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Daily news - 6th October 2022 |
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UK news
Mental Health and Substance Use (Report)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report “Ending the exclusion: Care, treatment and support for people with mental ill health and problem substance use in Scotland” (PDF) | They work for you, UK
The Ley Community and Phoenix Futures announce partnership
The service will build on the two organisations’ common history of delivering the Therapeutic Community model. Phoenix and The Ley Community are pioneers in residential treatment in the UK and we are colleagues in the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities | Phoenix Futures, UK
'Country in collective denial over harmful effects of alcohol'
People personally harmed by alcohol abuse have called for more stringent laws on alcohol advertising | STV News, UK
Hepatitis C Education - Why is it essential?
Regular Hepatitis C training as standard practice is important. It keeps the World Health Organisation goal of global elimination by 2030, and the UK target of elimination by 2025, high on drug and alcohol services’ agenda | Hep C U Later, UK
Naloxone: The former boxer helping save drug users lives
A former boxer who overdosed three times is now training drug users to administer the medication that helped to save his life | BBC, UK
Navigating the highs and lows of psychedelic therapies
David was paralyzed by fear. The only thing stopping him from falling was his rigid fingers gripping to the rock face. The worst part was knowing he had to hold on for another five hours | Politico, UK
International news
Alcohol WILL be allowed to be advertised at the World Cup with drinking rules set to be relaxed for visiting fans at the tournament in Qatar starting next month
Rules over the consumption of alcohol in the Islamic state are being relaxed during the tournament, which starts next month, with punters allowed to drink in designated areas | Mail Online, UK
The cartel, the journalist and the gangland killings that rocked the Netherlands
In a country known for its liberal drugs policies, organised crime operated for years under the public’s nose – until a series of shocking killings revealed how deep the problem went | Guardian, UK
College student Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and maladaptive behavior: Traditional statistical modeling and predictive analysis using machine learning
This paper reports a two-part study examining the relationship between fear of missing out (FoMO) and maladaptive behaviors in college students. This project used a cross-sectional study to examine whether college student FoMO predicts maladaptive behaviors across a range of domains (e.g., alcohol and drug use, academic misconduct, illegal behavior) | PLOS One, USA
Opioid Dose Trajectories and Associations With Mortality, Opioid Use Disorder, Continued Opioid Therapy, and Health Plan Disenrollment
How are 1-year opioid dosing trajectories associated with mortality, opioid use disorder, continued opioid therapy, and health plan disenrollment after the end of the dosing trajectory? | JAMA Network Open, USA
Researchers warn of mental health risks of high-potency cannabis
Researcher Beatriz Carlini clicks through a few local cannabis retailers’ websites before finding what she’s looking for. Her screen displays a yellow goo, similar in appearance to raw honey, or as the product’s marketing calls it, “Cake Batter.” | Seattle Times, USA
Physiology-based relapse prevention tools are creating excitement, but can they work?
Researchers are increasingly looking to identify biomarkers of relapse risk that could drive the next generation of digital interventions to support relapse prevention. This study used wearable biosensors to monitor people in early recovery, examining associations between craving, physiology, and substance use that could inform and drive the future of relapse prevention tools | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Many recover from addiction, but how’s their well-being?
Definitions of recovery often extend beyond remission of symptoms to include well-being. At the same time, research in this domain lags behind, with little known about the prevalence or predictors of well-being. This national study explored rates of well-being among people in recovery, making comparisons to individuals with histories of other psychiatric conditions | Recovery Research Institute, USA
After a Program Handed Out Heroin Pipes, Some People Injected Less
Smoking heroin and other opioids can help people to avoid some of the harms associated with injecting, experts say. Meanwhile, new research suggests that handing out a pipe designed specifically as a harm reduction tool for heroin use could encourage people to inject less or switch entirely | Filter Magazine, USA
Three years after clinical trial, ketamine provides hope for severely depressed
Patients arriving at Dr. Philip O'Carroll's Newport Beach office for their first ketamine treatment are in pain and often lost. They have visited other doctors, tried other solutions and are ready for what is considered a last resort | Medical Xpress, USA
People with lived experience of addiction are helping an Ontario city tackle its overdose crisis
Parked in front of a trap house where people often go to use drugs, Shauna Pinkerton rifles through her trunk, putting together a bag of harm-reduction supplies | CBC News, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
University students are hidden targets of county lines drug dealing – new report
For young adults, university is a period of firsts: their first time living away from home, having to budget their money and going to pubs and nightclubs. For many, it will also be the first time they will try drugs, and as our new report shows, be exploited by county lines drug dealers | Conversation, UK
Does this represent the Australian psychedelic community? False balance and psychedelic exceptionalism
On Monday the 25th of July 2022, ABC’s Four Corners aired an episode about harms occurring within the Australian community from psychedelic drugs. The piece served as a necessary righting reflex to the public narrative about psychedelics, which has increasingly focused disproportionately on the positive aspects of psychedelic drugs. We have previously raised concerns about such reporting bias | AOD MediaWatch, Australia