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Daily news - 7th August 2023

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UK news

Drugs contaminated with synthetic opioids: advice on staying safe

New synthetic opioids have arrived in the UK in the last two years, some are called "nitazenes". They have recently been found mixed with heroin, with some being sold as illicit oxycodone pills or even Xanax pills and powders | Change Grow Live, UK

Evaluation of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts

The objective of this impact evaluation was to understand the effect of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC) proceedings on reunification for children and families at the end of care proceedings compared to standard care proceedings. The evaluation also aimed to test if parents who had been through the FDAC process as opposed to standard care proceedings were more likely to stop misusing substances, and also investigated if there were any differences in the rate of contested final hearings or the use of expert witnesses in proceedings | Foundation, UK

Study supports government initiative to give free vapes to disadvantaged people who want to quit smoking

A government scheme to give out free vapes to smokers appeals to most but not all, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) | Medical Xpress, UK

ADHD sufferers are self-medicating with cannabis because of NHS delays, charity warns

The chief executive of charity ADHD UK said people sometimes have to wait up to five years for an appointment, yet some symptoms are eased by cannabis use | Sky News, UK

Alcohol-free pub and venue opens in Weymouth

Dry Dock in Weymouth was the idea of Sam Watson, a recovering alcoholic, who found there was nowhere open in the evenings that did not serve alcohol | BBC, UK

Drone drops and fentanyl: Behind the ‘crisis’ that has caused five deaths at a UK prison

Overdoses have become an ‘everyday event’ at HMP The Mount, as a dangerous version of spice laced with the opioid fentanyl spreads among the prisoners | Metro, UK

Met Police: Cdr Julian Bennett accused of cover-up over drugs test

A senior Met Police officer accused of smoking cannabis daily tried to stage a "cover-up" after refusing to take a drugs test, a barrister representing the force has told a tribunal | BBC, UK

Recovery Games Registrations

Saturday 16th September, Doncaster. The Recovery Games X – Is planning on being the biggest and most fun packed this year – previously seeing over 1000 people fomr all walks of Recovery come and participate, over 25 teams have now registered to take part – To find out more or register a team please click here. With just under a month left to register it promising to be an amazing event for the whole community | Ads-uk, UK

UK Recovery Walk - Hull

Saturday 23rd September, Hull. The 2023 FAVOR UK Recovery Walk brings together individuals, families, and communities to spread awareness that Recovery is Real | FAVOR, UK

International news

Cocaine Britain — and a battle of wits between police and traffickers

[Free one month subscription required to read] The UK is now Europe’s biggest consumer of a South American export, grown for a new breed of kingpin. The drug has been linked to a surge in domestic violence and middle-class users are being warned it’s not a victimless crime | Times, UK

Vicarious trauma among addiction nurses

Nicki Annunziata talks to the SSA about her research into how addiction nurses experience trauma in their jobs, and what resilience looks like in a role that exposes you to ‘vicarious trauma’. | SSA, UK

Snus on the loose: How Swedish chewing tobacco keeps dividing Brussels

Lawmakers can’t agree whether snus is a potent alternative to cigarettes or a back door for Big Tobacco | Politico, UK

Daylight shootings and a vast ‘labour force of organised crime’: the challenge of ending Sydney’s gangland war

A series of killings and gun violence have rocked a city with an already bloody criminal history | Guardian, UK

Children and families affected by parental drug use

Wed, Aug 23, 2023 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM BST. ISSUP would like to invite you to attend their webinar on Children and families affected by parental drug use | ISSUP, UK

Alcohol-related liver disease rises across most counties

Alcohol-related liver disease has increased across the majority of counties in Ireland over the last five years, according to a new report (PDF). Hospital data shows Dublin, Cork, and Galway account for the greatest number of cases, with hospitalisations jumping by 16% in Cork | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Irish suffer higher rates of harm from others' drinking

A large population sample of Irish men and women shows that one in eight of those surveyed have experienced harm from the drinking of a person known to them | Irish Examiner, Ireland

'The baggies don't have a little health warning': Doctor warns coke strokes are on the rise

Cases of cocaine-induced strokes are on the rise as the prevalence of the drug continues to increase, the clinical lead of the Irish National Audit of Stroke has warned | Journal, Ireland

Cocaine in Ireland: How does it get here and what is being done to stop the supply?

