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Daily news - 30th May 2022 |
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UK news
SDF Webinar - Providing emergency help to someone having an overdose: your experiences - video
An SDF survey of people who have acted to help people who have overdosed shows that people have immediate and ongoing support needs and how these are currently met. This webinar presented the survey findings and explored implications for policy and practice | SDF, UK
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross urges consensus on drugs death law
[Free registration required] The Scottish Tory leader will lodge his final proposal for a Right to Recovery Bill at Holyrood after the idea was supported by 77 per cent of respondents in a recent public consultation | Herald, UK
Up Close: Alcohol-related death figures hide the true damage caused by alcohol abuse
The 351 alcohol-related recorded deaths in Northern Ireland last year could be 10 times that figure, according to NI Coroner Joe McCrisken | ITV, UK
Urgent warning as Cumbria sees spike in possible drug deaths
Police and health officials are now urgently investigating after there were 12 suspected drugs deaths across the county this month alone – more than three times the usual number for Cumbria | Cumberland News, UK
How a charity’s dedicated technicians are helping community pharmacies support drug users
Two charity-based technicians are working with more than 100 pharmacies in Lincolnshire to develop their substance misuse services | Chemist and Druggist, UK
Researchers Create “Drugs Venn Diagram” to Facilitate Drugs Education
The way that experts categorize and talk about different families of drugs is often very complex and verbose. There's good reason for this: drugs are complicated compounds and even two drugs from the same broad category may exert very different side-effects | Analytical Cannabis, UK
The UK's War on Cocaine is Intensifying
New data analysed by VICE World News shows British authorities getting tougher on cocaine as the government tries to discourage use of the drug | VICE, UK
Drug Deaths
The next item of business is a statement by Angela Constance on accountability for delivering the national mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions | They work for you, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to require the labelling of alcoholic drinks to include sugar content for the benefit of consumers with diabetes | They work for you, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Children and Young People
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department collects data on alcohol use by children and young people; and if he will publish that data | They work for you, UK
Mind to Mind - David: The importance of peer support - video
Hear from David on the importance of peer support to mental wellbeing | Scottish Government, UK
A hub for the village: how locals are buying up pubs at risk of closure
The rise of community pubs is slowing a long-term decline – and offering additional services like post offices and basic banking | Guardian, UK
John Taylor - Alcohol stole my Mum - Local book launch
Wed, 15 June 2022, 18:30 – 20:00 BST. John Taylor is launching his debut book in Scotland, where he lived during the early years of his life. John hopes his book will raise awareness of the impact of growing up in an alcoholic home | SFAD, UK
East Belfast: Three men charged after £200k cocaine raid
Three men have been charged in a drugs investigation linked to the East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) | BBC, UK
International news
Heidi Klum rolls up to talks on German cannabis law
[Possible paywall] She is perhaps an unlikely lobbyist in Berlin’s corridors of power, yet the supermodel Heidi Klum is said to have met senior drugs officials to press for Germany to legalise cannabis | The Times, UK
'Medics are your mates': HSE launches harm-reduction campaign for drug users at music festivals
TheHSE has launched a campaign of practical harm-reduction information for people who use drugs at music festivals, as well as advice on how to reduce the risks associated with drug use | Journal, Ireland
Ten years of Ana Liffey Drug Project in the Midwest Region!
On 28th May 2012, Ana Liffey Drug Project began offering a low threshold community based service in the Midwest Region. Now, ten years on, Ana Liffey is needed more than ever | Ana Liffey Drug Project, Ireland
Earth Garden festival-goers to get harm-reduction tips on drugs
Know your drugs: booths and workshops during Earth Garden festival to inform festival-goers on how to minimise risks when taking drugs | Malta Today, Malta
To Save Lives From Opioid Overdose Deaths, Bring Methadone Into Mainstream Medicine
Eliza was in her mid-twenties and living on the street with an opioid use disorder (OUD) when she became pregnant. She enrolled in a methadone program and was doing well despite requirements to attend a clinic every day for her methadone | Health Affairs, USA
1 million youth became daily tobacco users, most used juul e-cigarettes
More than 1 million United States youth aged 14 to 17 years old in 2017 became new daily tobacco users within two years. By 2019, more than three quarters of these youths were vaping e-cigarettes daily | EurekAlert, USA
A targeted approach to using e-cigarettes for harm reduction in adults
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the US. While e-cigarettes (EC) are undeniably harmful when used by adolescents and nonsmokers, the perpetuation of the increasing negative perceptions of EC and widespread false belief that EC are equal or more harmful than combustible cigarettes (CC) represents a significant missed public health opportunity | American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, USA
Expanding overdose prevention sites in Vancouver, Canada, has beneficial health impacts
To help combat the record-breaking rates of drug overdose deaths, Canada implemented 20 overdose prevention sites across British Columbia, with 5 in Vancouver. Overdose prevention sites are a type of supervised injection service that are less regimented and have fewer barriers than traditional supervised injection services. The researchers in this study investigated the impact of this implementation in Vancouver on health outcomes | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Traumatized Veterans Who Use Drugs Left to Suffer in Prison
About seven years ago, the Tennessee private prison where I’ve been incarcerated for the past 26 years created a special housing unit for veterans and people over 50. It seemed like a great idea; both categories of prisoners are usually not much trouble, and for the vets with post-traumatic stress disorder it was no small mercy to be moved to a quieter, calmer environment than general population | Filter Magazine, USA
The cardiovascular risks and benefits of quit smoking medicines
In this presentation, the speakers reported the results of a series of three population-based cohort studies relating to the use and effects of smoking cessation pharmacotherapies. The first of these studies provided evidence on how the three smoking cessation pharmacotherapies available in Australia (nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion) compare to each other in terms of cardiovascular safety | NDARC, Australia
Drug, alcohol factors in nearly 60 per cent of fatal crashes, study finds
New figures show nearly 60 per cent of people who died in crashes over a 5-year period had some form of drug or stimulant in their system | NZ Herald, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinon
Europe’s drug laws are a mess – and ordinary people pay the price
[Possible paywall] The law has yet to catch up with the public embrace of recreational marijuana, leading to confusion and ruined lives | Independent premium, UK
An Open Letter From Ex-Smokers to Tobacco Control: You’re Killing Us. Literally
I smoked for 41 years and then finally quit smoking with vaping more than eight ago. I’ve owned and operated a vape shop for nearly seven years, helping more than 2,000 people in my small community to quit smoking with the help of flavored vapor products | Inside Sources, USA
The Algorithm of Medical Care Discrimination
Persons like me in long term recovery can face horrible treatment if it becomes known we have had a substance use disorder. This is particularly true when we may need controlled substances as part of our legitimate medical care | Recovery Review blog, USA
8 things film and TV get wrong about drug and alcohol treatment
Drug use and addiction are popular themes in movies and television, but they often get things very wrong. Here are eight common myths about drugs you’ll see on the silver screen | Conversation, Australia
The War on Drugs Didn't Work. The War on Vapes Won't, Either
Every morning I leave my home in Sydney and walk to the train station, skipping over the forgotten carcasses of dozens of hyper-coloured, “disposable” vapes. They are littered in the gutters, in the bushes, on the street | VICE, Australia