Daily news - 14th December 2021 |
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UK news
New implants approved for NHS to help get drug users off heroin
Buprenorphine implants can be inserted into the arm and can last six months, saving addicts from having to go for daily doses of methadone | Independent, UK
Wakefield drugs warning after two die and two hospitalised
Two people have died and two more are in hospital, after taking what police believe are counterfeit anti-epileptic medication and sleeping pills | BBC, UK
Covid in Scotland: More ambulance calls to lockdown home drinking
Drink-related ambulance callouts initially fell during lockdown but then rose again as home drinking became a problem, a study has found | BBC, UK
Briefing for the Ministerial Statement: 'Actions to increase access, choice and support through drugs services in Scotland'
Alcohol treatment and support services must be resourced to meet the needs of people affected by alcohol problems in Scotland, and must work in partnership with the wider health, care, public sector and third sector to ensure a ‘no wrong door’ approach | SHAAP, UK
The frontline of Britain’s lockdown drink problem as alcohol deaths soar
Britain must urgently address its alcohol problem to stop more record-breaking deaths, one of the country’s leading liver specialists has warned as Channel 4 News was granted exclusive access to a specialist liver unit | Channel 4 News, UK
‘Minimum unit pricing will be the next natural step’, says Tory chair of all-party alcohol harm group
We spoke to the Conservative MP Christian Wakeford, who’s chair of the all-party group on alcohol harm | Channel 4 News, UK
Social work ‘completely overlooked’ in drugs strategy, expert warns
Substance use professor says plan focuses on specialist services at expense of social work's critical role in supporting families affected by addicition | Community Care, UK
Even with all our anti-smoking policies, I’m still buying cigarettes – what will actually make smokers quit for good?
I am among the one in five people in the UK who smoke, contributing packet by packet to the £18billion we spend yearly on tobacco products | Metro, UK
Omicron: Pubs warn of impact of Covid cancellations
As concerns surrounding the latest Covid variant have grown in recent days, the hospitality industry is beginning to feel the impact | BBC, UK
International news
Vaping may change your DNA but smoking is far more risky
Some studies claim e-cigarettes raise the risk of cancer but they do not show the full picture... | Independent, UK
Malta to legalise cannabis for personal use in European first
Move by EU’s smallest member state likely to be followed by reform across rest of continent in 2022 | Guardian, UK
Germany legalises cannabis, the UK drug strategy, the Taliban troll the world - All good points podcast
In this episode Paul, Katya and George break down all the big talking points over the past month in the world of cannabis and drug reform | Volteface, UK
SSA interview: Hannah Carver on Implementation of the Youth in Iceland Model
Dr Hannah Carver is a Lecturer in Substance Use in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Services and Co-Director of the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Service and Research. She is the co-lead for the SSA funded Youth in Iceland Model (also known as the Icelandic Model) project. The team recently published a qualitative study about adapting the Icelandic model. The SSA caught up with Hannah to find out more | SSA, UK
‘Healing can begin with a handshake’: inside Sydney’s only Aboriginal-run drug and alcohol counselling centre
From massive loss and intense grief, the Marrin Weejali Aboriginal Corporation was born | Guardian, UK
How Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’ became a biodiversity nightmare - podcast
Animals brought illegally to Colombia by the drug kingpin have been allowed to roam free and are now disrupting the fragile ecosystem | Guardian, UK
Study on smoke-free environments and advertising of tobacco and related products (PDF)
This study examined two important aspects of tobacco control: on the one hand, advertising, promotion and sponsorship and on the other, smoke-free environments. In relation to the former, most Member States have successfully implemented, introduced and monitored rules, and compliance has been high. In relation to smoke-free aspects, this study further documents positive social, economic, and environmental impacts of smoke-free environments... | Europa, Belgium
Tobacco control and prevention efforts in the U.S
U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Director of the Center for Tobacco Products, Mitch Zeller, discusses here how the U.S. federal review of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products helps protect public health | Open Access Government, USA
NPS Alerts: New Synthetic Opioid and ‘Unusual’ Overdose Symptoms
The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) has issued two public alerts this month regarding next-generation opioids. The latest warns of the emergence of protonitazene, an opioid that is approximately three times more potent than fentanyl | Forensic Magazine, USA
Cannabis use could cause harmful drug interactions
Using cannabis alongside other drugs may come with a significant risk of harmful drug-drug interactions, new research by scientists at Washington State University suggests | EurekAlert, USA
Smartwatch to detect opioid cravings, offer interventions
A wireless sensor on the wrists of patients, measuring psychophysiological signs in real time by respiration and electrocardiogram (ECG) analyses, accurately detected opioid use with 80 percent accuracy | TRT World, USA
What Exactly Should Social Equity in a Legal Marijuana Market Entail?
What will it take to effectively put equity first in a legal marijuana market? That’s a question a former Massachusetts cannabis regulator is seeking to answer in a new research paper | Filter Magazine, USA
BC Government Defends Failure to Halt Rising Drug Deaths
Chief coroner says the lack of effective action to save lives will be a ‘stain on our province for decades to come.’ | The Tyee, Canada
Drug Decriminalisation Likely for the ACT: An Interview With Labor MLA Michael Pettersson
A parliamentary committee review of a proposal to decriminalise drugs in the capital territory tabled its final report last week, and it has recommended the ACT Legislative Assembly should pass laws that would remove criminal sanctions for the personal possession and use of illicit substances | Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The increase in opioid-related deaths is about more than an ageing cohort
Opioid-related deaths in the UK have been increasing for nearly a decade. Older heroin consumers are particularly at risk, with the highest rates of deaths among people aged 40–49 and the steepest rises in the over-fifty age bracket | Talking Drugs, UK
Afghanistan: heroin and human trafficking are the only two sectors of the economy still thriving
In the frontier town of Zaranj on Afghanistan’s border with Iran, young men jostle one another as they cram into pickups that leave at regular intervals to be smuggled across the border. Human trafficking is one of the few sectors of the Afghan economy that is thriving. Another is drugs | Conversation, UK
It’s legal to buy over-the-counter cannabis in Australia – but it’s still a long way from your local chemist
Since early 2021, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has allowed the sale of low-dose cannabidiol (CBD) preparations over the counter at Australian pharmacies. But you won’t find any at your local chemist | Conversation, Australia