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Daily news - 25th April 2023 |
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UK news
SNP warned US opioid epidemic 'pales in comparison' to Scotland's drug deaths crisis
A campaigner and university lecturer said he has serious doubts about the SNP's commitment to addressing the scandal and said the Nats will have to take a big hit if they are to support the Scottish Conservatives' Right to Recovery Bill | Scottish Daily Express, UK
Humza Yousaf to urge PM to ‘bring fairness back to the treatment of whiskey’
A liquor tax freeze is due to end on August 1, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed earlier this year, when the amount Scotch buyers must pay to the Treasury will rise 10.1% in line with inflation | UK Daily News, UK
Porthmadog: Ice cream kiosk gets permission to sell alcohol
Visitors to a seaside ice cream kiosk can now pair vino with their vanilla cone after it was granted a licence to sell alcohol | BBC, UK
Alcohol and drug commissioning quality standard: partnership and governance
Tue, 16 May 2023 14:00 - 16:00 BST. Following the publication in August 2022 of the Commissioning Quality Standard, and the first webinar OHID delivered in December 2022, we are pleased to invite you to register for the first of four webinars on the CQS strands, starting with partnerships and governance. In partnership with members of the English Substance Use Commissioning Group, we are developing a programme of support to help improve understanding and practical application of the four strands of the Commissioning Quality Standard | DHSC, UK
A New Dawn For Drugs Policy
Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:00 - 20:30 BST. For our second national event of 2023, we are delighted to welcome speakers on Scotland's changing approach to drugs | Common Weal, UK
Monmouthshire: Drugs gangs target children of teachers and GPs
Gangs are targeting the children of teachers, nurses and GPs to run drugs into rural areas, a council has been told | BBC, UK
Lamb and £10,000 of drugs found in car during police search
A lamb has been found in a car along with an estimated £10,000 of class A drugs on the M74 motorway | BBC, UK
Police seize cannabis plants worth £400,000 in Dewsbury raid
Cannabis plants worth more than £400,000 have been seized by police in a raid on a drugs factory in Dewsbury | BBC, UK
International news
Tangaraju Suppiah: Singapore to execute man over cannabis charge
Singapore is set to hang a man for trafficking cannabis, in the city-state's latest controversial execution | BBC, UK
Mexican navy seizes tequila bottles containing nearly 10 tons of liquid meth
Intercepted over the weekend, the 11,520 bottles were bound for export before sniffer dogs alerted the authorities to the liquid | Guardian, UK
Reporting about alcohol: a guide for journalists
This guide aims to support understanding and reporting on the harm to individuals, families and societies caused by alcohol consumption. Media reporting on alcohol can help people to understand the unacceptably high burden alcohol has on health and societies, as well as the root causes of the problem and how it can be largely prevented. This guide presents ways for journalists to cover and think about alcohol consumption and its harms more broadly, as well as the proven solutions to this problem | WHO, Switzerland
COPOLAD III: EMCDDA delivers training in Chile with Latin American and Caribbean Drug Observatories
Increasing knowledge on early-warning systems and complementary data-collection methods will be among the aims of a training event being held this week in Santiago de Chile (25–27 April 2023) | EMCDDA, Portugal
Living Alone and Drug Overdose Deaths in the US
The increase in US drug overdose deaths has spurred interest in identifying high-risk populations. Being alone while using drugs poses added risks because it decreases opportunities for others to intervene. One study reported that 69% of overdose deaths occurred among people using drugs while alone. Living alone might be associated with increased fatal drug overdose risk. In this nationally representative cohort study, we compared overdose death risks among adults who were living alone or with others | JAMA Psychiatry, USA
Cannabis users with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia more likely to experience psychotic symptoms
A study published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin highlights that genetic risk factors for schizophrenia can increase the possibility of experiencing cannabis-related subclinical psychotic symptoms in regular cannabis users | Medical Xpress, USA
Pour One Out
The boozy story of how we decided alcohol was a health boon in the ’90s—and how it all fell apart | Slate, USA
Black Smokers at Center of New York Fight to Ban Menthol Cigarettes
[Possible paywall] A proposal to make New York the third state to ban menthol cigarettes has created a furious and expensive lobbying war, and has divided Black leaders | NYTimes, USA
Will Thailand Soon Overturn One of the World’s Harshest Vape Bans?
Thailand’s general elections on May 14 might just bring about the end of the country’s draconian vape policies. Merely possessing a nicotine vape can currently get your item confiscated, land you with a big fine or even send you to prison for up to five years. Severe penalties and corrupt enforcement have seen Thailand branded the world’s worst country to be a person who vapes. But Thai tobacco harm reduction activists are hopeful that things will soon change | Filter Magazine, USA
Fentanyl’s butterfly effect: End of heroin boom leaves Mexican poppy farmers high and dry
Photographer César Rodríguez shines a light on the effect of market changes in the demand for illegal drugs on communities that survived by cultivating in the mountains of Guerrero | El Pais, Mexico
Indigenous People Bear the Brunt of the Toxic Drug Crisis
The B.C. First Nations Health Authority opened its gathering to present a grim report on toxic drug toxic deaths in 2022 with a song, a prayer of hope and unity for the families and friends affected by toxic drugs | The Tyee, Canada
Not 1 person has died at Hamilton YWCA's unique safer use drug space since it opened a year ago
The supervised overnight drop-in for women to use illicit substances is the only one in Hamilton | CBC News, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
Rise In Seizures Of Cocaine And Ketamine
Last week the Home Office published statistics on the drug seizures made by the police and Border Force in the financial year 2021/22. While the total number of seizures were down 14% on the previous year the quantities of cocaine, cannabis & ketamine seized all rose considerably | Russell Webster, UK
Thailand: the first country in asia to legalise cannabis
Hannah Barnett breaks down the situation in Thailand since the June 2022 announcement that the country would legalise cannabis | Volteface, UK
The Impacts of Drinking: Quantity Versus Frequency by Age of Drinker
After screening for harmful alcohol use, researchers in a 2022 study examined differences based on age – with some interesting results | Recovery Review blog, USA
Psychedelics may better treat depression and anxiety symptoms than prescription antidepressants for patients with advanced cancer
In people with advanced cancer, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA may significantly reduce the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms | Conversation, USA
Another Voice: Harm reduction programs and overdose prevention centers save lives
For the majority of my life, from Buffalo to Brooklyn, I’ve been walking over dead bodies. Every day, 17 New Yorkers are lost to the same crisis: preventable overdose. Each person we lose has their own story, their own loved ones and their own past. But until New York State takes action to combat these preventable deaths, I fear they will all just become more statistics | Buffalo News, USA
In defence of drug dealers’ humanity
I’m going to state a basic fact that will make some people very angry: Drug dealers are human beings | Globe and Mail opinion, Canada
Vaping now in primary schools
Vaping in Australian schools is becoming widespread, with some students taking up e-cigarettes because they are seeing their peers vape | MJA Insight, Australia