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Daily news - 10th November 2022

UK news

Stigma Kills

New website. Although addiction is a common health issue that requires medical intervention and support, people suffering from this illness are some of the most stigmatised in society, often seen as not even unwell and in some way deserving of their experiences | NHS APA, UK

Surveying Over the Counter and Prescription Only Medication Misuse in Treatment Services During COVID-19

[Open access] A greater understanding of Over the Counter (OTC) and Prescription Only Medication (POM) misuse amongst adults accessing substance misuse services (SMS) during COVID-19 is required to identify how SMS can better meet the needs of the people who require treatment | Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, UK

Supporting our UK Armed Forces veterans

Read the pledges Change Grow Live has made to support veterans that use its services | DDN, UK

Diamorphine

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to increase the provision of Diamorphine Assisted Treatment | They work for you, UK

MAT Standard 5 - Towards Implementation: The MAT Standards Webinar Series - video

The effective implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards will transform treatment services and the experience of people in treatment. Delivering the National Mission to Reduce Drug Deaths and the treatment engagement target depends on this transformation being made. This webinar series will explore how progress with implementation is being made in settings across Scotland and the challenge that remains | SDF, UK

Posters - SSA Annual Conference 2022

An independent panel of judges awarded prizes in three categories: Best inclusion; Best visual design; and Best overall poster - to student-led and non-student posters | SSA, UK

Continuity of Care in drug/alcohol treatment - review findings & top tips

Tue, 29 November 2022, 10:00 – 12:00 GMT. This webinar will share practice from community treatment providers which led to significant improvements in prison to community transfers | OHID, UK

A Celebration of Life 2022

Sat, 19 November 2022, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT. BDP and Bereavement Through Addiction invite you to A Celebration of Life - an event for anyone who has been affected by the loss of someone through drugs and alcohol | BDP, UK

Gang member who used EncroChat to arrange drug deals jailed

A gang member who helped arrange Class A drug deals and attempted to buy guns through encrypted messaging system EncroChat has been jailed | BBC, UK

International news

'Cali's standing up to Big Tobacco': California becomes second state to ban menthol cigarettes - AND also drops fruity vapes after referendum

Six in ten voters backed the bans in interim referendum results released this morning, with counting still ongoing | Mail Online, UK

Moderate to heavy drinking in young adults linked to greater stroke risk

Young adults in their 20s and 30s who drink moderate to heavy amounts of alcohol may be more likely to have a stroke than those who drink low amounts or no alcohol, a new study reports | Independent, UK

Challenge to ban on selling products containing psychoactive cannabis ingredient is thrown out

The High Court has dismissed a test action challenging Ireland's outright ban on the sale of any products containing the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis | Independent, Ireland

THE BLACK INITIATIVE: Fighting Brazil’s Racist Drug War

The war on drugs is an instrument of racism, which incites violence and hinders democratic development in Brazil. Watch our new short documentary to find out how the first black civil society organization, Iniciativa Negra, takes up the fight against this war on people | Drug Reporter, Hungary

Deaths from bacterial infections in the heart are on the rise among young people who inject drugs

Infective endocarditis (IE)—a bacterial infection in the heart or blood vessels— affects 40,000–50,000 patients in the United States per year and has a 1-year average mortality rate of 30%. People who inject drugs (PWID) tend to be younger and have a higher risk for IE due to the entrance of bacteria in the bloodstream | Medical Xpress, USA

Comparing Projected Fatal Overdose Outcomes and Costs of Strategies to Expand Community-Based Distribution of Naloxone in Rhode Island

In this decision analytical model study evaluating the distribution of 10 000 additional naloxone kits annually in Rhode Island, the strategy focusing on distribution of naloxone according to geographic need to people who inject drugs resulted in the best outcomes at the lowest cost, averting an estimated 25.3% of opioid overdose deaths at an incremental cost of $27 312 per opioid overdose death averted | JAMA Network Open, USA

Sleeping medications used for insomnia may combat drug and alcohol addiction

Rutgers researchers think they have identified a biological process for drug and alcohol addiction, and believe existing insomnia treatments could be used to reduce or eliminate cravings | Medical Xpress, USA

FDA warns of animal tranquilizer in illicit drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned health care workers to look out for patients who may have been exposed to a potentially deadly animal sedative, possibly through illicit drug use | Medical Xpress, USA

Colorado Voters Approve Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics

Proposition 122 is the broadest liberalization of psychedelic policy ever enacted in the United States | Reason, USA

Maryland and Missouri Legalize Cannabis; Three States Say No

Five states had cannabis legalization measures on the ballot on November 8. Voters in Maryland and Missouri approved legalization, but in Arkansas and the Dakotas it was rejected. With these results, 21 states and Washington, DC have now legalized cannabis for adult use | Filter Magazine, USA