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Daily news - 29th November 2022

UK news

Environmental impact of disposable vapes - Research Briefing

A debate has been scheduled in Westminster Hall for 4.30pm on Tuesday 29 November. The debate will be opened by Kirsten Oswald MP. This debate pack provides further information about the concerns about the environmental impact of disposable vapes, the regulations in place, along with various calls for change. A separate Commons Library briefing, The regulation of e-cigarettes, provides further information on the health and product safety aspects of vapes | House of Commons Library, UK

MAT Standard 6 - Towards Implementation: The MAT Standards Webinar Series - video

The system that provides MAT is psychologically informed (tier 1); routinely delivers evidence-based low intensity psychosocial interventions (tier 2); and supports individuals to grow social networks | SDF, UK

Street Drugs Discussions: Deep Dive into Environmental Impacts

Fri, 27 January 2023, 14:00 – 16:00 GMT. This webinar looks at how drugs and their production impact the environment, how big an issue this is and what we might do about it | Drug Science, UK

IMPACT Guide. Smoking and Mental Health Training - Online sessions

Various dates. IMPACT smoking and mental health training for Third sector, NHS and Local Authority adult services. Now on Zoom. 1 and 2 hour sessions available | ASH Scotland, UK

Port of Hull: Lorry driver jailed for £6m cocaine smuggling plot

A lorry driver who attempted to smuggle £6m of cocaine into the UK via the Port of Hull has been jailed for more than 15 years | BBC, UK

Rochdale drug dealing couple who led 'lavish lifestyle' jailed

A couple who dealt heroin and crack cocaine to fund a "lavish lifestyle", including spending £3,000 on two pet cats, have been jailed | BBC, UK

International news

Operation Desert Light: Europol take down massive cocaine 'super cartel'

A drug "super cartel" that controlled about a third of Europe's cocaine supply has been dismantled, police have announced | BBC, UK

Legalise Cannabis and other progressive parties could hold balance of power in Victorian upper house

Counting suggests Legalise Cannabis party, Greens and Reason Party are likely to win seats in Legislative Council | Guardian, UK

Cannabis oil failed to improve pain or quality of life in palliative care cancer patients, study shows

Researchers say despite the lack of symptom relief, more trials are needed to focus on the targeted use of medicinal cannabis | Guardian, UK

One-in-10 babies are born with some kind of foetal alcohol disorder in Ireland every year, says HSE

Around one in 10 babies are born each year with some form of disorder as a result of their mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy, with an estimated 600 having the most severe effects on their brains | Independent, Ireland

Reitox network meets to showcase 2022 highlights, new digital resources and plan future activities

Heads of the national focal points (NFPs) of the Reitox network are meeting in Lisbon today to discuss network business and the planning of activities for 2023. On the agenda of the three-day meeting are discussions on the revision of the new EMCDDA mandate, international cooperation projects and recent and future policy and institutional developments | EMCDDA, Portugal

“I'm putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole the only way I know how:” a qualitative study of barriers and facilitators to opioid misuse and recovery in Nevada

[Open access] Nevada, like the rest of the United States, is undergoing substantial challenges with opioid misuse and overdose deaths, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While much of the attention around opioid overdose prevention is centered on treatment and recovery, it is important to understand the factors that influence initiation of use, and the function opioids play in people’s everyday lives | BMC Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, USA

[Open access] Understanding how recreational cannabis legalization may impact cannabis use disorder (CUD) among adolescents and young adults is key to developing an appropriate public health response. This research investigates whether associations among adolescent and young adult perception of risk of harm from cannabis use, prevalence of past-month cannabis use, and rate of CUD treatment admissions changed following recreational cannabis legalization in the US, 2008–2019 | Addictive Behaviors, USA

Recreational cannabis laws may be associated with increased alcohol use among U.S. adults

States that legalized recreational cannabis saw a slight population-level uptick in alcohol consumption that was largely driven by young adults and men, according to new research by University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health policy scientists | News Medical, USA

New Center Offers Free Legal Services to People Who Use Drugs in NJ

Rutgers Law Associates (RLA) and Vital Strategies recently announced the launch of a center to provide free legal services for people who use drugs in New Jersey. It partners with harm reduction providers, who refer people they work with. The legal center doesn’t currently represent clients in court, but can help them in strengthening their cases. It can also help people to obtain housing and other rights and benefits, and will document cases of discrimination they face | Filter Magazine, USA

Prison “K2”: The Hidden Center of a Chaotic New Drug War

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA) came into the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) drug supply in 2015, according to the sellers. The strips of SCRA-doused paper are advertised as “K2,” or just “strips,” which is all buyers know about what’s on them anyway | Filter Magazine, USA

Fewer young Americans say they smoke cigarettes: Gallup

Rates of cigarette smoking among young U.S. adults have drastically declined since 2001, new data show | The Hill, USA

Trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets, October 2021 – September 2022

Drug Trends has identified, crawled (or ‘scraped’), extracted, categorised and analysed drug listings on cryptomarkets on a regular basis since 1 February 2014. This bulletin series reports on trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets over a 12-month period | NDARC, Australia

Non-fatal opioid overdose after release from prison among men who injected drugs prior to their imprisonment: a prospective data linkage study

[Open access] In the first two weeks after their release from prison, people are at greater risk than usual of fatal opioid overdose. They are also at greater risk of non-fatal opioid overdose, which is associated with considerable morbidity | MJA, Australia

Mandatory alcohol information virtually invisible online

A study of online alcohol sales has revealed serious inadequacies when it comes to the availability of mandatory alcohol health information and warnings | University of Auckland, New Zealand

Blogs, comment and opinion

Tackling substance use-related stigma: we need to do more but we also need to know what we are doing and why – let’s share ideas so that we can actually make a difference

My name is Robin Falconer. I work for Dundee City Council in the Community Health Team – we use a community-led approach to health which involves building capacity of people to take action on issues that are important to them. For the past seven years I have provided leadership and support for a range of work in Dundee to tackle the stigma that surrounds substance use | DRNS blog, UK

Five potent cannabis myths busted

We've researched and found answers to some of the most popular queries about cannabis myths so you don't have to | Volteface, UK

What binge drinking really does to your body

[Possible paywall] ’Tis the season for festive overindulgence – but your big night out can have quite sobering long-term effects | Telegraph, UK

Climate Lessons from Cambodia’s Illegal MDMA Market

Cambodia’s experience with MDMA production provides important lessons about managing the environmental repercussions of illicit drug production, which are particularly important in the wake of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) that occurred earlier this month | Talking Drugs, UK

Cannabis is no better than a placebo for treating pain – new research

Cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. While there are only a few countries where cannabis is legal for recreational use, many more countries have legalised the use of cannabis for medical reasons | Conversation, Sweden

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