Daily news - 19th October 2021

UK news

Generating evidence on the use of Image and performance enhancing drugs in the UK: results from a scoping review and expert consultation by the Anabolic Steroid UK network

The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and associated image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs) is now a global phenomenon. There is a need to develop evidence to support the development of interventions to prevent the commencement of use, to minimise the potential harms or to support those in their cessation of use | Harm Reduction Jounal, UK

Activists say battle with addiction inspired their radical reform Bill to help others

Steven Wishart and Annemarie Ward say new Bill could have saved them from years of misery and chaos | Daily Record, UK

Cocaine takes mental health toll on elderly

People as old as 90 are being treated for mental health issues due to extreme cocaine use, while in the over-60s this figure has risen more than five times in just 10 years | Sunday Express, UK

Research finds quitting smoking can slow progression of Multiple Sclerosis

New research into the impact of smoking on multiple sclerosis (MS) has found that quitting smoking may cause a slowing of mobility deterioration to match the rate of progression in people who’ve never smoked | Charity Today, UK

Taking Action On Addiction

Following the merger of The Forward Trust and Action on Addiction, the Taking Action On Addiction website has been launched, dedicated to the Taking Action on Addiction campaign and all of its activities including Addiction Awareness Week - October 18-24, 2021 | Action on Addiction

64% of people in the UK know someone with an addiction

Our YouGov poll conducted for Addiction Awareness Week shows that there is still a major gap between numbers of people affected by addiction, and numbers of people with an understanding of addiction | Action on Addiction, UK

Does this Bristol pilot project suggest the UK is moving towards less draconian drug laws?

A new Home Office pilot in Bristol to provide drug users with better treatment and recovery programmes, to complement existing local de facto decriminalisation for first-time offenders, suggests the government could be moving towards less draconian drug policies across England | The Bristol Cable, UK

Camilla Tominey: Bryony Gordon's Mad World - podcast

This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Today, Camilla tells Bryony about the slow realisation that her childhood wasn't normal, why she's keen to paint a picture of her mum beyond her alcoholism, and how she wishes she didn't have to explain why she doesn't drink | Bryony Gordon's Mad World, UK

Episode 5: The treatment sector - podcast (spotify)

In this episode of Recovery Talks, we speak with Danny Hames, Head of Inclusion and Chair of the NHS Addiction Provider Alliance, and Oliver Standing, the director of Collective Voice. Together they explore recovery, the sector and their personal thoughts on where we are now and where we might go next | Changing Lives, UK

Addiction Awareness Week: Addiction & Recovery Workshop Application Form

As part of Music Support’s involvement with Addiction Awareness Week, we are delighted to offer a number of free places for you to attend our brand-new Addiction and Recovery Workshop | Music Support, UK

Derby County: Past addictions help Shane Nicholson keep redundancy in perspective

Shane Nicholson has known plenty of dark days during his football career | BBC, UK

COVID Vaccinations for people with a drug problem

Friday 29 October 2021, 13.00 – 14.00. For people using drugs particularly respiratory system depressants like opioids, or who may have chronic respiratory health issues, COVID19 is a significant risk for serious illness, hospitalisation and death. It is crucial that people in these situations are vaccinated and yet services have sometimes struggled to prioritise vaccination for people at risk | SDF, UK

Filling the Void - Reconnecting through Bristol Recovery Orchestra

Tue, 23 November 2021, 19:00 – 21:30 GMT. Join us at the Bristol Beacon for the premiere of Filling the Void: Reconnecting through Bristol Recovery Orchestra, a film by Irene Carter | Bristol Drugs Project, UK

A Celebration of Life 2021

Sat, 27 November 2021, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT. A celebration of life - An event for the family and friends of those lost to drugs and alcohol | Bristol Drugs Project, UK

Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling related harms

Wed, 10 November 2021, 10:00 – 12:00 GMT. Come along to this virtual 2 hour event to hear about the findings from Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling related harms | Saloni Bhuptani (OHID), UK

Liverpool prison watchdog member suspended after drugs arrest

Exclusive: person on monitoring board alleged to have supplied phone and drugs to an inmate | Guardian, UK

Nottingham: E-scooter rider arrested after police near-miss

An e-scooter rider was arrested when he "sped around a bend" and "almost hit" officers who smelt cannabis on him | BBC, UK

