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Daily news - 4th November 2022 |
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UK news
Extension to Edinburgh recovery service
Additional residential rehabilitation and detox capacity has been created at a life-saving drugs service in Lothian with almost £3.3 million of Scottish Government funding | Scottish Government, UK
Drugs: Rehabilitation
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to protect the £780 million of funding for rebuilding the drug treatment system announced as part of the Government’s 10-Year Drug Strategy | They work for you, UK
File on Four: High Anxiety: The Deadly Trade in Street Valium - audio
They’re cheap – but they’re also deadly. Illegal pills costing as little as 50p each are contributing to the deaths of hundreds of people each year in Scotland. Now an expert is warning benzodiazepines, or street Valium, could pose a growing threat elsewhere | BBC Sounds, UK
Derry Addiction Centre
I beg to move, That this House has considered delivering on New Decade, New Approach commitments to a Derry addiction centre | They work for you, UK
New addiction service launched in HMP Birmingham
A new addictions service has been launched this week in HMP Birmingham, led by the harm reduction and social justice charity Cranstoun and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust | Cranstoun, UK
Public health team efforts to reduce alcohol harms at local authority level
Mon, 21 November 2022, 10:00 – 16:00 GMT. A focused day of discussion on alcohol licensing and community-led approaches to reducing alcohol harms | IAS, UK
GPs giving antidepressants to children against guidelines
Guidance states under-18s should only get such drugs alongside therapy and after being assessed by a psychiatrist | Guardian, UK
Boston: Thousands of cannabis plants found in disused shop
About 3,000 plants believed to be cannabis have been found in a disused shop in Lincolnshire, police have said | BBC, UK
Man jailed after cocaine almost killed baby in Perthshire
A baby boy's heart stopped and had to be revived with 15 minutes of CPR after he ingested cocaine from a man who was supposed to be looking after him | BBC, UK
International news
Substance use disorders linked to poor health outcomes in wide range of physical health conditions
People who have a past history of hospitalisation because of substance use disorders have much worse outcomes following the onset of a wide range of physical health conditions, according to researchers in the UK and Czechia | University of Cambridge, UK
Colombia: Coca
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime registered (a) a 43 percent increase in coca cultivation in Colombia in 2021 and (b) an estimated 1400 metric tons of cocaine production | They work for you, UK
Cigarette pack size and consumption: a randomized cross-over trial [Canada]
[Open access] Smoking from packs of 20 compared with 25 cigarettes reduced the number of cigarettes smoked per day | Addiction, UK
Why Belgium is now the cocaine capital of Europe - video
With record seizures of cocaine at Belgian ports, the country has become Europe’s cocaine-trafficking capital. As the flow of drugs increases, local authorities are struggling with corruption and violence | Economist, UK
New York Post slammed for saying ‘heroin chic’ is back: ‘Bodies are not trends’
A viral tweet declared that ‘heroin chic’ bodies were back, but women are tired of unhealthy fashion trends dictating their bodies | Independent, UK
Addicts caught with cocaine or ecstasy ‘should be cautioned and not charged’ says drugs strategy minister
Gardaí should have the power to caution rather than prosecute people with severe addictions to drugs such as ecstasy or cocaine, the minister responsible for drugs strategy has said | Independent, Ireland
World No Tobacco Day 2023 awards
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for nominations to the World No Tobacco Day Awards of individuals or organizations in each of the six WHO Regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control | WHO, Switzerland
Alcohol-induced Death Rates in the United States, 2019–2020
The age-adjusted rate of alcohol-induced deaths increased 26% from 2019 (10.4 per 100,000 standard population) to 2020 (13.1) | CDC, USA
US agency softens opioid prescribing guidelines for doctors
The nation's top public health agency on Thursday softened its guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers | Medical Xpress, USA
High levels of sweet and fruit-flavour chemicals in ‘tobacco-flavoured’ e-cig liquids
There are now high levels of sweet and fruit-flavoured chemicals likely to appeal to young people in e-cigarette liquids ostensibly marketed as ‘tobacco-flavoured’, compared with a decade ago, finds research published today in a special supplement* of the journal Tobacco Control | EurekAlert, USA
Improving treatment retention? Examining the move from daily to once per month injectable buprenorphine
Once per month injectable extended-release buprenorphine formulations may help ease retention challenges, but little is known about its utility particularly when individuals transition from oral daily buprenorphine to the once per month injectable formulation. This study investigated real-world retention rates and clinical predictors of retention in patients transitioning from long-term treatment with daily dosed sublingual buprenorphine to the long-acting once per month injectable extended-release injectable version | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Providers of methadone treatment say a big increase in access could backfire
Providers of methadone for addiction treatment have a message for advocates seeking a giant expansion in access: Be careful what you wish for | STAT News, USA
Half of dentists say patients are high at dental appointments
As personal and medical marijuana use increases nationwide, the American Dental Association (ADA) suggests patients refrain from using marijuana before dental visits after a new survey finds more than half of dentists (52%) reported patients arriving for appointments high on marijuana or another drug | Medical Xpress, USA
Lula Inherits Legacy of Bolsonaro’s Drug Policy Harms—and His Own
On November 1, President Jair Bolsonaro gave a brief speech in which he did not acknowledge his defeat in Brazil’s second round of elections to the left-wing Workers’ Party candidate, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro’s chief of staff then announced that he would hand over power democratically. He is Brazil’s first sitting president to lose a re-election bid | Filter Magazine, USA
Enhancing Drug-Impaired Driving Data across Canada: A Summary of 34 Recommended Data Indicators
A summary table highlighting 34 recommended indicators for enhancing and standardizing the collection of drug-impaired driving data in Canada to help reduce injuries and fatalities. The indicators are divided into nine separate categories related to law enforcement and justice, health, transport, and public attitudes and behaviours | CCSA, Canada
Methamphetamine Production in Mexico is Toxic for the Environment
It is over 33 degrees Celsius, and a strong smell of dead animals pollutes the fresh air in the Western Sierra Madre mountain range. Two dead cows lying next to a river have been decomposing for a few days and are bloated with flies | Insight Crime, Colombia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Anxiety and addiction - the dynamic duo
My first memory is of experiencing a muddled, fuzzy sensation in my stomach and chest, combined with overpowering doubt, confusion, and a buzzing of unspecified fear in my head. I’m about 4. My Granny is at the door | Forward Trust, UK
Points Interview: Cocaine and nightlife in late 19th century Rio de Janeiro with Athos Vieira
Today’s post features an interview with Athos Vieira, a historian from Brazil, who recently completed a Ph.D. in sociology from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Athos recently authored ‘Cocaine and the night: The social life of a drug in Rio de Janeiro during Brazil’s First Republic, 1885-1920s‘ | Points blog, USA