Garda and Revenue customs officials are engaged in a constant intelligence war against drug cartels that are using new shipping routes set up since Brexit to traffic cocaine | Irish Times, Ireland

Three arrested in Cork after €4.2 million of cocaine seized

Two men in their 20s and one man in his 30s were arrested when Gardaí seized 60 kilogrammes of cocaine | Journal, Ireland

Older people and drugs: health and social responses

Updated. This miniguide is one of a larger set, which together comprise Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide. It provides an overview of the most important aspects to consider when planning or delivering health and social responses for older people using drugs, and reviews the availability and effectiveness of the responses. It also considers implications for policy and practice | EMCDDA, Portugal

FDA approves second OTC naloxone spray for suspected opioid overdose

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved RiVive, an over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose | Medical Xpress, USA

[Open access] This study aimed to examine trends and sociodemographic differences in the prevalence and treatment use of SUDs among US young adults aged 18 to 25 in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2011–2019. Results revealed an alarming level of unmet treatment need and significant disparities in treatment use among young adults with SUDs. To reduce barriers to treatment utilization, more coordinated efforts that leverage policy and structural changes alongside innovations to engage young adults with SUD care are needed | Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, USA

Association of Pregnancy-Specific Alcohol Policies With Infant Morbidities and Maltreatment

In this population-level cohort study of 1 432 979 birthing person–infant pairs in the US, most state-level pregnancy-specific alcohol policies were not associated with decreased odds of infant maltreatment or morbidities. The few policies that were associated with decreased odds of maltreatment or morbidities were associated with an increase in the odds of another adverse outcome | JAMA Network Open, USA

Injection Drug Use Frequency Before and After Take-Home Naloxone Training

Findings of this study suggest that THN training was not associated with increased injecting frequency and should not be withheld due to concerns about overdose risk compensation and that advocacy for widespread availability and uptake of THN is needed to address unprecedented opioid-associated mortality | JAMA Network Open, USA

Pitfalls and solutions for using ai to predict opioid use disorder

As scientists and the health care community search for effective ways to mitigate the opioid epidemic, rapid advances in machine learning are promising | FAU, USA

Exploring what happens in the brain under the influence of psychedelics, while meditating and during hypnosis

Changes in a person's "normal" mental state after taking drugs, while meditating, during hypnosis or due to specific medical conditions have been a topic of study for several years now. Some of these mental changes, which are known as altered states of consciousness, have been found to have potentially beneficial effects, reducing stress and fostering greater well-being | Medical Xpress, USA

The Land Beyond the Drug War

Every state in America has a fentanyl problem, but only Oregon has decriminalized drugs and sent hundreds of millions in legal-weed tax dollars to organizations that are trying to heal people. In Portland and a rural county nearby, there is both chaos and hope | Esquire, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Family Drug & Alcohol Courts Proven To Be Effective

Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children & Families, has published a new evaluation of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC) today. This includes both an outcome evaluation and a process evaluation. Alongside this, they have also published a policy and practice implications paper | Russell Webster, UK

Why are the conservatives ‘cracking down’ on drugs

Over the last few months, there’s been a push from the government to ‘crack down’ on antisocial behaviour and stamp out illegal drugs in communities. Why are the conservatives cracking down and what does this indicate about drug policy in the UK at the moment? | Volteface, UK

Minding the drink: How one man's 'mindful' drinking led him to give up alcohol completely

Six months ago mindfulness teacher and former member of Cork Local Drugs and Alcohol Taskforce Gerry Raftery, tried to practice drinking mindfully. He ended up kicking the drink altogether | Irish Examiner opinion, Ireland

South Africa’s new vaping tax won’t deter young smokers

Throughout the world, governments impose excise taxes on products like alcohol and tobacco to reduce their demand. The South African government has implemented a tax on vaping products for the same reason. Reducing demand is necessary as there is growing evidence that vaping products are not harmless | Conversation, South Africa

A recent ecological, secondary analysis published in the Journal of Public Economics by Analisa Packham, an economist at Vanderbilt University, uses classic econometric approaches to study the impact of SSPs on HIV and overdoses in the United States (Packham, 2022). Dr. Packham's analysis found that counties had lower levels of HIV and higher levels of overdose mortality after an SSP opened compared to counties that did not have an SSP. We are concerned that this study is plagued by major limitations that cannot be ignored | IJDP viewpoint, USA

Poor policy on tobacco and vaping supports organised crime

Flawed government policies on tobacco and vaping have been major drivers of organised crime in Australia. High tobacco taxes and harsh restrictions on vaping have created rampant black markets run by criminal gangs, causing widespread harm and public concern | Colin Mendelsohn, Australia

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