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Daily news - 17th October 2022 |
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UK news
Drugs warning to students over 'toxic' mixing with alcohol
Students should be aware of the "toxic" dangers of mixing alcohol and other drugs, the Public Health Agency (PHA) has said | BBC, UK
Pregabalin: The anti-epilepsy medication turned ‘silent killer’ drug that is flooding Britain’s streets
“Pregga” is being sold for up to £2 a pill in the UK after a sudden spike in production of counterfeit versions of the anti-epilepsy medication which is used by heroin and pain killer addicts to sustain their high – with deadly effects | i news, UK
Annual Alcohol-Specific Deaths statistics, 2021 [Northern Ireland]
The total number of alcohol-specific deaths registered in 2021 was 351. This was the same as the previous year (351) and the joint highest since the start of the series, accounting for 2.0% of all deaths registered in 2021 | NISRA, UK
Contributing to Licensing Policy Reviews: A Guide for Local Stakeholders (PDF)
This guide is intended to supplement existing Alcohol Focus Scotland guidance about the development of licensing policy with learning from the last round of policy review in 2018. It provides practical suggestions to support you to engage in the review process effectively, and to make recommendations to licensing boards relevant to the licensing objectives and local context | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
The Gary Seaman Award 2022
Adfam are now accepting nominations for the Gary Seaman Award 2022. An annual award presented to an outstanding practitioner, or volunteer, who has made a real difference supporting family members affected by drugs, alcohol or gambling. Deadline: 12pm 1st December 2022 | Adfam, UK
Digital Lifelines Small Grants Fund 2022 [Scotland]
The Digital Lifelines small grants fund is to support small, local organisations to continue or extend digital inclusion activities with people at risk of death from a drug overdose and those who care about them and support them | Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, UK
Transform Drugs Event @ Newcastle Cathedral
Thu, November 10, 2022, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM GMT. Re-evaluating our thinking about drugs - why change is needed and what realistically can we do? | Transform Drug Policy Foundation, UK
UK asylum seekers recruited en masse by Albanian cannabis gangs - video
Albanian migrants are walking out of hotels to work on cannabis farms within three days of arriving in the UK across the Channel, an investigation has revealed | Telegraph, UK
Cannabis farm worth £1m found after Cowdenbeath High Street fire
After the fire was put out, officers found a cannabis "cultivation" with an estimated street value of more than £1m | BBC, UK
Grangetown residents ecstatic at drug-taking neighbours' eviction
The house in St James Court in Grangetown near Middlesbrough was visited by drug dealers carrying machete knives down their trouser legs for protection | BBC, UK
International news
Opioid crisis: US teens fastest growing group to die
Teen overdose deaths have never been higher in the US as young Americans are increasingly poisoned by the synthetic opiate fentanyl, even as fewer teens use drugs | BBC, UK
China bans fruity vapes – but not their export to the UK
Popular disposable brand will still be able to sell products in Britain, despite being accused of flouting advertising regulations | Guardian, UK
‘This can be done right’: how Colorado sparked a decade of marijuana reform
Not only did it create a booming avenue of tourism for Denver, but it caused a domino effect, leading to 19 states and DC legalizing recreational marijuana | Guardian, UK
New York City’s First Cannabis Boss Wants to Combat ‘Cannaphobia’
[Possible paywall] Dasheeda Dawson, a native New Yorker, returns home to direct the effort to build cannabis businesses and to absorb the illegal market into the new legitimate one | NYTimes, USA
As drug deaths surge, one answer might be helping people get high more safely
Ontario — On a weekday afternoon, Max — who didn't want his last name used — sat on a plastic chair in a private clinic in downtown Ottawa waiting to get a supply of the drug he uses to get high | NEPM, USA
Uber Eats to process cannabis deliveries in Toronto
The food delivery platform owned by U.S. tech giant Uber Technologies Inc. announced a partnership with online marijuana marketplace Leafly on Sunday that will see it process pot orders for retailers Hidden Leaf Cannabis, Minerva Cannabis and Shivaa’s Rose | Toronto Sun, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
Summary of the Cranstoun Response to ‘Swift, Certain, Tough: New Consequences for Drug Possession’
The deadline to submit evidence to the Home Office’s Consultation for the ‘Swift, Certain, Tough: New Consequences for Drug Possession’ white paper closed on Monday. Cranstoun submitted a host of advisory amendments and offered insights from our work on DIVERT in West Mercia and the West Midlands, with the respective Police & Crime Commissioners | Cranstoun, UK
The Observer view on the dangers of assuming vaping is a safe alternative to smoking
E-cigarettes can carry serious risks, especially to the young, says the World Health Organization. We need to tighten up the regulations on their use | Guardian opinion, UK
Why what happens after rehab is vital
Recovery journeys are rarely linear, often bumpy and often happen over many years. Treatment may or may not be part of the process. People may need several different treatment episodes over time, often re-presenting with different needs and goals | Recovery Review blog, UK
The FUNDAMENTAL contradiction at the heart of US Drug Policy
Published in the International Journal of Drug Policy this month, major new survey results from over 180 psychiatrists across the United States have revealed a significant and concerning inconsistency between current drug schedules and what health professionals deem safe and therapeutically beneficial | Volteface, UK
Why America’s cannabis experiment failed
Once cannabis legalisation in the US started being taken seriously a decade ago, the majority of liberal Americans supported it. It just seemed like common sense. No longer would pot users have to rely on street dealers, so criminal organisations would wither away | Spectator, UK
Cannabis: Demon Drug or Miracle Medicinal Plant, the Dilemma of Binary Thinking
People really do tend to see things all one way or all another way. In psychology, this is also known as splitting – a defensive mechanism in which we tend to see things in all or nothing terms, often in contradictory ways | Recovery Review blog, USA
After four years of legal cannabis, provinces should review their policies
Oct. 17 marks the fourth anniversary of Canada’s recreational cannabis legalization. When The Cannabis Act was passed in 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize the sale, possession and non-medical use of cannabis by adults | Conversation, Canada