Daily news - 7th January 2021

UK news

Take-home Naloxone to save lives

Take-home Naloxone will be given to people at high risk of accidental overdoses, in a move designed to reduce the number of drug deaths. This will include those who have been resuscitated by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) following an accidental overdose | Scottish Government, UK

COVID-19: guidance for commissioners and providers of services for people who use drugs or alcohol

Updated guidance in line with national lockdown and updated guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable | PHE, UK

Packaging requirements for tobacco products

This guidance provides information on requirements for picture warnings for tobacco products in Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI). This guidance is relevant to organisations, businesses and members of the public concerned with tobacco and related products | DHSC, UK

COVID-19: People drank more alcohol, exercised less and ate less healthily during first lockdown

Younger people, women and those who are overweight were more likely to have adopted unhealthy lifestyle choices last spring, the research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) shows | Sky News, UK

Son 'may die after Brexit stops cannabis medicine from Holland'

The mother of an epileptic boy says his life will be at risk after being told his supply of a cannabis medicine from Holland will stop due to Brexit | BBC, UK

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones to stand down

A longtime campaigner for drugs legislation reform, he spoke of his pride in the Checkpoint Cymru scheme, aimed towards steering low-level offenders, including people caught with drugs for personal use, away from crime | North Wales Live, UK

Drugs crusader Peter Krykant to tell Nicola Sturgeon ‘time to live up to vow’

Drugs crusader Peter Krykant is to demand that Nicola Sturgeon lives up to her promise of immediate action on drug deaths | Daily Record, UK

Music festivals could be cancelled this month, MPs told

Some of the UK's biggest music festivals could be called off by the end of this month, MPs have been told | BBC, UK

Knowledge Exchange Event: Long Acting Injectable Buprenorphine

Wed, 27 January 2021. 14:00 – 16:00 GMT. Knowledge exchange webinar on the use of Long Acting Injectable Buprenorphine | DRNS, UK

SUAB Webinar: Drug consumption rooms, with Peter Higgs and Peter Krykant

Wed, 27 January 2021. 10:00 – 11:30 GMT. A conversation about drug-consumption rooms in Australia and Glasgow | SUAB, UK

Withernsea cannabis haul found in former bank

A "sophisticated" cannabis factory with about 1,000 plants has been found in a former bank in East Yorkshire | BBC, UK

International news

Beyond the patient: treatment’s impacts on family and community

Key research on alcohol treatment’s role in safeguarding the community. Begins with the core contradiction between segregation/punishment and reintegration/rehabilitation and asks whether it can ever be safe to leave children with dependent drinkers | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

CDC records highest-ever drug deaths in a 12-month period

Between May 2019 and May 2020, 81,230 Americans died of drug overdoses—the highest number of drug deaths ever recorded in a 12-month span, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported | Medical Xpress, USA

Study: Dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes may not cut risk of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death associated with smoking cigarettes. But as use of e-cigarettes ("vaping") becomes more popular, including as a way to cut back on cigarettes, little is known about its effect on cardiovascular health | News Medical, USA

NYC Revamps Pharmacies’ Role in Preventing Overdose Deaths

New York City, like the rest of the country, is facing a historic overdose crisis driven by illicit fentanyl adulterating the unregulated drug supply and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic | Filter Magazine, USA

Tobacco Harm Reduction’s Prospects Under the Biden Administration

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will assume the offices of president and vice president at a time of great societal division as the pandemic continues to ravage the United States | Filter Magazine, USA

Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health: Current Evidence - Nov-Dec 2020

Newsletter on the latest clinically relevant research on alcohol, illicit drugs, and health | Boston University, USA

An update on the evidence for Alcoholics Anonymous participation

This recently released comprehensive report systematically reviews the science to date on AA, and used rigorous meta-analytic techniques to weigh the evidence | Recovery Research Institute, USA

Legalized Marijuana in New York: This Could Be the Year

With the state facing a budget crisis, a Democratic supermajority in Albany may pave the way for new taxes and the legalization of recreational pot | NYTimes, USA

Stigma Makes Life Worse for Youth Meth Users, Study Finds

BC report calls for new measures to deal with damage done by stereotypes and lack of supports and treatment options | The Tyee, Canada

Blogs, comment and opinion

CMC Statement on Disruption of Medicinal Cannabis Supply Relating to Brexit

The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC) is concerned by reports that UK medicinal cannabis patients will have their supply of cannabis cut off due to technicalities relating to Brexit. The Times and The Guardian report that over 40 patients who have been prescribed certain cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in the UK but can only obtain their prescription through the Transvaal pharmacy, which is based in the Netherlands | CMC, UK