Daily news - 11th December 2020 |
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UK news
Theresa May accused of breaking rules in blocking drugs expert
Exclusive: in 2018 the then prime minister barred expert from drugs advisory panel | Guardian, UK
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launches £46m “Changing Futures” programme
There are an estimated 363,000 people across England experiencing multiple disadvantage across a combination of substance misuse, homelessness, poor mental health, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system | Collective Voice, UK
Drugs: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to increase access to community services to support people suffering from substance misuse disorders | They work for you, UK
Drugs activist Peter Krykant ready to go to court as he fights to save addicts
The man running a van where addicts can safely inject drugs has thrown down the gauntlet to Scotland’s law chief by refusing to accept a caution | Daily Record, UK
England’s health care gatekeeper endorses mutual aid
Taking a leap away from its comfort zone, England’s gatekeeper to public provision of health and social care embraced non-professional and unregulated interventions in the form of mutual aid groups. Did NICE really have enough evidence? | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Google to let YouTube users opt out of gambling and alcohol ads
Company will roll out feature in UK next year but without guarantee it will filter out 100% of adverts | Guardian, UK
Record UK grocery sales after Covid lockdowns fuel early festive revelry
Sales of Christmas turkey and alcohol were up by just over a third in November, says Kantar | Guardian, UK
Covid: 'No plans' to ban alcohol sales in Welsh shops
A possible alcohol sales ban in Welsh shops in the run-up to Christmas has been dismissed by the Welsh Government | BBC, UK
Covid in Scotland: 'I found myself pouring a glass of wine at 2pm'
For years Andreana McDonald struggled with alcohol, drinking up to three bottles of wine a day and hiding the evidence | BBC, UK
Women in Psychedelic Science - Part 2
Tue, 19 January 2021, 16:00 – 18:00 GMT. Part 2 of the Drug Science symposium to showcase the inspiring work of women in psychedelics | Drug Science, UK
All Good Points - Wildest story of 2020?! - video
Another massive week in the cannabis world! | Volteface, UK
Drug dealer denies hiding body under bed in Penzance
A drug dealer has denied injecting his girlfriend with a cocktail of drugs and hiding her body after she overdosed | BBC, UK
International news
Rethinking the Drug Dealer: a twitter thread by Sheila Vakharia
A lot of really important and interesting myth-busting studies, articles, and papers have been released lately about people who sell drugs. Here's a thread highlighting them and some key themes | Talking Drugs, UK
Richard DeLisi: Man serving 90-year sentence for selling marijuana released from prison
The 71-year-old served 31 years after his conviction in 1989 | Independent, UK
30 members of Pagans Motorcycle Club arrested for alleged drug trafficking
More than 300 federal agents conducted raids after two-year probe | Independent, UK
Acute and subacute psychoactive effects of Kambô, the secretion of the Amazonian Giant Maki Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor): retrospective reports
Kambô, the secretion of the Amazonian Giant Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) contains a plethora of bioactive peptides and was originally used by indigenous communities from the Amazon basin as medicine for improving hunting capacities. In the last 20 years, Kambô has spread to Western urban healing circles. ..Here we retrospectively assessed psychological effects of Kambô in a sample of anonymous users | Nature, UK
National Poisons Information Centre annual report 2019 (PDF)
In 2019 NPIC received a total of 11,835 enquiries representing a 10.5% increase on 2018 | National Poisons Information Centre, Ireland
US House approves bill to widen marijuana research
The US House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would broaden researchers' ability to study marijuana and its effects, a move hailed by cannabis advocates | Medical Xpress, USA
New York State Launches 24-Hour Hotline for People Using Drugs Alone
New Yorkers who are using drugs alone, and who would like someone to stay on the phone with them and call emergency services if they become unresponsive, can now call the state’s new Never Use Alone hotline at 1-800-997-2280. The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week | Filter Magazine, USA
The effects of cigarette smoke and COPD on SARS-CoV-2 infection
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to wreak havoc across the globe. As the pandemic evolves, more information about the virus and its effect on the body emerges | News Medical, USA
Quebec to ban vaping flavours and restrict nicotine content
"Numerous studies show that flavour is the main reason why young people are more inclined to vape," a public health report noted | Montreal Gazette, Canada
BC’s New Addictions Minister Promises Action on Safe Supply, Overdose Prevention
Sheila Malcolmson acknowledges slow progress, but says issues are complex | The Tyee, Canada
Can the active ingredient in magic mushrooms help treat anxiety? Researchers want to know
Australia is embarking on one of the world’s largest studies into the use of psychedelic drugs for mental health, with Melbourne researchers preparing to launch a world-first clinical trial investigating whether psilocybin – the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms" – can help treat people suffering severe persistent anxiety | The Age, Australia
Cashless Centrelink card trial extended for two years
Thousands of cashless welfare card users will have a so-called trial period extended by another two years after a federal coalition bid to make the scheme permanent failed | InDaily, Australia
NSW cabinet considers changing drug possession laws in response to expert advice on the drug ice
Shadow Minister for the Hunter Clayton Barr has called for drug laws to change, as the NSW government considers a system of warnings and fines for drug possession | The Advertiser, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
One In Five Young Adults Take Drugs
Latest ONS data shows no change in drug tends in England & Wales for year to March 2020 | Russell Webster, UK
Impacts of Covid-19 on People Who Use Drugs
Our study was a response to the Chief Scientist Office of Scotland’s call for small, quick studies that could be set up rapidly to capture this unique moment in time. We examined how the pandemic has changed the market in illicit drugs, how it has affected people who use drugs, and also how it has affected services for those taking opiate substitution therapies | DRNS, UK
We aren’t drinking to our good health – more education on the harmful effects of alcohol is long overdue
Even consuming so-called ‘low-levels’ of booze can have profound effects on developing brains and damage ageing ones | Independent voices, UK
Oregon just decriminalized all drugs – here’s why voters passed this groundbreaking reform
Oregon became the first state in the United States to decriminalize the possession of all drugs on Nov. 3, 2020 | Conversation, USA
This is Your Brain on Critical Consciousness: Countering Drug War Propaganda with Critical Information Literacy
There’s a famous quote from former Nixon administration advisor John Erhlichman that serves as a stark illustration of how a major aspect of the U.S. “war on drugs” has been a war on information. | Points blog, USA
As a physician and a patient, I’ve seen the damage caused by the stigma of addiction. It must end
Although the disease of addiction is now obscured by the dark cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic, it continues to tear America apart. It’s a relentless killer, fed by anxiety and uncertainty, and enabled by the attitudes of the health care providers who are supposed to be caring for people with it | STAT News, USA