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Daily news - 15th December 2022 |
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UK news
Harm reduction and the night economy
New campaign. Bristol Nights is taking a pioneering, public health approach to embed Harm Reduction into the heart of our night time economy. We believe in practical, judgement-free solutions to lower the risks surrounding drugs and alcohol | Bristol Nights, UK
Warning community pharmacies at risk of closure due to funding problems
Some of Northern Ireland's community pharmacies could be at risk of closing, a representative group has said. Community Pharmacy NI, which represents more than 500 pharmacies, said Health Department funding was not viable | BBC, UK
'Needle spiking', social panics, and psychogenic illness
The alleged incident was among thousands reported in cities across the UK and Europe - but, more than a year on, there is a growing sense that what really happened might be a form of psychological contagion | Herald, UK
Spiking: Alcoholic Drinks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential benefits of requiring venues to declare publicly whenever an incident of drink spiking has occurred | They work for you, UK
Family Voices runner-up 2022 'Need' by Kristy, read by Jane Garvey - video
Listen to broadcaster and former host of BBC Women's Hour Jane Garvey reading 'Need' by Kristy Widdicombe-Dutch, awarded as the runner-up of Adfam's Family Voices Competition 2022. Need is a piece of creative writing about Kristy's experience of growing up with alcohol dependent parents | Adfam, UK
GSAPS x Drug Science Special Monthly Meetup
Mon, 16 January 2023, 18:00 – 19:30 GMT. GSAPS is collaborating with Drug Science for a special Monthly Meetup online open to everyone across the globe. The GSAPS welcomes anyone with an interest in psychedelic research and medicine to join | Drug Science, UK
Forward Leeds wins partner of the year award
Forward Leeds Area Manager Anne-Marie McMullan said: “This is an honour and it completes what has been a really amazing year overall for our service | Forward Leeds, UK
Cheshire and Merseyside arrests in county lines drugs raids
Thirteen people have been arrested on suspicion of a county lines drugs conspiracy across Cheshire and Merseyside | BBC, UK
International news
Majority of Britons would support law banning sale of cigarettes or tobacco to anyone born after 2008, YouGov survey reveals
Fifty-seven per cent of British people would support the legislation to bar younger generations from purchasing smoking-related products, while 34 per cent said they would 'strongly' support it according to the poll | Mail Online, UK
Is the Syrian Regime the World’s Biggest Drug Dealer?
Experts say Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria is a narco state that is pumping out millions of speed pills and is now a bigger drug producer than the Mexican cartels | VICE, UK
Justice committee recommends further research on cannabis cultivation for personal use
The committee has recommended a host of changes to Ireland’s drug policy | Journal, Ireland
Report on an examination of the present approach to sanctions for possession of certain amounts of drugs for personal use (PDF)
Stakeholders, in addition to any general points on the topic, were asked to comment on whether they believe the criminal justice system is the most appropriate avenue for dealing with possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use; whether the current approach towards drugs is counter-productive in terms of dissuading people from drug use and encouraging engagement in rehabilitative programmes; and whether there are particular jurisdictions with alternative drug policies from which Ireland could learn | House of the Oireachtas, Ireland
EMCDDA and Pompidou Group sign new pledge in Lisbon
The EMCDDA and the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe agreed on new areas of cooperation in the framework of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2010. The new pledge, an appendix updating the 2010 MoU, stipulates specific areas of collaboration based on the organisations’ work programmes and areas of interest | EMCDDA, Portugal
Belgian Interior Minister visits EMCDDA for talks on public safety and security
Belgian Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reform and Democratic Renewal, Ms Annelies Verlinden, visited the EMCDDA this week during an official visit to Portugal. The Minister met EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel who presented the work of the agency and its upcoming change of mandate. The focus of the visit was on public safety and security | EMCDDA, Portugal
Drug Abuse Warning Network: Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021
An analysis of final 2021 DAWN data presents: (1) nationally representative weighted estimates, including percent and unadjusted rates per 100,000, for all drug-related emergency department (ED) visits, (2) nationally representative weighted estimates for the top five drugs in drug-related ED visits, (3) the assessment of monthly trends and drugs involved in polysubstance ED visits in a subset of sentinel hospitals, and (4) the identification of drugs new to DAWN’s Drug Reference Vocabulary | SAMHSA, USA
Perceptions About Cannabis Following Legalization Among Pregnant Individuals With Prenatal Cannabis Use in California
his qualitative study of 53 pregnant individuals who used cannabis found consistent beliefs that legalization led to easier cannabis access (via retailers and delivery), greater acceptance (including reduced stigma, more patient-clinician discussions about prenatal cannabis use, and fewer concerns about Child Protective Services involvement), and trust in cannabis retailers (including safety and effectiveness of diverse products sold and perceptions of employees as knowledgeable, nonjudgmental, and caring) | JAMA Network Open, USA
Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Receipt of Direct-Acting Antiviral Hepatitis C Virus Treatment
In this cohort study of 133 753 adults with HCV infection, those with alcohol use disorder, even if abstinent, were statistically significantly less likely to receive DAA treatment within 1 and 3 years after eligibility compared with those with lower-risk drinking after adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities | JAMA Network, USA
With Legalization, Marijuana Trafficking Routes Evolve Along US-Mexico Border
The ongoing legalization of marijuana at the state level in the United States has forced organized crime groups in Mexico to adapt and look for new markets while also shifting drug trafficking routes along the US-Mexico border | InsightCrime, USA
Memos Show FDA Overruled Science-Office Call to OK Menthol Vapes
New evidence provides the clearest signal yet that the Food and Drug Administration is opposed categorically to authorizing non-tobacco flavored vapes—something indicated by reams of rejections under its premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) process, but never explicitly stated | Filter Magazine, USA
Supreme Court Refuses to Block California’s Nicotine Flavor Ban
On December 12, the United States Supreme Court said that it would not block California’s flavored nicotine ban, legislation that’s soon set to take effect | Filter Magazine, USA
Trends in Google searches and social media discussions of cocaine, July 2021-June 2022: A pilot study
We collected cocaine-related data on Google searches, as well as posts on Twitter and drug-related subreddits from 1st July 2021 to 30th June 2022. The monthly Google search probability for cocaine was consistently higher in Australia compared with the worldwide searches, suggesting cocaine-related searches were more popular in Australia compared with the rest of the world. It ranged from 869 to 1,226 per 10,000,000 searches in Australia and from 518 to 615 per 10,000,000 searches globally | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
With evidence on alcohol policies being stronger than ever, now is the time for governments to act
The second half of 2022 has seen the World Health Organization (WHO) publish the Global Alcohol Action Plan and the European Alcohol Framework. A group of leading alcohol researchers has updated Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity (ANOC), the latest in a series of evidence reviews dating back to the mid 1970s, and in the last month there has been a flurry of data from across the UK on alcohol consumption and harm | IAS blog, UK
Alcohol deaths in the UK rose to record level in 2021
Deaths from alcohol in the UK have risen to their highest level since records began in 2001, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In 2021, 9,641 people (14.8 per 100,000) died as a result of alcohol: a rise of 7.4% from 2020 | LJMU, UK
What does the new MHRA guidance mean for the cannabis sector
On 16 November the MHRA published a blog post outlining the guidance for companies applying for approval for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines in the UK. In this article we unpack the guidance and what it means for companies hoping to enter the cannabis market | Volteface, UK
More on the NIAAA definition of recovery
Brian Coon posted a reaction to the NIAAA definition yesterday. I also recently watched the NIH webinar on the definition... | Recovery Review blog, USA