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Daily news - 24th August 2022 |
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UK news
Warning over supersize laughing gas cannisters in UK - video
Laughing gas cannisters, one of the most widely used recreational drugs by young people in the UK, are rising in popularity and getting bigger. The small silver cannisters, also known as nos or nitrous oxide, holding around 8g (0.28oz) of the substance, are being swapped to a supersize versions, around 80 times bigger. Experts say that supersize ones are riskier because they can lead to people using higher quantities. Currently in the UK, being in possession of a larger cannister isn’t illegal or against the law. A government commissioned review is assessing whether further action is needed | BBC, UK
ASH brief for local authorities on youth vaping
The ASH briefing for local authorities on youth vaping is designed for public health officials and trading standards officers, but also contains useful information for councillors, schools, parents and retailers | ASH, UK
Health Minister Robin Swann agrees to meet families of those who have lost loved ones to drugs
The health minister is to meet with a number of families of those who have lost loved ones to drugs on the streets of Belfast. Robin Swann's office has confirmed this with families who want to see a special facility set up for those battling addictions | ITV, UK
SCVO [Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations] Senior Leaders for Digital Lifelines
All places on the Digital Lifelines SCVO Digital Senior Leaders Programme are fully-funded for eligible organisations. The current round of applications began on 9 August and ends on 31 August 2022. This is open to any Scottish third sector organisation working on prevention of drugs deaths | SCVO, UK
How to write a research grant
The publisher Wiley has lots of useful resources for researchers, educators and professionals, including a blog by Helen Eassom on how to write a research grant proposal. Below is an edited excerpt from their website, printed with permission from Wiley | SSA, UK
County Lines: Breaking the Cycle
Sales end on 8 Sep 2022. This webinar marks the launch of Crest Advisory’s latest research report on county lines. Crest Advisory's latest report focuses on two of the most significant challenges facing police forces and their local authority partners when it comes to county lines activity | Crest Advisory, UK
International news
Is daily supervised buprenorphine-naloxone dosing necessary?
[Open access] Robert Kleinman and colleagues examine the efficacy and safety of reducing supervised dosing of sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid use disorder | BMJ, UK
Fetty Wap: Rapper faces jail time after admitting drugs charge
Fetty Wap faces prison after pleading guilty to a drug charge in the US | BBC, UK
‘Patients suffering chronic pain should not have to emigrate to get access to medical cannabis’ – advocacy group urges reform
Some people suffering chronic pain are emigrating so that they can access medical cannabis because the scheme here is so restrictive, it has been claimed | Independent, Ireland
A Survey of Irish Healthcare, Social Care, and Education Professionals’ Views and Experiences of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) - survey
This survey is open to all healthcare, social care, and education professionals who may or may not encounter FASD in their work | HSE, Ireland
EU Justice and Home Affairs agencies present concrete actions in support of Ukraine
The European Union agencies active in the field of justice and home affairs issue a joint paper on their contribution to the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine | EMCDDA, Portugal
Reducing alcohol consumption by working out
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present new findings about alcohol consumption reduced by training. The three related papers, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, report findings from the randomized controlled trial, FitForChange | Medical Xpress, USA
People who use therapeutic cannabis are more likely to use nicotine, too
A Rutgers study is among the first to examine the association between therapeutic cannabis use and nicotine use | EurekAlert, USA
Use of Marijuana and Psychedelics Is Soaring Among Young Adults, Study Finds
[Possible Paywall] The annual U.S. survey of substance use captures the growing mainstream acceptance of cannabis and hallucinogenic compounds | NYTimes, USA
Content Analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of 9 Major Cannabis Companies in Canada and the US
This qualitative study of 9 cannabis companies determined that they engaged in CSR activities nominally to mitigate the negative effects of cannabis prohibition; promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion; made charitable contributions; promoted cannabis medical utility and access; and addressed cannabis industry harms. Cannabis companies’ CSR strategies were similar to those used by tobacco companies to advance their interests and recruit third-party organizations as allies | JAMA Network Open, USA
Beware of cannabis brownies, candies and other treats that appeal to kids
