Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 8th August 2022 |
 |
MASSIVE thanks to With You who have kindly sponsored DrugWise Daily for another year. It is very much appreciated!
UK news
MoJ & NHS England come out in support of prison recovery wings
The Forward Trust’s Mike Trace discusses the Ministry of Justice’s plan to support prison recovery wings across England and Wales | DDN, UK
Laughing gas patients 'through the roof' amid rise in use of powerful larger nitrous oxide cylinders
Large canisters of nitrous oxide intended only for caterers appear to be driving an "exponential growth" of patients suffering from the gas' effects, experts have told ITV News | ITV, UK
Northamptonshire Police to carry overdose life-saver drug Naloxone
Medication that can save the life of someone following a drugs overdose is to be carried by a police force's front line officers | BBC, UK
Medical cannabis now prescribed to 17,000 in UK – but many are still using black market
Around 17,000 people in the UK are now thought to have received legal medical cannabis for a range of conditions including chronic pain, depression, insomnia and Parkinson’s | Metro, UK
‘When I see kids vaping, I warn them: that’s what killed my daughter’
The mother of a teenager who died after her lungs collapsed believes e-cigarettes were the cause and is calling for tougher legislation | Guardian, UK
Recovery Rising: Theme Lived Experience Organisations
Thu 1 Sep 2022 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM BST. Almost 14 years ago Faces and Voices of Recovery UK brought the first Recovery Month celebration to the UK, emulating what the US had been doing for years. Recovery Rising will be the lauch of the FIRST Recovery Month in Scotland For the FIRST TIME highlighting the need to support, develop and invest in Lived Experience Recovery Organisations | FAVOR, UK
Gambling disorder: 'It took me to save Peter Shilton'
As England's most-capped player, goalkeeper Peter Shilton had the world at this feet. Off pitch, he was in the grip of a gambling addiction his entire adult life - until his wife became his recovery. In her own words, Steph Shilton describes life with a gambling addict, and how she is determined to help others like her | BBC, UK
International news
Aircraft seized as part of €8.4m cocaine operation
Two men have been arrested and a Cessna light aircraft has also been seized in County Longford | BBC, UK
Colombia: New left-wing leader wants global drugs rethink
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for a fresh global strategy to combat illegal drugs trafficking | BBC, UK
Data factsheet - European Web Survey on Drugs 2021: Emerging findings in Ukraine
Most survey respondents (93 %) reported using cannabis during the previous 12 months. A total of 59 % had used MDMA/ecstasy, 51 % had used amphetamine, 37 % new psychoactive substances (NPS) and 36 % LSD | EMCDDA, Portugal
Data factsheet - European Web Survey on Drugs 2021: Emerging findings in Georgia
Most survey respondents (97 %) reported using cannabis during the previous 12 months. A total of 55 % had used MDMA/ecstasy, 34 % LSD and 30 % ketamine | EMCCDA, Portugal
Data factsheet - European Web Survey on Drugs 2021: Emerging findings in Lebanon
Most survey respondents (93 %) reported using cannabis during the previous 12 months. A total of 42 % had used cocaine and 32 % MDMA/ecstasy | EMCCDA, Portugal
Safe Injection Sites for Drug Users Are a Tough Sell to Foundations
José Benitez believes so strongly that his public-health nonprofit has an effective approach to helping people who use drugs that his organization has taken the U.S. Justice Department to court | Philanthropy, USA
Effectiveness of Varenicline and Cytisine for Alcohol Use Reduction Among People With HIV and Substance Use
This randomized clinical trial of 400 individuals with HIV who engaged in risky drinking and daily smoking found that alcohol consumption at 3 months was decreased in all groups (active varenicline and placebo nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], placebo varenicline and active NRT, active cytisine and placebo NRT, and placebo cytisine and active NRT) but heavy drinking days did not differ significantly by group. Smoking abstinence at 6 months did not differ by group, but abstinence rates were high | JAMA Network Open, USA
Adult Ex-Smokers Say They May Pick Cigarettes Back Up If Juul Is Banned
Some people are stocking up on Juul pods since the once-popular high-nicotine vape may soon be off the market | BuzzFeed News, USA
The growth of recovery capital in clients of recovery residences in Florida, USA: a quantitative pilot study of changes in REC-CAP profile scores
There is a growing evidence base around predictors of retention and completion in a range of recovery residence models, particularly Oxford Houses and Sober Living Houses, and recovery housing is recognized as a clearly evidenced area of recovery intervention. The aim of the study was to quantitatively assess recovery capital in a sample of recovery residence clients | Substance Abuse, Prevention and Policy, USA
Depot buprenorphine: Safe and effective for clients in jails and prisons?
