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Daily news - 5th October 2022 |
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UK news
New consequences for drug possession
Letter to the chair of the ACMD inviting them to establish a working group to respond to the recent white paper on drug possession | Home Office, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and Jeremy Quin MP, UK
Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service (PCANOS) Full Evaluation (PDF)
The purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service, PCANOS in its first two years | Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, UK
Overdose prevention scheme 'pays' drug users in shopping vouchers
Drug users in Fife are being given shopping vouchers in exchange for training in the use of overdose prevention drug naloxone | BBC, UK
Recovery Games 2022 Long Version - video
After two years break due to the pandemic the games were back bigger louder and more colourful, The games attracted over 700 people this year and 26 teams competed in gladiator style themed activities. Neil Firbank, Tim Young and Stuart Green want to thank everyone for participating and making this such an amazing day to remember. To know more about the recovery games, visit @recovery_games on twitter | Aspire, UK
Devon woman in film tackling alcoholism while pregnant
Cathy Hillman from Smeatharpe near Honiton lost triplets due to drinking heavily while pregnant, and hers is one of four stories featured in the film | BBC, UK
How to smash Sober October – then stay off the booze for good
[Possible paywall] Thanks to the booming zero-alcohol drinks industry and growing social acceptance, sobriety has never been simpler | Telegraph, UK
Alcohol Alert podcast - September 2022
How far can we trust the latest Global Burden of Disease study? | IAS, UK
Early Intervention & Drugs Education - Getting it right
Thu, 6 October 2022, 09:15 – 10:00 BST. Jennifer Rushworth-Claeys, Director of Young Person’s services at With You, invites you to our learning event, via Google Meet. The event is a collaboration between With You, and Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation and is designed to be an introduction for frontline staff to early intervention and drug education | With You, UK
Faculty of Health Lecture - Professor Harry Sumnall
Wed, 16 November 2022, 17:00 – 19:00 GMT. Professor Harry Sumnall presents: Less than human: how can we increase support for evidence based policy for people who use drugs | LJMU Faculty of Health Launch Events, UK
Aberystwyth: Police watch sea for more drugs after 'cocaine' find
Police are watching the seas for more bags of suspected cocaine after a large haul of drugs washed up on a beach | BBC, UK
International news
Addiction Audio: Substance use among refugees with Ebtesam Saleh
In this episode of Addiction Audio Rob talks to Ebtesam Saleh a Doctoral student at the Charite University in Berlin. Ebtesam talks about her recent systematic review of qualitative research on substance use among refugees | BBC, UK
Retired garda John Murphy jailed for possessing cannabis
A retired garda (Irish police) superintendent has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for possessing cannabis worth almost €260,000 (£226,700) | BBC, UK
'Cork can't wait': Policing committee hears renewed calls for supervised injecting facility
Joe Kirby, from the Cork Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force (CLDATF), said despite legislation being approved in 2015 to allow for supervised injecting facilities, such a facility still does not exist in the country | Echo Live, Ireland
Women, men and alcohol: Why is gender important in alcohol control policies?
Oct 25, 2022 09:30 AM in Copenhagen. This webinar will raise awareness of the importance of gender when addressing alcohol-related harms, present current research evidence and share examples of how communities are addressing these issues. Key questions to be addressed include: what evidence do we have about whether gender impacts policies which seek to address alcohol availability, affordability and acceptability? | WHO, Denmark
Study provides added evidence on positive public health impact of banning menthol cigarettes
A new study concludes that the 2020 European ban on menthol cigarettes made it more likely that menthol smokers would quit smoking, supporting previous Canadian research on the positive public health impact of banning menthol cigarettes | News Medical, USA
Putting the brakes on heroin relapse
Medical University of South Carolina researchers illuminate the role of star-shaped brain cells in heroin addiction and relapse | EurekAlert, USA
$500M-plus from opioid deal starts heading to Washington
The first payments from a $518 million settlement with the nation's three largest opioid distributors will begin reaching Washington communities in December, providing much-needed cash officials can use to hire first responders or direct toward prevention, treatment and other services, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday | Medical Xpress, USA
Peer recovery specialists – agents of stigma reduction?
Stigma toward methadone and buprenorphine may lead individuals to discontinue these life-saving medications. This study examined the multiple sources of stigma towards methadone, including racism, and explores the possible role of peer recovery specialists in reducing stigma’s impact | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Are racial and ethnic minorities less likely to achieve remission?
Racial and ethnic minorities face barriers to recovery that can hinder remission. Identifying disparities in remission rates can help determine whether additional supports are needed for particular racial and ethnic groups. This study examined racial and ethnic differences in rates of remission in a national U.S. sample | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Marijuana’s last taboo: Parents who get stoned
Some parents say using cannabis helps them relax and connect with their kids. But it’s dicey to talk about | Washington Post, USA
Australian Association of Convenience Stores pushes for national vaping summit
The peak body for Australia's convenience stores wants tougher vaping regulations, including a licensing scheme for retailers | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Harry’s Blog 115: Invisible numbers – the WHO hides the evidence for tobacco harm reduction
The WHO has just published Invisible numbers: The true extent of noncommunicable diseases and
what to do about them. I’m not sure where the WHO gets the idea that the statistics on death and disease from
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer are ‘invisible’. There is a wealth of data out there
from national and international public health, medical and academic sources, including the Global
Burden of Disease annual reports and the WHO’s own International Agency for Research on Cancer | NSP blog, UK
David Celino and Olivia Pratt-Korbell are victims of the UK’s ‘War on Drugs’
The deaths of 16-year-old David Celino and 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in the same week in August have scarred the conscience of the nation. Their deaths, in separate circumstances and different places are equally tragic and serve as stark reminders of the human cost of our 50 year experiment at drug prohibition | Volteface, UK
What is irradiated cannabis
When you hear the word ‘radiation’, it probably doesn’t conjure up the best images. We know that at certain doses, exposure to radiation can damage DNA in our cells, cause cancer and even kill you. But we’re all exposed to unavoidable low level radiation every day. There are radioactive materials and radiation in the earth, in space, in lightning, in the air and in our food | Volteface, UK
Even Thailand has decriminalised cannabis – it’s high time Britain caught up
Police commissioners calling for marijuana to be made a class A drug are out of step with a world that is ending the war on weed | Guardian, UK