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Daily news - 19th August 2022 |
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UK news
Smokers in Norfolk helped to quit with free e-cigarettes
More than two out of every five smokers who redeemed a voucher for a free e-cigarette starter kit had stopped smoking within a month as part of a pilot scheme designed to help people quit | ITV, UK
Briefing - MUP and Drug Use (PDF)
This briefing has been produced in response to media headlines claiming that minimum unit pricing (MUP) has increased drug use in Scotland and is, in turn, contributing to high levels of drug deaths. It presents the findings of independent evaluation research conducted so far, as well as other relevant information on alcohol and drug deaths in Scotland | Alcohol Focus Scotland, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), Scottish Recovery Consortium and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, UK
How to read a paper on the short-term impairing effects of cannabis: A selective and critical review of the literature
The prosecution of cannabis-presence driving offences (in the absence of any behavioural evidence of impairment) is ultimately based on the assumption that there is a tight causal relationship between positive toxicology for cannabis and impairment. The main purpose of this review is to examine the evidence for that relationship | Drug Science, UK
Recovery Festival
Thursday 1st September, Bristol. This years festival is going to be bigger and better than ever and is jam packed full of bands and performances, inspirational speakers, art and photography workshops, mutual aid and other support group taster sessions, singing, theatre, stalls from organisations supporting recovery, delicious free food, yoga, complementary therapies and more | Recovery Festival / Bristol Drugs Project, UK
International news
Smoking and other risk factors cause almost half of cancer deaths, study finds
Largest research project of its kind also points to alcohol and being overweight as major contributors | Guardian, UK
High street? Dutch ecstasy ‘shop’ shows possible way for drug reform
Mock-up XTC store in the centre of Utrecht demonstrates how drug might be sold if regulations change | Guardian, UK
International FASD Month
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day originated in Canada with the first FASD Day taking place on 9th September 1999. This date was chosen as it was the 9th day of the 9th month of the year, to represent the 9 months of pregnancy and raise awareness of the importance of having an alcohol-free pregnancy for the full nine months Since then the campaign has gathered global recognition with many countries now taking part in activities to raise awareness of FASD | Adoption UK, UK
What impact does opioid agonist treatment have on mortality at a population level?
Matthew Hickman, Annick Borquez and Louisa Degenhardt on using linked government data to demonstrate that opioid agonist treatments for opioid dependence – such as methadone and buprenorphine – prevented drug-related deaths in New South Wales | SSA, UK
Finland’s prime minister ‘willing to take drug test’ after backlash over leaked footage of her partying
The prime minister of Finland has said she is willing to take a drug test after claims people could be heard referencing illegal substances at a party she was filmed attending | Independent, UK
Mexico’s citizens caught in crossfire as cartels launch attacks across the country
Brazen strikes by organised crime leaders have left bystanders killed as many question the president’s security policies | Guardian, UK
HSE to operate landmark drug testing service at Electric Picnic
The HSE is to operate a pilot drug testing service at this year’s Electric Picnicfestival in what is a landmark development in Ireland’s drugs policies | Irish Examiner, Ireland
The Oslo Declaration – a time for united action on Alcohol in the EU
EPHA joins more than 80 International, European, and National civil society organisations and the World Health Organization in supporting the Oslo Declaration, which calls for urgent policy action to address alcohol-related harm | EPHA, Belgium
New study estimates over 5.5 million US adults use hallucinogens
Hallucinogen use has increased since 2015, overall and particularly among adults 26 and older, while use decreased in adolescents aged 12–17 years according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Estimates of over 5.5 million people in the U.S. used hallucinogens in the past year in 2019, which represents an increase from 1.7% of the population ages 12 years and over in 2002 to 2.2% in 2019 | Medical Express, USA
Study: Opioid drug tolerance develops from interplay of key gene and cholesterol
UF Scripps Biomedical Research scientists have a discovered a key gene that is shedding light on how people develop tolerance to pain-relievers over time, a problem that raises risk of addiction and overdose | Medical Express, USA
Methadone, the Early Pandemic and the Terror of a Poppyseed Positive
Iwas going to the methadone clinic weekly when the pandemic began. That was the maximum at the place I was transferred to just before Christmas 2019, after my clinic of 10 years closed. Many people have to attend clinics daily. But for a decade, I had been going only every two weeks, so weekly was hard for me | Filter Magazine, USA
Can Ayahuasca Help to Heal Refugees’ Trauma?
Anew study will seek to discover if ayahuasca is effective at helping a group of Middle Eastern and North African refugees, primarily women, to heal from trauma. While previous research has examined the effectiveness of ayahuasca for trauma, it hasn’t touched this population from a region of the world that has seen much warfare and and suffering | Filter Magazine, USA
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart ordered to pay 2 Ohio counties $650 million in opioids suit
A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, claiming the way they distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities | CBS News, Canada
Supervised consumption site could open within months with government approval: WECHU
67 confirmed deaths due to opioids last year | CBC News, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
We Asked the Experts: What Exactly is in Ketamine?
Ketamine was first synthesised in 1962 and has had an interesting history both within the “legitimate” medical world, and more recently as a recreational drug of choice for many. Although referred ambiguously in media as a “tranquiliser”, ketamine is primarily known for its anaesthetic (including the relaxation of muscles and pain reduction) as well as hallucinogenic effects (consciousness altering, dissociation from self, the body and one’s environment) | Talking Drugs, UK
Embracing Recovery Capital Within Our Care System to Save It
There have been devastating impacts on our entire helping systems workforce over the long siege of the COVID Pandemic. Recently, I read the Ohio PHP Executive Report, the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Health and Well-being of Ohio’s Healthcare Workers | Recovery Review blog, USA