Daily news - 22nd December 2021 |
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UK news
No Christmas tipples for 770 alcohol-tagged offenders
Around 770 offenders will be wearing alcohol tags on Christmas Day as part of the Government’s drive to protect the public from drink-fuelled violence |
Ministry of Justice and The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, UK
Gaming disorder: Inside the clinic helping addicted teens
Alex's compulsive desire to play first-person shooters like Counter-Strike late into the night, has caused years of anguish for the family. He has also recently been diagnosed with autism. He has been a patient at the NHS's specialist clinic for treatment of addiction to video games, since earlier this year | BBC, UK
PhD Addicted to research: from PhD to Post-doc
Merve Mollaahmetoglu talks to Dr Carol-Ann Getty and Dr Basak Tas about the time immediately after completing a PhD. They discuss funding, how to look out for a permanent position and how to choose a post-doc university. They also talk about how competitive fellowships are and when to start applying for them. They also cover the impact of the pandemic and how to look after yourself during and after your PhD | SSA, UK
Cannabis plants worth £1m seized in Welwyn Garden City by police
A drugs factory was discovered in Howardsgate, Welwyn Garden City, on 14 December, and Hertfordshire Police said officers were also treating it as a "modern slavery" inquiry | BBC, UK
Cocaine worth £90m found in banana shipment sent from Costa Rica
Cocaine with a street value of £90m has been found in a banana shipment during an armed raid at a Kent port | BBC, UK
International news
Spanish drug raid thwarts raffle of Christmas ‘narco-basket’
Suspected dealers in Murcia held lottery for their clients with prizes of drugs, whisky and a leg of ham | Guardian, UK
New Project Exhibition: Worlds of Opiates
From 3–31 December, our Utrecht research team will hold a free pop-up exhibition for the general public at Amsterdam Central Station, one of the city’s major thoroughfares. The interactive show, organised in conjunction with the Poppi Drug Museum and called Worlds of Opiates, invites visitors to explore the history of opium in Amsterdam and its associated public spaces in a global context | Intoxicating Spaces, UK et al
Street tablets could be laced with fentanyl, warns doctor
Homemade tablets which might be laced with fentanyl are to be sent for analysis amid fears their circulation in the community could lead to an increase in overdoses and drug deaths | Irish Examiner, Ireland
How Will Germany Regulate the Legal Cannabis Market?
The new German coalition government has announced its intention to legalise the use of cannabis and to create a strict regulatory system for the recreational cannabis market. There are few details known about how this system will operate in reality. We interviewed Georg Wurth, the chairman of the German Cannabis Association, to gain some insight into the political process | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Drug Supply Assessment: Q4 2021
This report provides up-to-date information regarding the drug supply in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | CFSRE, NPS Discovery, USA
NY Bill Would Extend Marijuana Equity to Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual People
ANew York senator filed a bill to make it so that gay, lesbian and bisexual people can qualify as social equity applicants under the state’s marijuana law | Filter Magazine, USA
What happens when police participate in a public health approach to substance use disorder? Views of an innovative police facilitated referral program in Massachusetts
Given the ineffectiveness of criminal justice approaches to substance use disorder, public safety and public health stakeholders are partnering with criminal justice stakeholders to develop innovative programs designed to limit harms and link people with treatment. In this study, researchers examined how five police departments in Massachusetts are implementing police-assisted referral programs for substance use | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Overdose, first responders, then naloxone: What’s next?
Some individuals will not be transported to an emergency department following overdose, and if they are, many emergency departments do not initiate lifesaving medications to prevent future overdose. It is important to identify novel ways of linking individuals to frontline treatment options. In this study, the research team examined a linkage to treatment initiated by first responders with encouraging findings | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Changes in the brain hinder addiction recovery in people who are HIV-positive
Researchers with the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester are studying how the brain puts the 'brakes' on behavior. That may be different in individuals recovering from cocaine addiction and who are also HIV-positive | Medical Xpress, USA
Failure to mention opioid crisis in ministerial mandate letters sends wrong signal, advocates say
On average, 19 people died of opioid-related overdoses every day in the first half of 2021 | CBC News, Canada
Drug checking could save lives this summer
ESR is partnering with the Drug Foundation and other agencies to reduce harm from illegal drugs this summer | NZ Herald, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Another drug strategy in the UK (PDF)
In 2017, we described the previous UK drug strategy as full of “false claims and empty promises.” The new 10 year strategy, announced in early December, brings much needed money to rebuild drug treatment services but lacks any real reform | BMJ editorial, UK
Cannabis should be regulated, taxed and taken out of the hands of dangerous drug cartels
Dr Garrett McGovern says that regulating the drug would allow it to be researched with more accuracy and protect young people from its harms | Journal, Ireland
Interview #14 Cathy Nugent – Reflections on the Historic 2001 Recovery Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Start of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement
As I was doing interviews for this series, a number of people I spoke with referenced how integral Cathy Nugent was to the process. Not only for her being involved in the historic summit, but also for her role as the first grant officer for the Recovery Community Service Program (RCSP), funded through SAMHSA | Recovery Review blog, USA
'Harm reduction' for drug use is here, but where do we draw the line?
Early this month, Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) — colloquially known as the “drug czar” — provided strong support for a category of drug policy strategies known as harm reduction | The Hill opinion, USA
Points Interview—Helena Barop, Poppy Wars: US Global Drug Policies, 1950–1979
Today, we’re pleased to interview Dr. Helena Barop about her new book , Mohnblumenkriege. Die globale Drogenpolitik der USA 1950-1979—or Poppy Wars: US Global Drug Policies, 1950–1979. Dr. Barop recently received her PhD from the University of Freiburg | Points blog, USA