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Daily news - 26th April 2023 |
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UK news
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report
The Drugs Team at Public Health Scotland (PHS) has compiled this report of drug-related indicators in order to inform action to prevent drug harms and deaths. The objectives of this report are to: 1) monitor changes in drug trends, harms and use of services to inform immediate and short-term actions that reduce drug harms. 2)detect potential clusters of harms and recommend appropriate responses | Public Health Scotland, UK
Holding our own: a guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence
Authored by nine organisations working across human rights, youth services, racial justice, mental health and policing, ‘Holding Our Own: A guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence (PDF)’ provides a vital blueprint for how we can undo the harm currently being done to our communities, and instead build a society where all children are given the chance to thrive | Liberty, UK
SWF and SHAAP issue new alcohol and sport guidance
Scotland’s elite youth players in women’s football are being reminded about the adverse impact of alcohol on their health and ability to compete at the highest level | She Kicks, UK
Labour hardens policy on spiking drinks to boost ‘tough on crime’ credentials
Nearly 5,000 cases of needle and drink-spiking incidents were reported to police in England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2022, compared with 1,903 crimes that could be linked to spiking in 2019. But the number of proven cases remains low. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine told the inquiry: “The academic literature that exists on spiking in the UK concludes that the majority of people who present to EDs with concerns about spiking usually do not have illicit drugs in their blood or urine samples.” | Guardian, UK
Hallucinogens
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for possession of (a) psilocybin, (b) psilocin and (c) magic mushrooms in each of the last five years | They work for you, UK
Stigma - podcast
Jason and Julie are again joined by our amazing cast of guests for series two, who discuss stigma surrounding a past that includes offending and/or addiction. From dating to job applications and insurance, this episode shines a light on the struggles that societal stigma creates. It also makes the point that we are all more than just one thing, so, as Julie puts it at the close of the episode, don’t turn your back on someone just because they’ve fallen | More Than My Past, UK
Liverpool and Cornwall county lines drug gang 'Scouse Mick' jailed
The men, operating under the name "Scouse Mick", were operating a county lines drug-dealing gang. The gang brought drugs from Liverpool to Cornwall by car and used the Royal Mail to post the money back to the city | BBC, UK
International news
Tangaraju Suppiah: Singapore executes man for supplying cannabis
Singapore has executed a man for conspiring to traffic cannabis despite pleas for clemency from his family, activists and the United Nations | BBC, UK
Spanish police speed after suspected drug traffickers by boat off Mallorca - video
Video captured from a helicopter shows police chasing a small boat carrying suspected drug traffickers heading towards a beach in Mallorca | BBC, UK
Phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal in the context of the opioid epidemic: a neglected caveat
[Open access] Benzodiazepines are the standard of care for treating alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), but there is growing interest in the United States in re-utilizing the long-acting barbiturate, phenobarbital (PB) as an adjunctive or primary medication in severe cases | Addiction, USA
A new treatment for those struggling with substance misuse? Better sleep
In a new study, an assistant professor in The University of Texas at Arlington's School of Social Work reports that behavioral health practitioners should more carefully consider sleep health when treating clients struggling with substance misuse | Medical Xpress, USA
Treatment for opioid addiction lags despite policies designed to increase it, say researchers
Treating opioid addiction should be much easier now than it was a few years ago, thanks to pandemic-era rule changes that aim to improve access to buprenorphine, a medicine proven to help in recovery | Medical Xpress, USA
More sanctions for deadly fentanyl if bill becomes law
Over the past year, the U.S. Treasury Department has used its sanctions powers to impose wide-ranging financial penalties on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine—turning Russia into the most sanctioned country in the world | Medical Xpress, USA
A closer look at the neurobiology of psychedelic experiences
Nitrous oxide, colloquially known as laughing gas, has been used clinically as an anesthetic to dull pain since the 19th century. However, in smaller amounts, it can induce mind-altered experiences, including feelings of bliss, spirituality, and the feeling of being outside of one's body—much like those induced by the psychedelic substances LSD and ketamine | Medical Xpress, USA
