Daily news - 14th May 2020 |
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Coronavirus frequently updated resources
NEW: 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
'Disturbing' Lanarkshire drug death toll doubles during COVID-19 lockdown
This staggering snapshot of suspected drug deaths is just one third short of the total number of county drug-related deaths for the whole of 2019 | Daily Record, UK
Coronavirus: Smoking
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment Public Health England has made of the implications for its policies of recent research that cigarette smokers are less likely to contract covid-19; and if he will make a statement | They work for you, UK
Alcoholic Drinks and Tobacco: Coronavirus
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made any assessment on levels of (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol use during the covid-19 outbreak | They work for you, UK
FREE WEBINAR: Buvidal in a range of challenging community scenarios - including a pandemic
Last chance to register. Thur, May 14, 6pm - 7pm. Buvidal in a range of challenging community scenario’s - including a pandemic. This webinar will consider clinical issues regarding prolonged-release buprenorphine, including it's use during the COVID-19 pandemic | SMMGP, UK
Addiction journal, May, Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue | Addiction, UK
Berwyn Prison workers arrested after drugs discovered
Two prison workers have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and possession with intent to supply drugs | BBC, UK
Four arrested in Ide drugs raid at church-owned house
Two men, aged 25 and 66, were arrested on suspicion of Class A drug supply offences and money laundering. Two others were arrested for related offences | BBC, UK
Police seize £300,000 drugs haul on A74 motorway
Police found drugs, believed to be cannabis, with a street value of up to £200,000 | BBC, UK
International news
The transformational potential of management
Online alcohol treatment course explores research demonstrating that innovations at management level can transform services from ‘going through the motions’ into actively and effectively engaging clients | Drug and alcohol Findings, UK
Dozens dead in Mexico after drinking adulterated alcohol
Police in Mexico are searching for the source of adulterated alcohol which has killed 46 people in the states of Morelos and Puebla | BBC, UK
Dark truth behind India's post-lockdown liquor lines
When some Indian cities eased the grinding lockdown last week to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, long queues were seen outside liquor shops across the country | BBC, UK
Somalia's coronavirus khat bans leaves chewers in a stew
Flights carrying the mild stimulant khat have been banned from entering Somalia, leaving chewers of the leaves in a stew, write the BBC's Mary Harper and Bella Hassan | BBC, UK
Albania, once haven of illicit cannabis, set to legalise crop for medical use
Albania plans to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, six years after beginning a crackdown on an illegal trade that turned it, by some accounts, into Europe’s largest outdoor grower of cannabis | Reuters, UK
WHO statement: Tobacco use and COVID-19
obacco kills more than 8 million people globally every year. More than 7 million of these deaths are from direct tobacco use and around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke | WHO, Austria
Job skills training leads to long-term reduction in drug abuse
Job skills training for low-income youth does more than just help them get better jobs—it makes them significantly less likely than others to use some illicit drugs, even 16 years later | Science Daily, USA
Associations Between Medical Conditions and Alcohol Consumption Levels in an Adult Primary Care Population
In this cross-sectional study of more than 2.7 million adult primary care patients screened for unhealthy alcohol use, 269 379 patients (9.9%) reported unhealthy drinking habits, and patients with medical conditions were less likely to drink compared with those without | JAMA Network, USA
Signs of fetal alcohol syndrome detected in womb
Magnetic resonance imaging in rhesus macaques detects effects of binge drinking early in pregnancy | EurekAlert, USA
Prescribed Ketamine Turned These Men Violent, Allege Lawsuits
One set himself on fire, the other had a fight with the cops. But experts say ketamine is an unlikely culprit | VICE, USA
Cannabis Industry Demands That the DEA Keep Out of Marijuana Research
Anational cannabis trade group is publicly calling for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to keep its hands off of medical marijuana research | Filter Magazine, USA
Is video game addiction real?
A recent six-year study, the longest study ever done on video game addiction, found that about 90% of gamers do not play in a way that is harmful or causes negative long-term consequences. A significant minority, though, can become truly addicted to video games and as a result can suffer mentally, socially and behaviorally | Science Daily, USA
Minimum legal age for cannabis use should be 19, study suggests
A team of researchers at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, investigated how Canadians who started using cannabis at several young ages differed across important outcomes (educational attainment, cigarette smoking, self-reported general and mental health) in later-life | Medical Xpress, Canada
The cost of opioid use to Australia: $15.7 billion and 2203 deaths
The ‘extra-medical’ use of opioids is costing Australia around $15.7 billion and causing more than 2200 deaths a year. ‘Extra-medical’ opioid use includes the illegal use of heroin and the misuse of pharmaceutical opioids (use ‘not as prescribed’) | NDARC, Australia
Alcohol companies target isolation in shocking advertising blitz
If you think you’ve seen more ads for alcohol on your social media feed lately, you’re right – it has increased more than 350 per cent during the coronavirus pandemic | In Daily, Australia
'Smoke and mirrors': Food minister defends delay on alcohol pregnancy warnings
The Morrison government's food minister Richard Colbeck has defended a delay in rolling out new pregnancy warning labels on alcohol bottles, saying he remains committed to making them mandatory - but echoed industry concerns about cost | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Evaluating the effect of individual alcohol licensing decisions on local health and crime
Licensing authority control of alcohol availability can have a positive impact on health and crime in a local vicinity | IAS blog, UK