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Daily news - 19th December 2022 |
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UK news
First-time drug users will not be prosecuted under police chiefs' plan
[Possible Paywall] New guidance being drawn up aims to treat the issue of illegal substance taking as a public health problem | Telegraph, UK
First-time cocaine and cannabis users will NOT be prosecuted but instead be offered education or treatment programmes under proposals being drawn up by police chiefs
[Reporting on the Telegraph article above- no paywall] Officers would agree to take no further action against those caught in possession of illegal drugs, including class A and B, for the first time under new proposals being drawn up by the National Police Chiefs' Council and College of Policing | Mail Online, UK
Experts call on govt to rethink new drug possession proposals
Open letter: Individuals and organisations working in drug policy, health and social care, criminal justice, and human rights call on Government to rethink proposed approach to drug possession offences | Transform, UK
Booze duty will be frozen until August – here’s what it means for the cost of your pint or bottle of wine
Alcohol duty was due to rise by RPI inflation early next year - which would have seen a seven pence hit on a pint of beer, 38p on a bottle of wine and more than £1.30 hike to the price of a bottle of spirits | The Sun, UK
Scots back ban on alcohol sponsorship in sport, survey finds
A new survey has revealed that just one in four Scots would not support a ban on sports sponsorship by the alcohol industry, The Ferret can reveal | National, UK
‘You’re in the alcohol Matrix, then you unplug from it, and you’re like ‘Wow’’’: exploring sober women’s management, negotiation and countering of alcohol marketing in the UK
[Open access] Alcohol marketing influences drinking practices, and this helps shape how gender identities are constructed. This paper presents research exploring how women who are sober manage and negotiate their non-drinking and sober identities in neo-liberal contexts that market alcohol products and consumption as a defining feature of feminine identities | DEPP, UK
WDP Greenwich is rated ‘Good’ by CQC
We are delighted to announce that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated WDP Greenwich as ‘Good’ across the board. The CQC inspectors highlighted that the team “treated clients with compassion and kindness” and that they “understood the individual needs of clients and supported [them] to understand and manage their care and treatment.” | WDP, UK
FAVOR Annual Report 21-22
This is a summary of our work for the year. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions, suggestion, or directions for our work | FAVOR, UK
Developing autism-friendly services: ‘calm environments and a range of treatment options benefit everybody’
In the second episode of a two-part SSA podcast on autism and addiction, Rob Calder talks to colleagues from the Substance use, Alcohol and Behavioural Addictions in Autism (SABAA) project about personalising treatment, the gaps in the literature about autism and addiction, and the implications for research and policy | SSA, UK
Electronic Cigarettes: Children and Young People
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to discourage children and young people from vaping | They work for you, UK
Traces of suspected cocaine found after parties in Liz Truss’s grace-and-favour house, say staff
Exclusive: White powder residue found after events held at Chevening and Downing Street, say sources | Guardian, UK
Cannabis worth almost £500k seized in Hartlepool raids
Cannabis plants worth almost £500,000 were seized from three sites during a week-long crackdown, police have said | BBC, UK
Police discover drugs worth up to £20m in Redditch
Police officers from three forces took part in the raids in Worcestershire and found the drugs, believed to be cocaine, inside a number of vehicles | BBC, UK
International news
US to end crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity
The US justice department has moved to end the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offences, ending a policy widely seen as racist | BBC, UK
US health agency accused of bowing to drug industry with new opioid guidance
Doctors say CDC’s softer guidelines ‘tossing aside’ safety limits put lives at risk as opioid epidemic continues to rage in the country | Guardian, UK
Making it big selling legal weed is harder than it looks
An initiative in California is giving people harmed by the "war on drugs" a chance to make it big in the burgeoning legal cannabis industry. But participants say making it big is a lot harder than it looks | BBC, UK
‘I went cross-eyed’: Australia’s former deputy PM taken to hospital after drinking entire bowl of kava
Michael McCormack paid a high price for downing, not sipping, the sakau during a Pacific tour, later stating: ‘I was trying to be respectful’ | Guardian, UK
WHO: French youth smoke, drink less since pandemic
Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis are being consumed much less by French youth since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, though lockdowns are not the only reason for this downward trend, according to a recent study | Euractiv, Belgium
Service awards for four long-standing members of the EMCDDA Management Board
Four long-standing members of the EMCDDA Management Board received awards this week in recognition of their extraordinary dedication and service to the agency | EMCDDA, Portugal
NIH launches harm reduction research network to prevent overdose fatalities
To address the overdose crisis in the United States, the National Institutes of Health has established a research network that will test harm reduction strategies in different community settings to inform efforts to help save lives. The harm reduction research network’s efforts build on existing harm reduction research, and represent the largest pool of funding from NIH to date to study harm reduction strategies to address overdose deaths | NIDA, USA
HHS Awards More Than $130 Million in 988 Lifeline Grants From the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Address Nation’s Ongoing Mental Health and Substance Use Crises