Five men deny smuggling two tonnes of cocaine found on yacht

Five men have denied drug trafficking offences after more than two tonnes of cocaine were seized on board a luxury yacht | BBC, UK

International news

One hundred specialists call for WHO to change its hostile stance on tobacco harm reduction - new letter to FCTC delegates published

100 specialists in nicotine science, policy and practice have come together to call on the 182 parties (countries) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to take a more positive stance on tobacco harm reduction. The letter pushes back against WHO’s misguided and unscientific drive for prohibition or excessive regulation and taxation of vaping products, heated and smokeless tobacco products, and novel oral nicotine products, such as pouches | Clive Bates, UK

The cocaine-e-cigarette – A theoretical concept of a harm reduction device for current users of smokable cocaine forms

Although there are great regional differences, smokable forms of cocaine (crack, free-base, paco, etc.) are a drug complex associated with often harmful and problematic drug use patterns | Drug Science, UK

Even in a Year of Massive Reforms, Racist Myths Pervade the Drug Policy Debate

Nineteen states and Washington, DC have now legalised adult use of marijuana. In March, New York passed a suite of policies that not only legalised marijuana but also focused on social equity and expungement. Sweeping reforms decriminalising the personal possession of drugs also recently passed in Oregon | Talking Drugs, UK

Detoxing the Taliban way: Inside the clinic where Afghanistan's addicts are forced into withdrawal

[Limited number of free articles per week] According to anti-narcotics experts, 11 per cent of Afghanistan's 34 million population are drug users, with four to six per cent addicted | Telegraph, UK

Global Fund Short Term Technical Assistance: 3rd Peer Technical Support Hub - webinar

October 26th, 2021, at 14.30-16.00 London Time As a part of the Global Fund Community, Rights and Gender Strategic Initiative (CRG SI), INPUD is organizing a 3rd Peer Technical Support Hub on the topic of Short-term technical assistance for the community of people who use drugs. The aim of the webinar will be to explain the application process, cover eligible activities and be a source of support for drug user-led networks applying for technical assistance from the Global Fund | INPUD, UK

Just 2%-3% of people with alcohol dependency entering treatment, study suggests

The number of people receiving treatment for alcohol dependency in Ireland is considerably less than the number of people with drink problems, according to the findings of new research | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Garda report shows doubling in number of drug dealers caught

The Garda Annual Report for 2020 shows that the amount of cash seized by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) trebled, from €2.5m in 2019 to almost €7.9m in 2020 | Irish Examiner, Ireland

The Dehumanisation of Afghan Drug Users

The mass detention and forced treatment of people who use drugs in Afghanistan reminds us of the darkest periods of history | Drug Reporter, Hungary

EMCDDA releases new European miniguides on responding to drug problems

What are the most effective treatment options for cannabis problems? How to respond to new trends in cocaine use? How to help prevent the non-medical use of medicines? These are among the questions explored in a new collection of miniguides being launched today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) | EMCDDA, Portugal

Action framework for developing and implementing health and social responses to drug problems

The action framework introduced here will help to clarify current thinking about the response process and the factors to take into account at each stage. This will be of particular interest to those planning health and social policy or interventions to address drug problems, but can equally apply to responses at the individual level | EMCDDA, Portugal

FDA Approves 5mg Naloxone Hydrochloride Injection to Treat Opioid Overdose

The agent is administered through a single-dose, pre-filled syringe that delivers 5 milligrams of naloxone hydrochloride solution through intramuscular or subcutaneous injection | HCP Live, USA

Study could pave way for creating safer opioids

Researchers may have an uncovered new answers on how to create safer opioids. Design a new opioid to bypass the part of brain that feels pleasure, but retain the analgesic properties, which make opioids one of the most effective pain relievers. Researchers looked at how opioids may have become so widely abused | Science Daily, USA

A new Maine law decriminalizes syringes. Advocates say it's a major step to combat overdose deaths

Before the law went into effect, anyone who possessed more than 10 syringes at a time faced up to 364 days in jail and as much as a $2,000 penalty. Even people who used state-certified syringe exchange or 'service' programs were at risk of criminal penalty | Maine Public, USA