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Daily news - 28th October 2022 |
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UK news
Gloucestershire teacher barred from profession over drug taking
A teacher has been banned from the profession after being found under the influence of cocaine while on the job | BBC, UK
The Importance of Living Experience Networks: Jason Wallace - IOAD 2022 Driving Change Conference - video
This conference explored policy and practice innovation and featured discussions around different aspects of drug death prevention including international perspectives, emergency service response and the important role of living experience perspectives | SDF, UK
Magic mushroom grower who 'sold to friends' spared prison
The 36-year-old, caught with nearly 300 grams of mushrooms, said they were to treat his addictions with some for sale | Liverpool Echo, UK
Naloxone, Ethypharm - The Hidden Lifesavers [Campaign wins Silver Positive Change award]
It’s a rare privilege to create advertising that erodes societal stigma and potentially saves lives. When given in time naloxone dramatically reverses opioid overdose, saving lives | effie, UK
A Celebration of Life 2022
Sat, 19 November 2022, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT. Bristol. A celebration of life - An event for the family and friends of those lost to drugs and alcohol | BDP, UK
The End of the Line?: A Coastal Communities Multi-Disadvantage Group
Tue, 15 November 2022, 12:30 – 15:30 GMT. A core group of MEAM and Fulfilling Lives Leads from coastal communities have been meeting to discuss how the lives of people with multiple disadvantage are further impacted by the interconnected and often overlooked issues their communities face. Often located at ‘the end of the line’, these communities share commonalities | MEAM, UK
Police drugs warning after grandmother charged
Detectives have warned families against helping drug-dealing relatives after a grandmother in her 70s was charged | BBC, UK
Three men plead guilty after police find Southampton cannabis factory
Three men have pleaded guilty to drug production after police found thousands of cannabis plants in a warehouse | BBC, UK
International news
Why are US cannabis growers losing profits? - BBC News - video
California was the first US state to legalise medical marijuana in 1996, and recreational use has been legal since 2016. It is home to the so-called "green rush" of cannabis production. The state's law, however, is full of regulatory loopholes, which means the legality of marijuana cultivation varies across the state. So while it's legal to use cannabis in the state, nearly two-thirds of California cities have banned marijuana businesses, with others making it extremely difficult to obtain permits | BBC, UK
Mothers experiences of caregiving for their adult children with substance use disorder by Dr Oona St-Amant, Associate Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
Tuesday 8th November 2022, 15:00 UK time (10:00 am Toronto time). This webinar will examine mothers’ experiences of caring for adult children with substance use disorder (SUD). Using a critical lens, the presenter will discuss problematic historical representations of mothers from the literature that have informed medical discourse today. Dr St-Amant will also delve into what is known from existing literature about family members’ role in caring for persons with SUD. Finally, Dr St-Amant will offer family-centered strategies towards systemic change | AFI Net, UK
New Irish study on stroke risk reveals difference between beer and wine drinkers
High and moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increased odds of stroke, a new global study, led by the University of Galway has revealed | Independent, Ireland
Gardaí concerned 6am nightclub closing will put further pressure on force
A rise in public order offences could result, sergeants and inspectors’ representatives warned | Irish Times, Ireland
Extending drinking time criticised – ‘I don’t see any benefit to this’
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) member Paddy Creedon criticised Justice Minister Helen McEntee’s efforts to seek longer opening hours for nightclubs and pubs | Independent, Ireland
Vodka, Benzodiazepines & Co: A Dangerous Mix for Young People
At least 33 young people have died from polydrug use in Switzerland since 2018. Polydrug use refers to taking two or more psychoactive substances at the same time. The young adults are often unaware of the associated risks and rarely use the available services to minimize the risks, the initial results of a study by the Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (IGSF) and the University of Zurich have shown | University of Zurich, Switzerland
New Drug Trends Webinar – Reflections: Processes and Progress of Civil Society Monitoring of New Drugs Trends - video
On the 12th October, Rafaela Rigoni [CEHRN] hosted a webinar on the civil society monitoring of new drug trends, alongside Lies Gremeaux [Sciensano] | Laura Smit Rigter [DIMS – Trimbos-instituut], Mireia Ventura [Energy Control – ABD], Tony Duffin [Ana Liffey], & Daan van der Gouwe [Trimbos-instituut] | CEHRN, The Netherlands
