Daily news - 30th March 2020

Coronavirus frequently updated resources

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

SSA Useful coronavirus (COVID-19) links | SSA

DDN coronavirus (COVID-19) advice links |DDN

UK news

Harm Reduction & Drug Treatment: "Essential journey" cards

We have created cards for you to use should you need to leave the house to pick up your medication or harm reduction equipment, or both. The importance of this is to ensure that your journey is treated as an essential one as outlined in the Government’s rules around movement during the coronavirus | Release, UK

Alcohol and public health in the time of a pandemic

In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, March 2020 will be remembered as the month a worldwide virus took hold of the nation, forcing its inhabitants indoors for their safety. The threat of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus has affected the activities of public health alcohol experts, alcohol producers, retailers, and the plans of policymakers. It will also make a significant impact on the lives of those affected by alcohol harm, a fact recognised by specialist support services | IAS, UK

Advice for anyone on a methadone or buprenorphine prescription

To help you stay safe, we are changing the way we prescribe medication-assisted treatment for a while | CGL, UK

Coronavirus latest

Guidance and updates | humankind, UK

Privatising children's homes is 'playing into the hands of abusers'

Vulnerable young people at greater risk from county lines drugs gangs, says Howard League for Penal Reform | Guardian, UK

Additions to the Effectiveness Bank 27 March 2020

The most recent additions to the Effectiveness Bank wrestle with issues old and new – why happiness might not factor into some definitions of ‘recovery’, persistent challenges with extending the delivery of screening and brief interventions, the scope for equipping police and people who use drugs with the ‘overdose antidote’ naloxone, and finally the dilemmas likely to face organisations who provide harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

International news

Recovering addicts more at risk of relapse amid coronavirus, experts warn

Health professionals are seeing more relapses as the US takes drastic measures to limit the spread of coronavirus | Guardian, UK

Alcohol sales banned in Greenland capital during lockdown

Move aims to cut violence against children during coronavirus confinement | Guardian, UK

COVID-19 Outbreak Impacts People In Addiction Recovery

Sobriety programs are delivering services virtually, but the coronavirus pandemic is causing a lot of difficulties for people relying on services to continue their recovery from addiction | NPR, USA

Estimated 15,000 NYC Methadone Patients to Be Isolated. How Will They Get Meds?

There are about 30,000 methadone patients in New York City, all taking methadone on a daily basis for opioid use disorder. About 15,000 of them are going to be isolated because of suspected exposure to or contracting of coronavirus, according to a New York City Department of Health estimate given to the top private-sector opioid treatment program official in the state | Filter Magazine, USA

Association of Opioids Prescribed to Family Members With Opioid Overdose Among Adolescents and Young Adults

In this cohort study of 72 040 adolescents and young adults, exposure to family members with opioid prescriptions in the past month was associated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of overdose, and youth’s own prescriptions were associated with a more than 6-fold increase in risk | JAMA Open, USA

A New Breed of Drug Dealer Has Turned Buying Drugs into a Treasure Hunt

Most Russian drug dealers don't hand off drugs anymore—they stash them in geotagged hiding spots ready for pickup by online buyers | VICE, USA

Safe supply of drugs for DTES residents given green light, says Vancouver

Mayor Kennedy Stewart says details to come, but will focus on users not connected to health-care system | CBC News, Canada

Health advocates are urging Australians cooped up indoors to maintain a daily routine and drink in moderation, after reports of people stockpiling alcohol surfaced online | abc.net.au, Australia

The booze epidemic: with no boss in sight, workers can drink from home

Matthew Sherwood normally enjoys a few drinks while out with friends. But shut inside the Rose Bay apartment he shares with his partner, he has found himself cracking open the beers at home | SMH, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

COVID-19 and smoking: resources, research and news

To provide information to health professionals and the general public, resources, research and news reports about COVID19 and tobacco are gathered here. This page will be updated regularly as additional resources are published | BMJ, UK

Alcohol and the Outbreak - video

We discuss how to respond to the radically new conditions coronavirus creates for those working to reduce alcohol harm | Phil Cain, UK

Thinking historically about HAT

In early 2016, when I was drafting my chapter on drugs for the ‘Oxford Handbook of Criminology’, I made a passing reference to Dr John Marks’ heroin prescribing practice in the 1980s | Toby Seddon, UK

SSA tea-break videos: Cannabis

Another SSA tea-break video for those of you working from home who might feel disconnected from the addiction research community. It is as if you have gone to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and found Will Lawn there talking about his cannabis research. You might as well take a break, put the kettle on and press play | SSA, UK

There is little comfort in alcohol; foster healthy coping tools that will last long beyond COVID-19

Alcohol Action Ireland has published a set of advice guidelines to help people understand the risk of turning to alcohol in these difficult times. This advice, developed with Mental Health Ireland, comes at a time when the alcohol off-trade business is reporting exceptional sales as people look to stock-up with excessive amounts of alcohol at home | Alcohol Action Ireland, Ireland

Coronavirus: it’s tempting to drink your worries away but there are healthier ways to manage stress and keep your drinking in check

Bottle shops remain on the list of essential services allowed to stay open and Australians are stocking up on alcohol | Conversation, Australia

Online alcohol delivery – cause for concern

As Australians move to social distancing and self-isolation in a bid to slow COVID-19, there’s also a move towards ordering alcohol online for home delivery Find out why this trend is concerning health professionals | adf, Australia

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