Daily news - 22nd May 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
UK's pub gardens could host distanced drinking from 4 July, says trade body
More than half of pubs have outside space and these should be first to reopen, says BBPA | Guardian, UK
Medical cannabis and pain: a clinician's experience - webinar
This webinar will cover a range of conditions including real life experience of treating different types of pain and other coexisting symptoms including insomnia, anxiety and spasticity | SMMGP, UK
Interrupting Transmission; Drugs, HIV and COVID-19 - SDF COVID-19 Webinar - video
COVID-19 presents unique challenges for maintaining access to testing and treatment for people who have or may be at risk of acquiring HIV. This webinar sought to bring a national perspective through highlighting local responses to overcoming service restrictions and the development of creative solutions that can benefit service users health needs | SDF, UK
Smoking: Health Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to recommence (a) drug and (b) alcohol cessation support services once covid-19 lockdown restrictions have ended | They work for you, UK
Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent people developing (a) alcohol and (b) drug dependencies during the covid-19 outbreak | They work for you, UK
Studying alcohol and mental health as a 2nd year PhD student: Jo-Anne Puddephatt talks to the SSA
What is your PhD about? It is about the relationship between alcohol and mental health. I am looking at the prevalence of depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder and so on, and whether people with a mental health problem misuse alcohol or not | SSA, UK
Menthol smokers tell us what they’re going to do now the cigarettes have been banned in the UK
Click, dual, and skinny cigs are also off the menu for smokers, with the aim to deter young people from being tempted to start the nasty habit | Metro, UK
Andy Morrison: Ex-Manchester City star goes from battling demons to becoming a champion
Amid the wait to see what would happen to the Cymru Premier season, the man with more at stake than anyone was the calmest | BBC, UK
Alcohol brand and nightlife venue preferences - survey
This study investigates people’s favourite alcohol brands and what Liverpool-based nightlife venues they attend. It forms part of a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council which aims to improve our understanding of the nature of alcohol brand and venue marketing, and how it influences alcohol use and experiences of the night time environment, with the aim of making venues healthier, safer, and more inclusive | LJMU, UK
Coronavirus crackdown sees £15m cash, tonnes of drugs and guns seized from gangs across UK
Lockdown restrictions and fall in overall crime gives officers 'greater ability to proactively police' | Independent, UK
Arthritic plasterer who grew cannabis for pain relief is sentenced
Judge Linford said he understood why the defendant did it | Cornwall Live, UK
Coronavirus: Cocaine and money seized during vehicle checks
Money and thousands of pounds' worth of drugs have been seized as an "indirect consequence" of police vehicle checks during the coronavirus pandemic | BBC, UK
International news
EU tracking and tracing system fully applicable for cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco
The EU Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU (1), and its implementing legislation (2) established the first regional tobacco tracking and tracing system. It aims to support Member States in controlling the supply chain of tobacco products legally manufactured or imported on the EU’s internal market, and in meeting the EU’s and Member States’ obligations under Article 8 of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products | Smoke Free Partnership, Belgium
Deaths from alcohol, drugs, suicide topped 150,000 in 2018
In 2018, opioid overdose deaths declined, but deaths involving alcohol, suicide, synthetic opioids, and other psychostimulants rose, according to a brief released May 21 by the Trust for America's Health and the Well Being Trust | Medical Xpress, USA
Association of Ketamine With Psychiatric Symptoms and Implications for Its Therapeutic Use and for Understanding SchizophreniaA Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
These findings suggest that ketamine is associated with psychosis-like symptoms in healthy volunteers and that the bolus administration of ketamine should be avoided when it is used in therapeutic contexts | JAMA Network, USA
The Mischaracterized Relationship Between Drug Use and Homelessness
Six months ago Jonny Brown admits he was in a dark place. Addicted to drugs, he’d lost his house and was sleeping rough | Filter Magazine, USA
Why Isotonitezene Is Not Yet the “New Fentanyl”
In the span of about a year, isotonitazene, a novel psychoactive substance (NPS), went from being practically unheard of to being implicated in a fatal overdose spike in the Midwest. While some researchers and media reports are warning about the emergence of the designer drug, one harm reductionist from the region cautions against singling it out | Filter Magazine, USA
New Study Shows Lack Of Majority Support For Cannabis Law Change
Middle-aged New Zealanders are more likely to be opposed to the legalisation of cannabis than in favour of it, a new study from the University of Otago, Christchurch shows | SCOOP, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
PPE and contactless delivery: drug dealers reveal how they are adapting to coronavirus
While the COVID-19 lockdown might have brought most parts of the economy to a halt, it seems to have had little affect on drug dealers. They have even found opportunity in the situation. They wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid infection, finding a neat way to cover their faces to avoid police surveillance in the process | Conversation, UK
We are in denial about alcoholism in this country – and it's going to get worse after lockdown
Only one in five harmful drinkers received the professional support they needed prior to coronavirus | Independent voices, UK
Ian Hamilton: Even in a pandemic, young people are still exploited by county lines drug gangs
The illegal drug market has proven to be resilient and adaptable during this crisis, says Ian Hamilton | BMJ blog, UK
I am trying to drink less but know a simple pleasure when I see one
Having spied some beer taps outside a pub, I had to arrange a sociable walk to investigate | Guardian, UK
The Points Interview: Nancy Campbell
Today we’re thrilled to feature SHAD co-editor Nancy Campbell discussing her new book, OD: Naloxone and the Politics of Overdose (The MIT Press, 2020). Campbell is Professor and Department Head of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer in Troy, New York | Points blog, USA