This month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will award more than $130 million in 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline grants – part of the $800 million provided to SAMHSA under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to address the nation’s ongoing mental health and substance use crises | SAMHSA, USA
Drinking alcohol not tied to migraine attack within 24 hours
There is no significant link between the probability of a migraine attack and consumption of alcohol within 24 hours, according to a study published online Nov. 27 in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain | Medical Xpress, USA
Study finds hepatitis C treatment gap for individuals with alcohol use disorder
A new study supported by the National Institutes of Health shows that individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are less likely to receive antivirals for hepatitis C, despite current guidelines recommending antiviral treatment regardless of alcohol use | Medical Xpress, USA
Additional mental health difficulties increase harms for older adults with an alcohol problem
As baby boomers enter older adulthood, the number of older adults with alcohol use disorder is projected to double. Improvements in alcohol assessment and treatment efforts can help to address this risk. This study examined the factors in older adults with alcohol problems that place them at greatest risk for harms including hospitalization and mortality | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Adding psilocybin to talk therapy improves outcomes, but differentiating from placebo effects proves challenging
Psilocybin, a type of hallucinogen, may help in the treatment of alcohol use disorder, but there has only been one study published since 1971 investigating its efficacy. This study rigorously examined whether adding psilocybin to talk therapy improved drinking outcomes in people with alcohol use disorder | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Pakistan Nicotine-Pouch Surge Brings Harm Reduction Hope in South Asia
Globally, almost a third of tobacco consumers use oral products. Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is generally safer than combustibles. But traditional forms popular in South Asia pack a deadly punch, leading to more than 570,000 annual deaths. Despite these products causing 88 percent of SLT-related mortality, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its allies continue to club them alongside much safer SLT options under the risk-blind “all tobacco is bad” paradigm | Filter Magazine, USA
CBSA seizes largest amount of opium to date
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is committed to keeping Canadian communities safe from illicit drugs. Today, the CBSA announced the significant seizure of nearly 2,500 kilograms of opium in Vancouver, British Columbia – the largest opium seizure to date for the CBSA | Government of Canada, Canada
First supervised drug inhalation service in Ontario opens in Toronto amid rise in smoking-related OD deaths
Toronto’s Casey House has now added drug inhalation to the list of services it offers through its supervised consumption service | CP24, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
What support do children and young people actually want when their parents use drugs and alcohol?
“No-one has ever asked me about how I feel in any of this.” I found the powerful quote above from a young person during my research exploring parent drug and alcohol (or substance) use from the young person’s perspective. Since then the question of ‘what support do children and young people ACTUALLY want?’ has remained central to my PhD research in this area | Fuse blog, UK
‘Fuel to the fire:’ Survey of ambulance service shows alcohol placing a huge demand on frontline workers
A new survey of frontline workers at the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has found that alcohol-related call-outs are placing an avoidable demand on 9-in-10 staff | AHA UK blog, UK
Bad hangovers? Why genetics, personality and coping mechanisms can make a difference
After a good night out you may not be surprised when you wake up feeling rough the next morning. But what may surprise you is if your friends aren’t feeling the same way. Some may feel worse, some better and some (if they’re lucky) may not feel any of the negative consequences at all | Conversation, UK
Looking back and forward: the year in review and what's to come in 2023
At the top of the criminal justice tree, everything changed in 2022. The leader of the country’s biggest police force resigned; the Home Secretary was replaced three times in seven weeks; there were two different Justice Secretaries; a new Chief Inspector of Constabulary; and after a delay of ten months, the National Crime Agency finally had a permanent Director-General | Crest Advisory blog, UK
Could Czechia become the next European country to legalise cannabis?
It is becoming increasingly likely that Czechia may become the next European country to legalise recreational cannabis under plans announced by drug commissioner, Jindřich Vobořil | Volteface, UK
“doing damage control as best we can… but we’re out of ideas”
This article from the San Francisco Chronicle caught my attention this week. It illustrates the challenges big cities are facing with the combination of the behavioral health crisis, the aftermath of the pandemic’s disruption, noncarceral responses to drugs, the lack of affordable housing, social responses that frame addiction as secondary to other problems, and the absence of systems of care that deliver addiction care of adequate quality, intensity, duration, and scope | Recovery Review blog, USA
Want to pre-drink before going out? It probably won’t save you money, and can be risky to boot
You’re catching up with a few friends before you go out. Everyone’s having a drink, listening to some tunes, and the mood is good. A ride share is pulling up in the driveway – everyone quickly finishes their drinks and piles into the car, headed to a gig where more alcohol will be consumed | Conversation, Australia