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Daily news - 22nd September 2022

UK news

Prison population: substance use and wider support needs

This study used a literature review, mapping exercise and interviews to assess the wider support needs of Scotland's prison population relating to substance use. The findings inform a range of recommendations, which are proposed to address these needs | Scottish Government, UK

Midlothian Library staff to be trained to use heroin antidote kits

Naloxone can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose giving victims valuable time for paramedics to reach them in an emergency and doses are already given to friends and family of known drug users at risk of an overdose | Edinburgh Live, UK

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to ensure age checks are being conducted on the sale of alcohol by (a) alcohol home delivery services and (b) other online retailers | They work for You, UK

Nitrous Oxide: Misuse

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) restricting or (b) banning the recreational use or sale of nitrous oxide | They work for You, UK

The BASW Alcohol and Other Drugs Special Interest Group is seeking your views

The AOD SIG is running a short survey to seek your views on how the group can better support your social work practice. Issues relating to alcohol and other drug use span all kinds of social work and the group is keen to hear from you to know how they can help support developing knowledge, practice and confidence when working these issues | Addiction Professionals, UK

New chair for the MEAM coalition

The Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) coalition has appointed Liv Corbishley as its new Chair | MEAM, UK

Cannabis sweets 'marketed at children' being widely sold on social media

"Edibles" are sold alongside heroin and cocaine online and the police say children are taking and selling these drugged sweets | Sky News, UK

Police arrest 22 people in Cornwall as part of drugs crackdown

Devon and Cornwall Police have arrested 22 people across Cornwall as part of an operation to tackle illegal drug activity | BBC, UK

Man jailed over Liverpool nursing home drugs factory

Mark Quinn was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow for his role in smuggling millions of pounds of amphetamine from the factory in Liverpool to Scotland | BBC, UK

Gordon Ramsay gin advert banned over health claims

[Possible paywall] Assertion about honeyberries breached rules, Advertising Standards Authority rules | Telegraph, UK

International news

Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2021

Harm Reduction International has monitored the use of the death penalty for drug offences worldwide since our first ground-breaking publication on this issue in 2007. This report, our eleventh on the subject, continues our work of providing regular updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international law | HRI, UK

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) are electronic databases that track the prescribing and dispensing of high-risk medicines such as opioids. They have the ability to provide clinicians with alerts, which identify medication-related risks, and are used to help inform decisions to supply. This study aimed to determine to what extent patient, pharmacist, and medication related characteristics and PDMP alerts influence decisions to dispense opioids and take other action | IJDP, UK

After years of delays, the NSW government’s imperfect drugs policy is at least a sign of progress

Evidence shows the ‘tough on crime’ tactic does not work. NSW has finally dipped its toe into taking a different approach | Guardian, UK

Implement pre-court diversion for drug users now, author of NSW ice inquiry urges

Prof Dan Howard says he’s ‘puzzled’ it took the government nearly three years to agree to such modest changes in policing | Guardian, UK

Medical cannabis use reduces sleep disturbances caused by PTSD

A new Journal of Anxiety Disorders study assesses the association between medical cannabis (MC) use and sleep in Israel using an electronic diary method between April 2020 and April 2021 | News Medical, USA

Looking at images of people smiling at you extends the antidepressant effects of ketamine

Simple computer-based neurocognitive training—using positive words and pictures designed to boost self-worth—prolongs the antidepressant effects of ketamine in people with treatment-resistant depression, University of Pittsburgh researchers report today in the American Journal of Psychiatry | Medical Xpress, USA

Colorado Will Vote On Legalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms In November

Voters in Colorado will have a say in the legalization of psychedelic drugs this November as an initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms and other naturally occurring psychedelics appears on the ballot for the general election | Forbes, USA

“Democracy Will Die” If We Don’t End Drug War, Colombian Pres. Tells UN

Colombia’s recently inaugurated president told members of the United Nations on September 20 that “democracy will die” if global powers don’t unite to end the drug war and pursue a different approach, with millions of lives on the line under the current regime | Filter Magazine, USA

After 21 years, Sydney’s supervised injecting centre model is hard to improve

Experts argue that the facility has reduced both short- and long-term harm | COSMOS, USA

New tools aim to improve care for people experiencing substance use stigma

Stigma and discrimination associated with substance use, known as substance use stigma, contribute directly to significant harms and barriers to care. Due to widespread negative attitudes towards substance use issues, people are often treated in disrespectful or discriminatory ways in health care settings | UBC, Canada

Disruption to Australian ecstasy market following COVID-19 restrictions, report finds

The latest Drug Trends report from UNSW’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre shows significant changes in perceived availability of all forms of ecstasy | NDARC, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Why do we need to rethink our attitudes to alcohol?

1 in 5 people in the UK are affected by their parent’s drinking. In this blog, Savannah describes her own experience growing up with a parent who drank too much, and why it is critical we challenge our language and attitudes around alcohol | IAS Blog, UK

Westminster Is Holding Scotland’s Drug Policy Hostage And It’s Killing People

Scotland’s drug death crisis needs a tailored solution | Novara Media, UK

Cranstoun Comment on Ending Rough Sleeping for Good Strategy

Cranstoun welcomes the Ending Rough Sleeping for Good update, which aims to deliver a key government manifesto pledge of ending rough sleeping. We welcome the cross-departmental attempt to ensure that everyone has the basic human right to not be rough sleeping, recognising the need to embrace a Whole System approach to a complex issue, with a number of intersecting areas of social justice policy | Cranstoun, UK

NIDA Releases Its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan

This week, NIDA released our strategic plan for FY 2022-2026. Strategic planning is a process all NIH Institutes perform every five years, to take stock of the current state of research and set priorities that are ambitious but achievable to advance an Institute’s particular mission | NIDA blog, USA

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