Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 22nd December 2022 |
 |
UK news
Make a new year quit attempt to help with cost of living
Smokers in England are being encouraged to search smokefree and quit this new year as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. It comes as Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) publishes its new smoking and poverty briefing which highlights smoking as a key driver of inequalities in wealth as well as health | ASH, UK
Annemarie Ward: Breaking the cycle of addiction
There is one brief moment during my long interview with Annemarie Ward when the Favor chief executive begins to well up. Our conversation takes in everything from the trauma of childhood abuse and ravages of addiction to Favor’s work on behalf of those affected by alcohol and drugs, but it is only when we discuss her mother’s descent into alcoholism and eventual death that the tears look ready to come | Holyrood Magazine, USA
Volunteer at BDP
We’re looking for non-judgemental committed volunteers who believe in people’s capacity to change. Is this you? | BDP, UK
Sutherland man charged after £4.4m of cocaine seized
A man has been charged with drugs offences after cocaine with an estimated street value of around £4.4 million was seized in a joint investigation involving the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police | NCA, UK
Drug gang leader jailed for turning Peterlee office block into cannabis farm has £300k confiscated
A drug gang leader who was jailed for converting two storeys of a town centre office block into a cannabis farm will have more than £300,000 confiscated in addition to his jail sentence | ITV, UK
International news
The impact of khat chewing on heart activity and rehabilitation therapy from khat addiction in healthy khat chewers
[Open access] Khat is a flowering plant whose leaves and stems are chewed for excitement purposes in most of east African and Arabian countries. Khat can cause mood changes, increased alertness, hyperactivity, anxiety, elevated blood pressure, and heart diseases. However, the effect of khat on the heart has not been studied exclusively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of khat chewing on heart activity and rehabilitation therapy from khat addiction in healthy khat chewers | Nature, UK
Alcohol related disorders among elite male football players in Sweden: nationwide cohort study
In this nationwide cohort study, male football players who had played in the Swedish top tier of competition had a significantly lower risk of alcohol related disorders than men from the general population | BMJ, UK
Enough fentanyl to kill every single American seized in 2022
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says they intercepted 379m potentially deadly fentanyl doses, which is just two milligrams | BBC, UK
New York to open first legal pot dispensary by year's end
he first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana in New York is set to open Dec. 29, marking a long-awaited launch of a cannabis industry that could become one of the country's most lucrative | Mail Online, UK
Non-Profit Organisations Can Register To Grow And Sell Cannabis In Malta As Of February 2023
Non-profit organisations will be able to register for a license to grow and sell cannabis to the public as of February 28th, 2023 | Lovin Malta, Malta
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2001–2021
The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths rose more than 14% from 2020 through 2021 in the United States | CDC, USA
N,N-Dimethylpentylone (NPS Stimulant)
Our N,N-Dimethylpentylone Toolkit consolidates data and information available for this NPS, at the time of reporting, with analytical methods, toxicology cases, and metabolism data generated by our laboratory. N,N-Dimethylpentylone was first reported in November 2021 and began its proliferation right away in Q4 2021 | CFSRE, USA
How a Cocaine-Smuggling Cartel Infiltrated the World’s Biggest Shipping Company
As MSC grew into a dominant force in global trade, it also became a prime drug-trafficking conduit for Balkan gangs | Bloomberg, USA
The Limits of AG’s Guidelines Against Crack-Powder Sentencing Disparity
US Attorney General Merrick Garland took action on December 16 to end the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. His order came just as the Senate was failing to reach a deal to eliminate the disparity—which has fueled racialized mass incarceration for decades—from law. Advocates welcome Garland’s move, but its signficant limitations mean that they still stress the urgent need for legislation | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Enyobeni: A tragedy of underage drinking
In this blog post, Dr Laurine Platzky provides an in-detail analysis of the Enyobeni Tavern incident in South Africa, which saw 21 children die after consuming alcohol underage. Dr Platzky highlights the consequences of poorly implemented laws and policies in this tragedy and explores what this case means for future legislation around alcohol in South Africa | SHAAP blog, UK
There’s no point telling Brits not to get ‘blind drunk’ during an ambulance strike – we can’t help ourselves
We’re the messy, vomiting Brits abroad, wrecking football matches and strewing kebab wrappers and cigarette ends in our wake | Independent voices, UK
What can San Francisco learn from Tehran?
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the difficulties in San Francisco related to severe SUDs among people experiencing homelessness. And more pointedly, I’ve been hearing about the death rate by overdose among those living in what I understand to be housing for these people provided by the city | Recovery Review blog, USA