practice shows how drone technology can be used ‘for both good and bad’, says MP Tom Watson | Independent, UK

These drugs were medicines before they hit the streets

Many illicit drugs began as medical innovations | VICE, UK

US Justice Department to widen clemency criteria for drug offenders

Eric Holder said he expects thousands of drug offenders serving time to be eligible for reduced sentences under new guidelines | Guardian, UK

Pot-smoking parents explain the rules of getting high at home around the kids

With marijuana more socially acceptable than ever, mothers and fathers explain the ins-and-outs of toking up with children nearby | Guardian, UK

How 420 became code for marijuana

The number 420 has become a popular code for marijuana. Where does the term come from and why did it catch on, asks Aidan Lewis | BBC, UK

All my life watching America

It’s my birthday soon. April 20th to be precise. Does this date seem familiar to you? Other than my entry into the world, this date was perhaps previously best known for being Hitler’s birthday | Release Blog, UK

Cannabis opponents call for restrictions on edibles after two deaths

As Denver, Colorado prepares for its annual 4/20 "weed day" questions are being asked about the potency of cannabis-infused edibles like cookies and cupcakes | Telegraph, UK

Denver celebrates 'holy day of pot' but cannabis backlash begins

Tens of thousands gather for 'biggest cannabis rally in history' on World Weed Day, but opponents seize on two recent marijuana-related deaths | Telegraph, UK

Time to take the high road and legalize marijuana – at the federal level

Pot is now more available to patients. But if more states legalize, the majority will be at odds with the US government. What then? | Guardian, UK

Tennessee set to criminalise pregnant women who use illegal drugs

Tennessee is poised to become the first state in the US to criminalise pregnant women for harm caused to their foetuses or newborn babies as a result of addiction to illegal drugs | Guardian, UK

US approves 'Palcohol' - powdered alcohol is on the way

A new brand of powdered alcohol - designed to be mixed into a drink or sprinkled over food - has been signed off by the US government and will be available in autumn of this year | Telegraph, UK

#BBCtrending: Saudi women and shisha smoking rights

Should a woman have a male guardian with her at a shisha cafe? That's the debate raging on social media in Saudi Arabia | BBC, UK

MWRDTF: Education Bursary Fund

Funding is available from groups/organisations towards the costs of running courses (certified and non-certified) related to alcohol and/or drugs issues. The MWRDTF Education Bursary Fund 2014 is available to assist Community Groups, Voluntary & Statutory Organisations, Third level Colleges or Universities funding towards the costs of running training courses related to alcohol and/or drugs issues | Activelink.ie, Ireland

MWRDTF Treatment & Rehabilitation Funding Pool 2014

The MWRDTF has available to it, a one-off funding pool for treatment initiatives and rehabilitation initiatives for substance misusers in the Midwest Region. The total amount available in the fund just exceeds €30,000. Applications will be accepted up to a maximum of €10,000 and a minimum of €7,000 | Activelink.ie, Ireland

Gambling data sought in drugs prevalence poll

The fourth drug prevalence survey of households in Ireland and Northern Ireland, by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol (NACDA), is set to examine the prevalence of gambling in Ireland for the first time | Irish Medical Times, Ireland

Minister defends delay in pasage of anti-smoking Bill

Seanad acts to ban smoking in cars when children are passengers | Irish Times, Ireland

Drugs: MEPs back rules to take harmful “legal highs” off the market faster

Draft rules to ensure that harmful psychoactive substances, known as "legal highs", are withdrawn rapidly from the EU market were approved by Parliament on Thursday. MEPs sought to protect the health and safety of young people from these drugs, whilst ensuring that trade in lower risk substances for industrial and commercial uses is not hindered. Criminals who breach the ban on the most harmful substances could face up to ten years in jail | Europarl, Belgium

Emergency health consequences of cocaine use in Europe. A review of the monitoring of drug-related acute emergencies in 30 European countries

This study reveals the substantial levels of morbidity related to cocaine use, translated into the large number of cocaine cases seen in various emergency settings in European countries. This health burden is often not captured by other traditional drug indicators. The report also points to the potential for early prevention, assessment and referral opportunities that may currently be overlooked, including the referral of some patients who may benefit from specific counselling or treatment | EMCDDA, Portugal

Guidelines for identification and management of substance use and substance use disorders in pregnancy

These guidelines contain recommendations on the identification and management of substance use and substance use disorders for health care services which assist women who are pregnant, or have recently had a child, and who use alcohol or drugs or who have a substance use disorder. They have been developed in response to requests from organizations, institutions and individuals for technical guidance on the identification and management of alcohol and other substance use and substance use disorders in pregnant women, with the target of healthy outcomes for both pregnant and their fetus or infant | WHO, USA

Justice Department prepares for clemency requests from thousands of inmates

The Obama administration is beginning an aggressive new effort to foster equity in criminal sentencing by considering clemency requests from as many as thousands of federal inmates serving time for drug offenses, officials said Monday | Washington Post, USA

Study shows important parallels between epidemic of HIV/AIDS and opioid addiction

There are important parallels between the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the current epidemic of opioid addiction - ones that could trigger a significant shift in opioid addiction prevention, diagnosis and treatment | News Medical, USA

What's the best way to treat doctors on drugs?

More than 100,000 health professionals across the country struggle with drug abuse or addiction. They are rarely caught, putting the lives of their patients in danger, a USA TODAY investigation revealed | USA Today, USA

Direct tobacco marketing linked to teen and adult smoking

Direct to consumer marketing of tobacco products is reaching significant numbers of teens, as well as young adults, according to a new study | Yahoo.com, USA

The Rise of Peer-Based Naloxone Distribution Programs

Lawmakers are finally realizing that restricting access to naloxone is a bad idea; by extending the drug's availability to outreach workers, active drug users, and family members, we save lives | Fix, USA

Staten Island Officers Will Carry Heroin Antidote

Police officers across Staten Island will be soon equipped with and trained to use a nasal spray that reverses the effects of a heroin or opioid pill overdose, the authorities said on Thursday | NY Times, USA

Here Are All The Drugs Americans Want To Legalize

A majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, polls now show. But that's where support for drug legalization ends. A series of HuffPost/YouGov surveys conducted over the past several months found that few Americans want to repeal the laws against any other illegal drug | Huffington Post, USA

Legislative committee passes new restrictions on marijuana edibles

A bill in the Colorado legislature to put extra safety restrictions on marijuana-infused edible products passed its first test Thursday | Denver Post, USA

S.F. program reduces risks for gay men who use meth

Methamphetamine users who focus on cutting back or practicing safer methods of getting high - instead of trying to quit the drug altogether - are also able to reduce risky sexual behaviors that can make them vulnerable to HIV, according to San Francisco researchers | SF Gate, USA

Call to modify guidelines on light drinking in pregnancy

The National Health and Medical Research Council's guidelines on drinking during pregnancy provide insufficient and potentially alarming advice to women about the effects of low-level drinking, a leading pharmacist says | Age, Australia

The Power of Stigma and its Impact on Drug Use among Sex Workers

Why are people involved in sex work more likely to use “hard” drugs such as cocaine and heroin than someone working as a server in a restaurant? Is it because they are “immoral” or “bad” people, or is it because their occupation is more stigmatized? | Matters of Substance, New Zealand