Daily news - 3rd August 2020

Coronavirus frequently updated resources

COVID-19 and addiction: webinars, podcasts and online discussions | SSA

Treatment and recovery services – and COVID-19 |Collective Voice

COVID-19 Information Hub | Scottish Drugs Forum

COVID-19 and smoking: resources, research and news | BMJ

Coronavirus: information and advice hub - alcohol | Alcohol Change UK

COVID-19 resources page for people who use drugs (PWUD) and drug service providers | EMCDDA

UK news

United Kingdom drug situation: Focal Point annual report

Annual report and data tables from the UK Focal Point on Drugs on the national prevalence, impact, prevention and treatment of drug use | Public Health England, Home Office, Welsh Government, The Scottish Government, Public Health Wales, and Department of Health (Northern Ireland), UK

Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the LancetCommission

The number of older people, including those living with dementia, is rising, as younger age mortality declines. However, the age-specific incidence of dementia has fallen in many countries, probably because of improvements in education, nutrition, health care, and lifestyle changes | Lancet, UK

Campaigners demand reform as official figures show one in five found guilty of cannabis possession is black

One in five of those found guilty of cannabis possession in England and Wales last year was black, official figures show, prompting accusations of racial injustice at the heart of the UK’s drug laws | Independent, UK

Qualitative methods lecture: Dr Polly Radcliffe

In the eighth, and final, instalment of the qualitative methods conferenceseries, Dr Polly Radcliffe talks about her qualitative research on pregnancy and substance use | SSA, UK

Demonstrations: Alcoholic Drinks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to limit the drinking of alcohol at protests and demonstrations | They work for you, UK

Mobile Injection Equipment Provision van is saving lives across Glasgow

Drug users in Glasgow have been receiving lifesaving support from volunteers running a mobile injection van amid the coronavirus pandemic | Glasgow Times, UK

Man survives drug overdose on busy Dundee street despite almost hour-long wait for paramedics

A Dundee man who collapsed in public following a drug overdose survived, despite an almost hour-long wait for paramedics | Courier, UK

Addiction Current List - August 2020

This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published in August | Addiction, UK

Three charged in international drug investigation linked to Encrochat

Three men have been charged in the UK and Netherlands following the seizure of over over 50 kilos of class A drugs in a joint operation involving the National Crime Agency and Dutch law enforcement | NCA, UK

Channel Tunnel driver arrested over £1.5m drug find

A lorry driver from Motherwell has been arrested after the discovery of 150kg of cannabis | BBC, UK

International news

Ex-British army officer faces 13 years in Romanian jail over ayahuasca ceremony

Exclusive: Thomas Lishman charged with prominent local figures in ‘landmark human rights case’ | Guardian, UK

UK must regulate drug market to combat human trafficking

Instead of cannabis being available in a controlled legal supply model, a large amount is produced by vulnerable people trafficked from abroad | Thomas Reuters Foundation, UK

Additions to the Effectiveness Bank 31 July 2020

Providing a bridge to treatment doesn’t necessarily improve recovery outcomes. Continued threat of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs prompts new harm reduction measures. Brief interventions rolled out to teenagers test suitability of public health measure in secondary school setting. Lowest-cost expansion of programmes to prevent alcohol-related harm during pregnancy may mean reaching more women at risk than more women in general | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

India toxic alcohol: Dozens die in Punjab poisoning

At least 86 people have died in recent days as a result of drinking illegally-made alcohol, officials in the northern Indian state of Punjab say | BBC, UK

Coronavirus: Ten dead after drinking hand sanitiser following closure of liquor shops during lockdown in Indian state

Men drank homemade mixture for about 10 days | Independent, UK

Crashed plane packed with cocaine was bound for Australia, police say

Police say a small plane that crashed shortly after take-off in Papua New Guinea had been overloaded with cocaine destined for the Australian market | BBC, UK

Call for better State approach to dementia as study shows alcohol among risk factors

40 per cent of dementia could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 factors, Lancet says | Irish Times, Ireland

Gardaí unable to provide figures on 'laughing gas' arrests and seizures due to IT limitations

The issue was flagged in a parliamentary question requesting statistics on seizures of the drug | Journal, Ireland

ONDCP Releases Data on Coca Cultivation and Production in Peru

[On Friday] the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the results of the annual United States Government estimates measuring coca cultivation and potential cocaine production for the Republic of Peru | The White House, USA

FDA approves CBD oral solution for treatment of seizures related to tuberous sclerosis complex

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Epidiolex (cannabidiol) [CBD] oral solution for the treatment of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) in patients one year of age and older | News Medical, USA

FDA warns companies illegally selling hangover cures

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to seven companies for illegally selling products they claim will cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent hangovers | Medical Xpress, USA

Pandemic can worsen odds for people recovering from addiction

Drug use can increase the risks associated with COVID-19 infection, and at the same time, the social and psychological risks of the pandemic can intensify drug use | Medical Xpress, USA

Group-based smoking cessation help US inmates quit tobacco

Behavioral and nicotine replacement therapies offered together can help people who are incarcerated quit smoking, according to Rutgers researchers | Medical Xpress, USA

All the cool kids are doing it: The relationship between ADHD symptoms, tobacco use and social perceptions of tobacco use during the transition to college

College is a time when many young individuals take up drug use, including tobacco. Another relevant factor in nicotine use is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms | BASIS, USA

Law to Reduce Crack Cocaine Sentences Leaves Some Imprisoned

Critics say the First Step Act is being applied too arbitrarily by judges who are taking a hard line when it comes to revisiting nonviolent drug sentences | New York Times, USA

Aussies who use drugs

When reading statistics, such as the findings from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), it’s easy to forget that those numbers represent actual people | adf, Australia

Open-label, multicentre, single-arm trial of monthly injections of depot buprenorphine in people with opioid dependence: protocol for the CoLAB study

[Open access] Opioid agonist treatment is effective for opioid dependence and newer extended-release buprenorphine (BUP-XR) injections represent a significant development. The Community Long-Acting Buprenorphine (CoLAB) study aims to evaluate client outcomes among people with opioid dependence receiving 48 weeks of BUP-XR treatment, and examines the implementation of BUP-XR in diverse community healthcare settings in Australia | BMJ, Australia

Cannabis-related death in Australia

This presentation explores the findings of the first national level study that investigated 559 cannabis-related deaths through the National Coronial Information System. The study investigates the rates, characteristics and manner of cannabis-related deaths recorded in Australia (2000-2018) | NDARC, Australia