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Daily news - 8th December 2022 |
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UK news
Treatment, recovery and Integrated Care Systems – what does it all mean?
Integrated Care Systems now exist in law. But what does that mean for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, the public health commissioners in local government who fund them or the people who they support? | Collective Voice, UK
Health Inequalities
We are taking action on public health across the board. The £3 billion that we are investing in the drugs strategy will create an extra 50,000 places in drug treatment. We have doubled the duty on cigarettes since 2010 and brought in a minimum excise tax. We now have the lowest smoking rate on record and will go further | They work for you, UK
Teenage girl dies after taking drug at Devon nightclub
Police arrest 16-year-old boy on suspicion of supplying unknown substance in Exeter | Guardian, UK
I'm an Alcoholic: Inside Recovery - video
A look inside the recovery group Alcoholics Anonymous, with the first ever access to an AA meeting. How does an organisation rooted in 1930s American evangelicalism still work in the modern world? | BBC, UK
5 ways open mic nights are back celebrating recovery
Performers at the Open Mic Night on 2 December 2022 included poets, singers, guitarists, comedians and dancers, all demonstrating their pride in recovery from issues with alcohol and other drugs | Forward Leeds, UK
IMPACT Guide. Smoking and Mental Health Training - Online sessions
Various dates. IMPACT smoking and mental health training for the Third sector, NHS and Local Authority adult services. Now on Zoom. 1 and 2 hour sessions available | ASH Scotland, UK
International news
Colombia’s Infamous ‘Pink Cocaine’ Is on the Rise in Europe
The drug, a mix of ketamine, MDMA and pink food colouring, is being sold by a new generation of young narcos in Colombia and is increasingly being seized by authorities in Europe | VICE, UK
Vaping: Juul Labs agrees thousands of US settlements
E-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs is to settle more than 5,000 US vaping lawsuits, after being accused of targeting teenagers with its products | BBC, UK
For the third year in a row, 100+ NGOs urge UNODC Director to mark International Human Rights Day by calling for rights-affirming drug policies
CEHRN have co-signed the below letter directed to Ms Ghada Waly (Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), ahead of International Human Rights Day | CEHRN, The Netherlands
NYC launches drug checking program to spot fentanyl before people overdose
Tammy Hogan said she was grateful for OnPoint NYC when her husband began to overdose in the Bronx. She dragged him onto the subway down to Harlem, where she ran into the overdose prevention center to alert staff. Trained health specialists quickly leaped into action, rushing through the crowded lounge | Gothamist, USA
Sweden’s Snus Success Story, as Country Nears “Smoke Free” Status
The Swedish government has officially confirmed that smoking rates in the country have dropped to 5.6 percent, setting up the nation to become the first in Europe to reach “smoke free” status. The designation “smoke free,” at least in the European Union and the United Kingdom, refers to smoking prevalence of less than 5 percent in a given population | Filter Magazine, USA
CT to Clear Tens of Thousands of Marijuana Records on January 1
The governor of Connecticut announced on December 6 that the state will be automatically clearing records of low-level marijuana convictions for thousands of people on January 1, 2023 | Filter Magazine, USA
The Quit by Phone Study
The Quit by Phone Study is conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney. The study is looking at different types of telephone-based behavioural quit support services to determine which is the most effective and cost-effective at helping low-income smokers quit tobacco smoking and remain quit | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The social justice potential of cannabis legalisation
Drug policy is an issue of social justice. Criminalisation of drugs, like in the UK, affects low-income communities more than anyone else and often people turn to the illegal drugs market when they feel other economic opportunities aren't open to them. In this article Transform Drug Policy Foundation explores the lessons that we can learn from the US to ensure that social justice issues are at the heart of any future reforms | Trust for London, UK
High Times: Magic mushrooms in the UK
For decades magic mushrooms have served as a point of contention, seeing as they naturally grow in many parts of the world, with the UK as no exception. So, what is the current legal status of magic mushrooms? What does research say about their potential therapeutic use? And, is there a future where we might see them legalised? | Volteface, UK
I’m An Alcoholic: Inside Recovery review – the first ever peek inside an AA meeting is hugely moving
This candid chronicle of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is sensitive, impeccably balanced – and incredibly uplifting | Guardian, UK
Four nations, 15 years: alcohol policy in England
The Alcohol Health Alliance UK was launched 15 years ago. Across the four nations, there have been great policy successes and pitfalls over that time. In this blog series, we look back on the progress that has been made to help reduce alcohol harm across the UK and reflect upon what needs to happen next | AHA UK blog, UK
Fighting the war with drugs: How can psychedelic-assisted therapies help veterans?
Around 17% of recent military veterans in the UK report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and currently available treatments don’t work for many of these. Here, Professor Jo Neill, Dr Verity Wainwright, and Frances Smith report the findings of a new study into the role that psilocybin (the active constituent of so-called ‘magic’ mushrooms) can have in the treatment of PTSD symptoms in veterans, and how the law can be updated to enable more research in this area | University of Manchester blog, UK
‘My father’s death was deeply upsetting, but a relief – he did not have a life that was worth living’
[Possible paywall] This year's winner of the Cassandra Jardine memorial prize writes about the torment of growing up with a father addicted to drugs | Telegraph, UK
Using Network Forces in Uganda for Policy Change
Uganda Harm Reduction Network (UHRN) is a drug user led national network that advocates for practical interventions to support and address issues of people who use and inject drugs (PWUIDs) in Uganda | Talking Drugs, UK