Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports

Daily news - 17th August 2022

Thank you to Bristol Drugs Project who have renewed their sponsorship of DrugWise Daily. Your support over the years is much appreciated.

UK news

Calls for more funding to help children of alcoholics

Children affected by their parents' alcohol abuse say they are being "failed by the government" due to a lack of funding | BBC, UK

Charity calls for zero drug deaths target

A Scottish drug and alcohol charity responds to the minimal decrease in drug related deaths in 2021 and the release of the National Mission on Drugs Deaths Plan from the Scottish government, urging Ministers to aim for zero. Currently, there is no target percentage drug deaths reduction published in the government’s updated plan | Health and Care Scotland, UK

Tobacco and Me - audio

How much has the tobacco industry changed over the last 50 years? Peter Taylor uses his own remarkable archive to chart its history and scrutinises the current claim by big tobacco players that they’re now working towards a smoke-free world | BBC, UK

Why do I crave cocaine after a few pints?

If after-work drinks are leading to the £50 bag a little more than usual, our resident drugs columnist Simon Doherty weighs in on why that might be | The Face, UK

Up Close: How Northern Ireland can navigate its way out of drugs crisis

A quick detour away from the city centre of Belfast, just seconds away from bustling shopping areas, and it isn’t hard to find the evidence of drug use | ITV, UK

Drug Awareness - An introductory course

18-08-2022 9:30 am. [Tomorrow] This free online training aims to increase drug awareness and knowledge and participants will have the opportunity to explore current and emerging trends within substance use. The training will consider harm reduction and support strategies | SDF, UK

Warning for parents over cannabis gummies that look just like Sour Patch sweets

Parents are being warned to be on the alert after a huge stash of ‘stoner sweets’ laced with cannabis were found in ‘copycat’ packaging at two suspected drugs dens in Sussex | Metro, UK

Illegal vapes seized from shops in Dewsbury and Huddersfield

Trading Standards and West Yorkshire Police said officers had recovered 3,000 vapes, worth up to £40,000, as well as 77,420 cigarettes | BBC, UK

International news

Significant declines in drinking among young people have been recorded in many high-income countries over the past 20 years. This analysis explored the role of gender - which we interpret as socially constructed and relational - to provide insight into whether and how gender might be implicated in declining youth drinking | IJDP, UK

Delhi drinkers left dry after government’s alcohol policy U-turn

Aam Aadmi party’s decision to scrap plan to privatise sale of alcohol comes after pressure from rival BJP | Guardian, UK

A Legal Play for ‘Shrooms in Canada Could Make Waves in the US

A Canadian lawsuit over magic mushrooms could help spur the wave of liberalization the nascent industry has been pushing for. So just who is behind it, and what are its prospects? | Bloomberg UK, UK

How a Horsham lab is helping Philly learn about its contaminated drug supply

NMS Labs help law enforcement and medical examiners track overdose deaths around the country. But they also help public health officials learn about the extent of contaminants in the drug supply | Philadelphia Inquirer, USA

Opioid treatment programs in disadvantaged rural communities should include integrated care, study finds

To improve recovery rates, opioid treatment programs serving disadvantaged patients in rural communities should include services that screen and care for other mental health disorders, according to a study led by a Rutgers researcher | Medical Xpress, USA

Association of Screening and Brief Intervention With Substance Use in Massachusetts Middle and High Schools

In this quality improvement study involving 4587 students in grades 7 through 10 who were exposed to a school-based SBI program in Massachusetts, cannabis and e-cigarette use increased over time in all groups. Exposure to SBI was associated with a significantly smaller increase in the rate of cannabis use among middle school students and significantly smaller increases in the rates of cannabis and e-cigarette use among all female students; however, there was no significant difference in any comparison among all high school students | JAMA Network Open, USA

The DRAM, Vol. 18(9) - To plan or not to plan: Motives and contexts for planned and unplanned drinking among college students

Based on the 2019 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over half of full-time college students reported drinking alcohol in the past month, while 33% reported binge drinking in the past month. This week, The DRAM reviews a study by Angela Stevens and colleagues that explored college students’ motives, social contexts, and physical contexts for unplanned and planned drinking | BASIS, USA

I’m 79 and in Prison. Cigarettes Have Shaped My Life

Tobacco settles the nerves, relaxes the body, quiets the mind. A mild, pleasant high. I’m not making any scientific or medical claims here—I’ll leave that to others—simply stating the truth as experienced by myself and my tobacco-loving family | Filter Magazine, USA

Ten thousand lives lost to illicit drugs since declaration of public health emergency

At least 1,095 British Columbians are believed to have been lost to the toxic drug supply between January and June 2022, according to preliminary data released by the BC Coroners Service | BC.Gov, Canada

King of candy successfully sues cannabis retailers for selling drug-infused Skittles

Mars hired private detectives in Canada to go undercover and try to buy products that look like their copyright packaging but really contain cannabis edibles | National Post, Canada

Blogs, comment and opinion

Comment: Keir Starmer is out of excuses on drug policy reform

Major new polling from the APPG for drug policy reform demonstrates the extent to which the public are ahead of politicians on embracing changes to our drug laws, and adds to a growing body of evidence dismissing the caricature of the ‘red wall’ as a socially conservative backwards-land | Politics.co.uk, UK

Wellness vapes: what you need to know about vaping vitamins and other supplements

So-called wellness vapes are growing in popularity. Unlike regular vapes (e-cigarettes) that contain nicotine, these products contain vitamins, hormones or essential oils. But they have caught the attention of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of the unproven health claims made by many of the companies that sell them | Conversation, UK

Extend Studio