Daily news - 25th June 2020 |
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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
Circular 001/2020: Epidyolex scheduling, (SI) 2020 No. 559
The amendment places a cannabis-based medicine ‘Epidyolex’ under Schedule 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 | Home Office, UK
Restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services
Guidance for keeping workers and customers safe in restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK
Study title: Decision making and policy preferences - survey
This study investigates the decisions people make about the health and social policies they support. The information you provide as part of this study is the research study data | LJMU, UK
New Highland employability project for people with experience of drug or alcohol problems is looking for participants
A new project aims to boost the life chances of people in the Highlands recovering from alcohol and drug misuse | Inverness Courier, UK
New police unit to protect vulnerable from risk of exploitation
The team will focus on identifying those who face the potential prospect of being used by criminal gangs | Northern Echo, UK
Grimsby dockworker caught with £180,000 of cocaine jailed
A dockworker who was caught with cocaine with an estimated street value of nearly £180,000 has been jailed for six years and nine months | BBC, UK
Coronavirus: Where does undrunk Guinness go? Here's a clue: it will still make you feel merry
Thousands of pints of Guinness that weren't drunk during lockdown are being used to fertilise Christmas trees instead | Sky News, UK
Coronavirus: Old beer tipped down drain 'could impair sewer bugs'
Bugs that help to clean sewage could become "impaired" if too much old beer is tipped down the drain | BBC, UK
International news
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger opens up about past alcohol and porn addictions
Professional football player says: 'People don't realise all the time that us athletes, we're human' | Independent, UK
Coalition MPs revolt against ban on people importing liquid nicotine for vaping
The decision by health minister Greg Hunt delights doctors but outrages Liberal and National backbenchers | Guardian, UK
Increase in drug and alcohol abuse predicted after lockdown – charities
Advocacy groups call on government to ensure continued access to healthcare support | Irish Times, Ireland
Linking hospital and other records can predict both fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses, study suggests
A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the odds of a fatal opioid overdose were 1.5 times higher for individuals with one to two visits to the emergency department for any medical issue than for people with no hospital visits | Medical Xpress, USA
Methadose: A Parable of Putting Profit Before Human Lives
Imagine being on a medication, any medication, and all a sudden it doesn’t work anymore. It only works for about one-third of the time, and you get sick before you can have your next dose | Filter Magazine, USA
Activists in Vancouver Gave Out Free Cocaine to Highlight Overdose Crisis
Organizers called out the B.C. government for allowing drug users to die in record numbers while pouring resources into its COVID-19 response | VICE, USA
What can you do about the opioid crisis? Get a free naloxone kit and learn how to use it: experts
Who needs a free naloxone kit? Just about anyone who might come across an opioid overdose, according to a range of University of Alberta experts including a pharmacist, the head of campus security, a student volunteer and a public health scientist | Medical Xpress, USA
Montreal's CACTUS safe-injection community group sees more overdoses amid pandemic
'We see our folks dying and nothing changes,' says intervention worker, calling for more resources | CBC News, Canada
Commonwealth Bank data reveals boozy Australians spending more on alcohol than this time last year
Bored and anxious Australians spent much more on alcohol last week than did a year ago, even as they eschewed bars and pubs to drink at home, credit and debit card data reveals | Perth Now, Australia
Media Guidelines for Communicating About Crystal Methamphetamine
These evidence-informed guidelines are designed to inform, support and empower media to report safely and responsibly on crystal methamphetamine ('ice') in ways which minimise harm, stigma and discrimination while maximising help-seeking behaviour | Crack in the ice, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
E-cigarettes found to cause change in mouth bacteria – which could lead to gum disease or oral cancer
E-cigarettes are a popular alternative to smoking, but we still know very little about the effects of them on our health. While numerous studies have explored the effect of e-cigarettes on our lungs, heart, and overall health, one important and often overlooked consideration is what effect they have on our microbiome | Conversation, UK
The Pandemic of Drug Policy - video
Here I share insights in to the pandemic that is global drug policy. I cover some of the key challenges that people who use drugs are facing with the global coronavirus pandemic & explore solutions in rebuilding society post Covid_19 | MyPOV, UK
Lockdown has helped us get to know the people we support better
How we developed our online advice to meet their changing needs | We Are With You, UK
Non-medical use of prescription drugs among skilled workers: a pilot study in Nigeria
More than ever, the world is facing a challenge of non-medical use of prescription drugs among people of all ages, genders and occupations. Evidence shows that pharmaceutical opioids (tramadol, codeine, or morphine), barbiturates such as pentobarbital sodium, benzodiazepines (diazepam and alprazolam), and amphetamines are the most common types of prescription medication used in a non-medical context | Conversation, Nigeria
What is the Co-Creation of New Knowledge?
For the past several years, there has been increased interest in the concept of the co-creation of new knowledge as an approach to more effectively operationalising models of research translation. Co-creation of new knowledge has the potential to combat research waste, increase the research capacity of service providers and improve service delivery | NDARC blog, Australia