Daily news - 16th December 2021 |
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UK news
Publication on suspected drug deaths
A report on the number of suspected drug deaths during the first nine months of 2021 shows a small decrease (4%) on the same period last year | Scottish Government, UK
Scots drug deaths finally shown signs of coming down after years of increases
However, numbers are still the worst in Europe and the reduction has received a very cautious welcome from campaigners | Daily Record, UK
Drugs Services [Scotland]
A statement by Angela Constance on actions to increase access, choice and support through drugs services in Scotland | They work for you, UK
Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery: England, Quarter 2, 2021-22
9.0% of mothers were known to be smokers at the time of delivery. The percentage between quarter 2 and quarter 1 remained similar, but above the national ambition of 6% or less | NHS Digital, UK
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
Question by Chris Law MP (SNP) for Kit Malthouse MP: In Germany, the incoming Government have agreed to join Canada and many US states in legalising cannabis, while across Europe drug consumption rooms are operating with positive results. As countries around us move forward, what message does the Minister think it sends to the rest of the world to see the UK stuck in the last century on drugs policy? | They work for you, UK
Reoffending Rates
Dominic Raab: This Government are tackling the drivers of reoffending to keep our communities safer. That includes the investment of £70 million this year to keep prison leavers off the streets and £80 million for substance misuse treatment services | They work for you, UK
Offenders: Illegal Drug Addiction
Kit Malthouse MP: Our landmark cross-Government drugs strategy sets out an ambitious long-term vision and includes £780 million of additional investment in treatment and recovery—the largest ever single increase. This will increase and improve treatment services, including providing 950 additional drug and alcohol criminal justice workers | They work for you, UK
4C Labs wins licence to set up UK medical cannabis clinics
4C Labs has become the first company to obtain licences to both cultivate and sell medicinal cannabis in the UK | City AM, UK
The intersection of social work, substance use and mental health - call for papers
Currently, many of the interventions and responses to dual diagnosis are health focused on psychological interventions. This special issue will highlight how social work can contribute to positive change in regards to co-occurring substance use and mental health within the context of social work practice and multidisciplinary practice in a range of settings | Emerald Publishing, UK
Not-so-merry Christmas: Festive shoppers switch to alcohol-free beer, wine and spirits
[Limited number of free articles per week] Lockdown has taken its toll on the nation’s liver and households are now being more mindful about problem drinking, say retailers | Telegraph, UK
Inside Britain's first alcohol-free off licence
[Limited number of free articles per week] As more of us aim to cut back on booze, a revolutionary new shop might just have the solution | Telegraph, UK
AHA Seminar Sessions: The social context of drinking among LGBT+ people
Mon, 31 January 2022, 14:00 – 15:00 GMT. The commercial gay scene is based around selling alcohol, and that's the product on offer: The social context of drinking among LGBT+ people | AHA, UK
Job [Volunteer] Details: Ambassadors for Recovery
We have 12 exciting opportunities across County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service for people, with lived experience of recovering from drug/alcohol misuse to model inspirational recovery to services users at the start of theirs | Humankind, UK
Suicide Prevention Fund 2021 to 2022
Applications are open until 16 January 2022 for grants from the £4 million fund to support suicide prevention voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in 2021 to 2022 | DHSC, UK
Short-term lets in Scotland ‘being used for drug-dealing and prostitution’
A Police Scotland chief inspector said the high turnover of occupants means several types of criminality are able to take place, including county lines drug dealing | Independent, UK
Research Briefing: E-petition debate on police powers to suspend driving licenses
An e-petition calls for police officers to be able to “provide a suspension notice from the moment an offender is caught drink, drug or dangerous driving until they appear in court.” The petition will be deabted in the House on January 10th | House of Commons Library, UK
Shocking levels of drink drug driving discovered by police in Sussex
Officers from the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit (RPU) carried out checks at various locations across the county, administered 342 roadside breath tests and 43 DrugWipe tests between 1 December and 8 December | ITV, UK
Nurse struck off for trying to sell cannabis oil to vulnerable cancer patient
Eliska Neuzilova had a side-line in selling CBD products on top of her job in the health service and used her position to try and make a profit | Metro, UK
Britain’s top earners giving less to charity while incomes rise
Donations by top 1% fell by a fifth in real terms from 2012 to 2019, resulting in growing ‘generosity gap’ | Guardian, UK
International news
US sanctions Chinese drugmakers amid addiction epidemic
Biden administration targets four chemical companies and man said to be world’s leading producer of anabolic steroids | Guardian, UK
Teen use of illicit drugs decreased in 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued
The percentage of youth who had ever used any illicit drug other than marijuana decreased by more than 25% in 2021. Specifically, in 12th grade this percentage was 27% smaller in comparison to the previous year, in 10th grade the decline was 31%, and in 8th grade the drop was 30% | University of Michigan, USA
Apps show promise to help heavy drinkers age 21 to 25 cut back
A smartphone breathalyzer and blood-alcohol estimator reduced drinking—even though participants weren't trying to drink less | Medical Xpress, USA
Biden targets drug traffickers with new executive orders
President Biden on Wednesday signed two executive orders restructuring how the federal government coordinates transnational criminal investigations, and expanding the sanctions program to target narco-trafficking persons and organizations | The Hill, USA
SAMHSA Weighs Permanent Methadone Take-Homes, Decades Too Late
In March 2020, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections among patients and staff, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made an unprecedented decision that made it a whole lot easier to get take-home doses of methadone | Filter Magazine, USA
Opioid crisis: Indigenous people far more likely to die from overdose, experts warn
Stacity Bailie had been awaiting approval to enter a drug rehabilitation program when she died of an overdose on Oct. 22 | CTV News, Canada
New self-guided online support for substance use recovery - audio
Nova Scotia has launched a new pilot program for people who are experiencing problems with substance use. Breaking Free Online - is a FREE, self-guided online program that has worked in other locations to help support recovery from addiction. It's open to anyone 18 and over | CBC Listen, Canada
Media release: The $67 billion cost of one of our favourite drugs
While many Australians enjoy pleasures associated with drinking alcohol, we need to treat it with more caution, with alcohol consumption conservatively estimated to cost the Australian community $66.8 billion a year in health, workplace and other costs, according to research - Examining the Social and Economic Costs of Alcohol Use in Australia: 2017/18, - released today | NDRI and Curtin University, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
A World Class Drug Treatment And Recovery System?
What does the 2021 drug strategy say about reinvesting in our drug treatment and recovery system? | Russell Webster blog, UK
Most adolescents support improved alcohol labelling
Alcohol labelling includes product information, nutritional information, drinking guidelines and health warnings. Alongside other strategies, alcohol labelling is recommended by the World Health Organization to inform consumers about product information and the health risks associated with alcohol use | IAS blog, UK