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Daily news - 6th April 2023 |
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UK news
Launch of BuddyUp Pilot
A new app which will provide support to people using drugs alone will begin its pilot in Worcestershire, Sutton and Sandwell on Tuesday 11th April 2023. ‘BuddyUp’ will connect someone using drugs to a Cranstoun member of staff who will be trained in responding to overdoses and will be able to send emergency support should the person become unresponsive | Cranstoun, UK
Sainsbury’s launches disposable vapes review which could see them put behind counters like cigarettes
Supermarket giant looking at change in policy to put single-use vapes out of reach - but faces calls to go further and ban them completely | Daily Record, UK
The acute effects of cannabis with Will Lawn - audio
Rob talks to Dr Will Lawn about his research into the acute effects of cannabis on young people and adults. Will talks about setting up a study looking at young people and adults’ experiences of using cannabis with different levels of cannabidiol. He talks about the challenges of blinding participants to different types of cannabis; about how to manage the placebo effect when participants can become quickly aware of whether they have or have not had cannabis and the challenges of running a trial involving a controlled drug | SSA, UK
'It’s Ridiculously Prevalent': British Football Is Having a Strange Love Affair With Snus
In the 1970s and 1980s football players were known for their love of alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine. Now the drug of choice appears to be a tobacco product called “snus” | VICE, UK
Psychedelics and Consciousness - Drug Science Students
Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:00 - 16:30 BST. Join us for an enlightening and thought-provoking event as we explore the fascinating topic of psychedelics and consciousness | Drug Science, UK
UK’s first women-only residential treatment for gamblers offers hope
"I remember just getting scratch-cards, winning, losing, opening more and more accounts online - and before I knew it, I was a gambling addict," says 28-year-old Rebecca, whose gambling began when she was struggling with post-natal depression | BBC, UK
Gordon Ramsay says he gets ‘incredibly upset’ when people suggest he’s on cocaine: ‘That’s just passion’
Gordon Ramsay says he gets particularly upset when people suggest he uses cocaine due to his strict anti-drugs stance | Independent, UK
Canadian jailed over £300,000 Aberdeen Airport drugs haul
A Canadian caught with almost £300,000 of cannabis after landing at Aberdeen Airport has been jailed for two years and eight months | BBC, UK
Cheshunt railway tracks Land Rover driver jailed for 10 years
Kieron Francis, 36, drove the Land Rover Discovery through a level crossing and on to tracks at Cheshunt railway station in Hertfordshire on 15 July 2021 | BBC, UK
International news
Prince Harry was 'truthful' about drug history on US visa application
Prince Harry did disclose his drug history when applying for US visa, sources close to the prince have said amid controversy | LBC News, UK
Has Scotland made any progress in the struggle against overdose deaths? An Interview with Angela Constance
Scotland retains the unwanted title of “Europe’s drug death capital”. How does the Scottish government tackle the problem? We interviewed Angela Constance, the former Minister for Drug Policy of Scotland, at the 63rd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna in March | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Implementation Facilitation to Promote Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder
In this nonrandomized hybrid type 3 effectiveness implementation trial conducted in 4 urban, academic EDs comparing 394 patients enrolled during a baseline evaluation period after grand rounds and 362 patients enrolled during an IF evaluation period, rates of ED-initiated buprenorphine and engagement in OUD treatment at 30 days were higher during the IF period | JAMA Network Open, USA
The Lonely Work of HIV Harm Reduction in Prison
Many people living with HIV who pass through Washington Corrections Center (WCC) tell me their status, because I’m known as the guy to ask: How do I get through my prison sentence with HIV? I answer them as best I can, while wishing there was someone I could ask the same thing | Filter Magazine, USA
Trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets, February 2022 – January 2023
Drug Trends has identified, crawled (or ‘scraped’), extracted, categorised and analysed drug listings on cryptomarkets on a regular basis since 1st February 2014. This bulletin series reports on trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets over a 12-month period (a new bulletin is released typically every 4 months) | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Learn about The Forward Trust’s Reach Out Online Chat
Reach Out is The Forward Trust’s online web-chat service, offering free, confidential support to anyone aged 16 and above who may feel isolated or overwhelmed by struggles with addiction, mental health and/or other challenges | Forward Trust blog, UK
Prohibition is not drug control
At the end of March 2023 the killer of a little girl in Liverpool, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, was sentenced for her murder. This was an horrific case of a drug gang gun fight which ended in the death of this innocent little girl. Obviously our sympathies are with the family, that surely doesn’t need saying | UKCIA blog, UK
‘Drinking isn’t an option, it’s more of a requirement’: the reasons for high alcohol consumption among some student athletes
Binge drinking is commonplace in university sport. Students who play sport drink more heavily and frequently than other students. Research that surveyed students in England found that 62% of student sportspeople reported drinking at least twice per week, compared with 43% of those who didn’t play sport | Conversation, UK
Glasgow City call time on alcohol sponsorship
In this blog, Laura Montgomery discusses the reasons why Glasgow City FC are calling for an end to alcohol sports sponsorship | SHAAP blog, UK
Everyone is NOT doing it: how schools and parents should talk about vaping
We work at Griffith University’s Blurred Minds initiative. The program uses games to educate Australian high school students about alcohol, drugs and vaping. As part of our research, schools frequently tell us they do not have the tools and strategies to deal with the vaping crisis. In previous years, schools were most likely to seek our help for alcohol or cannabis. Now, it is for vaping | Conversation, Australia