"Anecdotally, I have seen an increase in pediatric cannabis exposures since marijuana was legalized for recreational use in California," said James Chenoweth, associate professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicologist at UC Davis Health | Medical Xpress, USA
“Where They’re At”—Harm Reduction in Rural America
On a warm winter night, a small group of harm reduction workers in Charleston, West Virginia, stuffed the trunk of a gray car with hundreds of kits containing sterile syringes, light blue tourniquets, packets of alcohol swabs, little balls of cotton, and the opioid-overdose antidote, naloxone. All of the ingredients to prevent a fatal overdose and inject drugs without contracting a viral infection | Filter Magazine, USA
Graduated risk: Individual- and program-level predictors of drug court completion
Participation in drug court is associated with reduced recidivism and drug use for individuals in the criminal justice system. However, many drug court participants do not complete their respective programs. The authors of this study examined which characteristics of drug court participants and programs predicted higher rates of drug court completion | Recovery Research Institute, USA
'Huge risk' as benzodiazepine found in Brandon drug sample: harm reduction advocate
Benzodiazepine can be dangerous when paired with opioids like fentanyl, but can't be treated by naloxone | CBC News, Canada
Delving deeper into the social health of people who use methamphetamine
A large 2019 survey estimated that 300,000 Australians aged 14 years and over had used some form of illicit meth/amphetamine in the previous year. Half had used the crystal form of methamphetamine (“ice”), and one-fifth had used the powdered form (“speed”) | Monash University, Australia
Lifestyle interventions in the management of substance use disorder
The aim of this article is to explore the evidence regarding lifestyle interventions as either primary interventions or adjuncts to existing treatments for individuals with SUD | AJGP, Australia
Inside the clinic helping heroin users ‘break that cycle’
Adelaide's heroin consumption reached the highest levels on record last year. From within Clinic H in the city, Dr Benny Tang is helping hundreds of people to stop using the street drug | CityMag InDaily, Australia
Pill testing on the cards for Qld music festivals
The Palaszczuk Government is considering backing a pill testing trial to curb drug overdoses at music festivals after the state’s mental health chief said such activities contributed to saving lives | In Queensland, Australia
A Realist Evaluation of Residential Treatment of Adults with Substance use Disorder: Development of an Initial Programme Theory
[Open access] Residential treatment of addiction remains a key element in addictions management, though high rates of attrition and relapse are reported, and underlying mechanisms of change remain unclear. This study aimed to complete the first stage of a realist evaluation—to develop an initial programme theory that would explain possible contexts and mechanisms of change leading to outcomes from a residential treatment programme for substance use disorders | Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
The COVID hangover: more urgency is needed to tackle alcohol harm as an indirect effect of the pandemic
Previous blogs have covered how drinking patterns in the UK changed during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In short, hiding behind relatively flat alcohol sales overall, there has been a sustained rise in the proportion of people drinking at increasing or higher risk levels, as well as evidence that heavier drinkers increased their consumption the most | IAS blog, UK
Biting into County Lines - Is Project ADDER the answer?
A key plank of Boris Johnson’s ‘Beating Crime’ plan is Project ADDER - a multi-million pound Home Office anti-drugs initiative combining “targeted and tougher” policing with “enhanced” treatment and recovery services | Crest Advisory Service, UK
Could Opium Gum be the Solution to the Overdose Crisis?
The prohibitionist regime surrounding the adult use of drugs has had devastating impacts on individuals, communities, and entire regions, spurring corruption, deteriorating the rule of law, and resulting in numerous human rights violations. The harms of prohibition have been broadly documented and yet, policy makers and politicians continue to uphold the status quo, even as policy innovations demonstrate a new and progressive way forward | Talking Drugs, UK
Smoking was costing me $1,000 a month by the end. But that’s not why I quit
I needed to pay the mortgage for my mother’s home. But even with that incentive, I couldn’t quit until my mental health was sorted | Guardian opinion, UK
Addiction Lives Interview: Professor Jacek Moskalewicz
This series explores the views and personal experiences of people who have contributed to the evolution of ideas in the Addiction journal’s field of interest. In this interview Professor Jacek Moskalewicz talks about his time working in alcohol and policy settings from the 1970s onward in Poland and internationally. He discusses the impact of Poland’s political history, in particular the role of Solidarity, on alcohol and drug use and policy. He also talks about his experiences working as a consultant for the World Health Organisation and in developing international collaborations over the past 50 years | SSA and Points blog, UK and USA