There are barriers to receiving opioid use disorder medications, such as buprenorphine, for individuals in criminal justice settings like jails and prisons. These include limited resources to ensure adequate medical monitoring and the potential for their illegal sharing or selling (i.e., diversion) to other inmates. This study examined safety and opioid use outcomes in a group of incarcerated individuals who received a longer acting, injection formulation of buprenorphine | Recovery Research Institute, USA
What types of cannabis histories may lead to problematic adult outcomes?
As policies on cannabis become more liberalized across the United States and internationally, we may begin to see an increase in the number of people who consume this commonly used drug. Studies that outline how cannabis use over the life-course relates to adult outcomes can help inform public health recommendations and policies that follow legalization of recreational use. In this study, authors examined six different cannabis use patterns, associated long-term consequences, and childhood factors that predicted these patterns| Recovery Research Institute, USA
Meth Has Changed, And It’s Sabotaging Oregon’s Mental Health System
Every time Anthony Ware got out of prison, he noticed the meth in Portland tasted more like chemicals | The Lund Report, USA
The Fight to End Firing of Federal Workers for Cannabis Use
The largest union representing federal government employees is flexing its muscles to stop employers firing workers for cannabis use in states where it is legal. Many workers, at risk of losing their jobs through a drug test despite not breaking state laws, are likely to be grateful for its efforts | Filter Magazine, USA
Developing an alcohol and other drug serious game for adolescents: considerations for improving student engagement
To explore perceptions of alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and digital game design preferences among Australian adolescents with the goal of identifying key factors to promote engagement in an AOD serious game for Australian secondary school students | ANZJPH, Australia
A 'very unpleasant time' - new synthetic drug in NZ
A new synthetic drug has been found for the first time in New Zealand with feedback that it caused extreme anxiety for a user | RNZ, New Zealand
Medicinal Cannabis Scheme 'unworkable' - industry
A Government scheme aimed at making medicinal cannabis more accessible to patients who need it for pain relief isn't working, according to the medicinal cannabis industry | 1 news, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Drug-Related Deaths Continue To Rise
The annual official drug poisoning figures published this week (3 August 2022) make for predictably grim reading. The data covers 2021, but statistics on drug-related deaths are based on the date of death registration – because of registration delays, around half of these deaths will have occurred in previous years | Russell Webster, UK
Britain’s Shame: Drug Deaths Increase Again
[Last] week saw the Office for National Statistics publish new figures on drug-related deaths in England and Wales for 2021, showing that 4,859 people died from drug poisoning last year compared to 4,561 people in 2020. Drug-related deaths have risen by 85% since 2012 and this marks the ninth consecutive year that drug related deaths have gone up | Politics.co.uk, UK
Is Medication Assisted Treatment like the Hotel California?
The tragedy of Scotland’s drug-related death figures has been in my mind this last week or so. The media may have largely moved on, but those of us who work in the field of addiction, those of us who know individuals who have died and those of us with lived experience of addiction will not be able to do the same | Recovery Review blog, UK
Drugs, prohibition and harm reduction: A conversation with Dr Ben Boyce - podcast
A conversation with Dr Ben Boyce, ranging widely over some of the fundamental issues of the field, from how societies decide what to label as a ‘drug’ (and what this means), to prohibition itself and how this happens, through to heroin prescribing as a harm reduction practice. Ben is a prison educator, activist and author. His first book, Dr Junkie, is an autobiographical account of his experiences with addiction, crime and the penal system | Toby Seddon, UK
Ann Shulgin obituary
Therapist and countercultural figure who explored the use of psychedelic drugs for anxiety and other disorders | Guardian, UK