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Daily news - 8th November 2022

UK news

Drink and Drugs News: November issue out now

The most recent drug-related death figures make a mockery of the government’s proposed Swift, certain, tough approach to possession offences. According to the ONS (p16), DRD stats focus on a particular generation, people who are now in their late 40s. Furthermore, regional data show death rates are up to seven times higher in the most deprived areas of England and Wales | DDN, UK

Warning of 'human catastrophe' as more turn to drink and drugs to 'numb stress' of cost of living

Charities are warning of a "human catastrophe" as more people turn to drugs and alcohol to "cope" with the cost of living crisis | ITV, UK

E-cigarettes may be better than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women stop smoking

E-cigarettes may be more effective than nicotine patches for pregnant women trying to quit smoking, research found. The study did not raise any new safety concerns with e-cigarettes (vaping) | NIHR, UK

Relaunch of the National Substance Misuse Non-Medical Prescriber Forum

Addiction Professionals are delighted to work together with NSMNMPF to re-launch its activities. This forum was established many years ago with the aim of providing a peer support network and learning opportunities for NMPs, of whom there were very few at the time. Fast forward to today and the majority of independent prescribers actively working in the drug and alcohol sector are now NMPs. As such, the forum has become more and more important | Addiction Professionals, UK

Medical cannabis - what you need to know: London

Tue, 8 November 2022, 18:00 – 21:00 GMT. TODAY. Join the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society at this introduction to the history and evidence of medical cannabis and CBD | The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, UK

Report launch: Alcohol sponsorship of football

Tue, 29 November 2022, 11:00 – 12:00 GMT. Join Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and researchers from the University of Stirling on for the launch of a report: ‘Alcohol sponsorship of football: Examining the nature of sponsorship relations for professional football teams across countries with varied restrictions on alcohol marketing’ by Dr. Richard I. Purves, Nathan Critchlow and Amber Morgan | SHAAP, UK

An Evening with Mike Jay / Mescaline

Thu, November 17, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM GMT. London. The Maudsley Psychedelic Society are excited to host eminent writer Mike Jay, author of ‘Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic’. From pre-Hispanic Mexico to the sixties counterculture & Western psychiatry, Jay’s talk will span the fascinating history of the global use of mescaline | The Maudsley Psychedelic Society, UK

How cannabis dealers behind illegal website are advertising on Tubes and billboards

Drug dealers behind illegal cannabis adverts placed around London Tubes and billboards say the rules around the class B drug in the UK are "archaic and stupid" | ITV, UK

More than half of black people searched by UK police felt humiliated, survey finds

Poll shows levels of trust in the police markedly lower among black people than white people | Guardian, UK

Islanders must recycle vapes properly, officials say

Operations manager at Guernsey Waste, Sarah Robinson, said vape packaging needed to be improved so islanders knew how to dispose of them properly | BBC, UK

International news

Please refrain from licking the psychedelic toads, hikers told

[Possible paywall] US National Park Service warned the Sonoran Desert Toad secretes a potent toxin that can make people sick if it gets in their mouths | Telegraph, UK

Switzerland and UK Lead “Effective Anti-smoking Policies Global Index,” EU with Opportunities to Improve

The recently launched “Effective Anti-smoking Policies Global Index,” published by the We Are Innovation network, analyzes the public policies to eradicate smoking in 59 countries, evaluating them in 10 objective categories such as the regulatory framework of Non-Combusted Nicotine Products (NCNPs), their prohibition, display, packaging, and taxation, among others | We Are Innovation, Estonia

Nicotine Addiction and Intensity of e-Cigarette Use by Adolescents in the US, 2014 to 2021

In this survey study of 151 573 respondents, age at initiation of e-cigarette use decreased and intensity of use and addiction increased between 2014 and 2021. By 2019, more e-cigarette users were using their first tobacco product within 5 minutes of waking than users of cigarettes and all other tobacco products combined | JAMA Network Open, USA

New Federal Guidance Aims To Improve Naloxone Access

Issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September and effective immediately upon release, the new guidance clarifies existing laws and regulations regarding the distribution of naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan. Among other things, the guidance clarifies the applicability of a public health emergency exclusion and exemption from certain requirements under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) | EIN Newswire, USA

At overdose events, arrests by police and combative behavior are rare, study finds

While police officers are often dispatched alongside other first responders when drug overdoses are reported, an analysis of hundreds of overdose events in one Rhode Island city found that there were scant incidents that actually needed involvement from law enforcement | Medical Xpress, USA

A decade after legalizing cannabis in Colorado, here's what we've learned

Ten years ago this week, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, making the state among the first two in the nation (along with Washington) to legalize the use and possession of cannabis, a.k.a. marijuana, for recreational purposes | Medical Xpress, USA

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