Belladonna and Bad Actors: The Telling History of Addiction Treatment
The roots of today’s stigmatization of people who use drugs—and of paternalistic, exploitative, often cruel approaches to what we now call substance use disorder—run through the history of addiction treatment in the United States | Filter Magazine, USA
CO Safe Consumption Site Battle Wages in Senate, as Deadline Nears
In 2018, the Denver City Council approved a pilot program that would authorize a safe consumption site (SCS)—if the Colorado General Assembly authorized SCS statewide. More than four years and 1,600 preventable Denver overdose deaths later, a bill that could make that possible is fighting its way through the legislature | Filter Magazine, USA
Study: French Drug Injection Rooms Cut ER Visits And Crime
A French study on drug consumption rooms (DCRs) in Paris and Strasbourg – where people inject drugs safely – shows less overdoses, shared needles, abscesses, ER visits, public drug use, and crime, compared to cities without DCRs | CodeBlue, Australia
Report: What we found at drug checking in 2022
Drug checking is a free and legal process that helps people find out what’s really in their drugs, so they can make informed decisions about if, when and how they take those drugs. 2022 was our first full year as a licensed drug checking provider. We ran 73 clinics and checked 1720 samples | NZ Drug Foundation, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Trip Report 25/04/2023
Through the work of organisations such as WEDINOS, The Loop, and SaferParty, we know a little more about the drugs in circulation. The report provided below is a summary of their findings over the last few weeks | The Trip report, UK
Even Queensland has realised the war on drugs is a failure. When will NSW catch on?
It bewilders this old stoner’s brain to think the sunshine state has embraced pragmatic, evidence-based drug reform before NSW | Guardian, UK
UK plan to give vape kits to help smokers quit means swapping one health risk with another
The UK government set out ambitious plans in 2019 to make England smoke free by 2030. To achieve this, they recently announced plans to offer free vape starter kits to one million smokers in a bid to help them quit | Conversation, Ireland
With Teen Fentanyl Deaths on the Rise, We Need to Rethink Who Delivers Drug Prevention Programs | Opinion
This month, a tragic wave of teen fentanyl deaths prompted Texas lawmakers to propose mandatory fentanyl prevention and drug poisoning education in grades 6-12. Other states around the country are also struggling to confront skyrocketing rates of teen overdoses. As a researcher who has studied drug use for more than 15 years, I urge lawmakers and educators to consider not only what is being taught, but who is teaching it. With community trust in police at record lows, schools must reconsider whether police should be implementing their drug prevention programs | Newsweek opinion, USA
Why involuntary treatment for addiction is a dangerous idea
As the overdose crisis rages on and the pandemic-fatigued public runs low on empathy, there have been increasing calls for expanded involuntary commitment for people with substance use disorder | STAT News opinion, USA
Opinion: We should not be celebrating marijuana use
Last week on April 20, which has become a day of devotion for marijuana, millions of Americans celebrated recreational use of the drug. This is the exact opposite of what our country needs. Instead, as science uncovers more and more about the harms of cannabis, we need a sustained education campaign about its dangers | Washington Post opinion, USA
Pat Taylor: A Pioneering Leader in the New Recovery Advocacy Movement
One of the major accomplishments of the earliest stages of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement was the founding of Faces & Voices of Recovery in 2001. Pat Taylor was its first Campaign Coordinator, heading the organization from 2003-2014. One of my early memories of her is watching her facilitate meetings of the Association of Recovery Community Organizations at Faces & Voices of Recovery (ARCO) where much of the early national recovery community gathered and worked to move forward, together | Recovery Review blog, USA
“In the footsteps of the poppy”: a new virtual exhibition by the National Pharmaceutical Museum
The Netherlands' Nationaal Farmaceutisch Museum has launched their virtual exhibition on the history of opium and opiates curated by digital archivist Rimke van der Bij in partnership with experienced academics in the histories of drugs and pharmaceuticals, Toine Pieters and Stephen Snelders | Points blog, USA
Treatment for drug and alcohol misuse should involve families and communities
Alcohol and other drug treatment in Australia is generally only provided for individuals, often away from their families. Treatment can include withdrawal from the substance, counselling and residential rehabilitation. All these treatments work to improve health and wellbeing and reduce the harms from substances. But people’s families and communities can influence substance use and have the potential to aid the healing journey of people in treatment | Conversation, Australia