Trends in mortality from alcohol, opioid, and combined alcohol and opioid poisonings by sex, educational attainment, and race and ethnicity for the United States 2000–2019
The ongoing opioid epidemic and increases in alcohol-related mortality are key public health concerns in the USA, with well-documented inequalities in the degree to which groups with low and high education are affected. This study aimed to quantify disparities over time between educational and racial and ethnic groups in sex-specific mortality rates for opioid, alcohol, and combined alcohol and opioid poisonings in the USA | BMC Medicine, USA
ToxIC Fentalog Study Group - Quarterly NPS Report: Q3 2022
Fentanyl overwhelming remains the most commonly detected opioid nationally. Numerous NPS were detected, including fluorofentanyl, bromazolam, clonazolam, various synthetic cannabinoids, and more | CFSRE / NPS Discovery, USA
Studies find cardiovascular effects of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to be strikingly similar
Two related studies, one in humans and the other in rats, found that the cardiovascular effects of cigarettes and e-cigarettes are strikingly similar, and these harmful effects on blood vessel function are likely caused by airway irritation due to inhalation of a foreign substance, rather than a specific component of the cigarette smoke or e-cigarette vapor... | News Medical, USA
Genome-Wide Investigation of Maximum Habitual Alcohol Intake in US Veterans in Relation to Alcohol Consumption Traits and Alcohol Use Disorder
This genetic association study of MaxAlc in 247 455 European- and African-ancestry individuals identified 15 genome-wide significant loci, including multiple novel associations. MaxAlc was genetically correlated with measures of alcohol-related problems, demonstrated significantly different correlations with psychiatric traits compared with other alcohol consumption traits, and loaded on a factor with alcohol problem traits, while alcohol consumption measures loaded on a separate factor | JAMA Network Open, USA
After rehab for opioids, nearly half of Medicaid beneficiaries do not receive follow-up care
Despite strong evidence for the importance of outpatient care after inpatient residential treatment for opioid use disorder, nearly half of Medicaid beneficiaries are not receiving follow-up care or medication-assisted treatment within a month of discharge, according to a new analysis led by University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health scientists | Medical Xpress, USA
Warning to vape importers, manufacturers over nicotine level confusion
Authorities have requested importers and manufacturers of vape products to review the nicotine concentrations, with the potential for products to be withdrawn if they exceeded limits | New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Minimum pricing – what can we say so far?
Wulf Livingston from Wrexham Glyndŵr University looks at what research into minimum unit pricing (MUP) can tell us so far | Alcohol Change UK, UK
Cannabis use in college: genetic predispositions less influential than social environment
Cannabis is a popular drug: over 20% of students in the USA report using cannabis (Schulenberg et al., 2019), despite negative intrapersonal outcomes (Caldeira et al., 2012; Dager et al., 2018; Arria et al., 2015). Twin studies estimate that almost half of the risk* of cannabis initiation is due to genetics (Verweij et al., 2010), suggesting the environment is equally responsible | Mental Elf blog, UK
An Exploration of Psychedelics and Creativity
At the edge of central London, over 300 people gathered in an Art Deco cinema eager to listen and discuss cutting-edge studies on psychedelics and creativity. This wonderful educational opportunity was made possible through the collaboration of Drug Science and Seed Talks; two organisations with the goal of helping people to learn something new | Drug Science, UK
Number of Incarcerated Women Worldwide Rises by 60% Since 2000
The World Female Imprisonment List was published earlier this month by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck University (London), providing a snapshot of the global female prison populations, as well as an analysis of trends into some insights into the causes for their incarceration | Talking Drugs, UK
The Birthing of the Modern Recovery Movement & Marty Mann Recovery History Interview with Bev Haberle
I have been thinking for some time about the linkages across recovery history. We don’t always do the best job at recording and teaching our own history. It is vital to the future that we understand our own past and how it has shaped our current environment | Recovery Review blog, USA
‘I take it with a pinch of salt’: why women question health warnings linking alcohol with breast cancer
Up to one in ten cases of breast cancer in Australia is linked to drinking alcohol. Midlife women are already at increased risk for breast cancer because of their age, and tend to drink more than younger women. That means this group is at even more risk for breast cancer | Conversation, Australia