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Daily news - 9th August 2023

UK news

Concerns at rise in suspected drugs deaths in Birmingham

A charity says it's extremely worried about an increase in the number of suspected drug-related deaths in Birmingham in the past two months. More than 30 people died in the city in June and July and many deaths have been linked to a new synthetic drug, the BBC has learned | BBC, UK

Ambulance service responds to 55 overdoses in week as 'bad batch' of drugs circulates in Belfast

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service has responded to at least 55 calls relating to drug overdoses in the Belfast Trust area in one week | ITV, UK

[Open access] Take-home naloxone (THN) programmes have been associated with reductions in opioid-related mortality. In response to high rates of drug-related deaths in Scotland, the Scottish Government commissioned the ‘How to save a life’ (HTSAL) mass media campaign to: (1) increase awareness of drug-related deaths and how to respond to an overdose, and (2) increase the supply of THN. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the campaign on the supply of THN | IJDP, UK

[Open access] Take home naloxone (THN) programmes are effective at reducing opioid related mortality, but require high levels of distribution, including to the general public. Mass media campaigns can be effective in improving public understanding of a topic and encouraging behavior change. Whilst mass media campaigns focusing on naloxone have been developed internationally, there is a lack of research on their potential impact. We investigated the effects of components of a recent national mass media campaign (Scotland, UK) designed to improve public awareness of drug related deaths, and readiness to intervene | IJDP, UK

Evaluation of national overdose response campaign welcomed

An independent evaluation of last year’s ‘How to Save a Life’ mass media campaign shows it had a positive impact on public awareness and on the supply of naloxone. Kirsten Horsburgh, CEO of Scottish Drugs Forum welcomed the findings, “Of course we were pleased when the campaign won an advertising industry award but this evaluation shows the real value and impact of the campaign. The findings show the immediate positive impact of 27,000 naloxone kits distributed via community methods during the campaign | SDF, UK

Rough Treatment

Shayla Schlossenberg shares a case study demonstrating the effects of inflexible and ineffective treatment for benzos | DDN, UK

ACMD Membership

Details of the council's committees and the latest meeting minutes | ACMD, UK

Amanda Feilding: Let’s talk psychedelics- audio

Dua is joined by drug policy reformer and the woman the FT called the First Lady of LSD, Amanda Feilding, to talk the past, present, and potential future of psychedelics | BBC, UK

“My capacity to drink frightened me so much – I knew I had to stop”

My relationship with alcohol started when I was 14, or probably before. But my early to mid-teens was certainly when it became a regular feature in my life. The relationship has been a difficult one ever since | Stylist, UK

Police called to break-in discover cannabis factory

Police found a large cannabis factory in Nottinghamshire after being called to a break-in | BBC, UK

International news

Otoniel: Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga sentenced to 45 years

Úsuga, also known as Otoniel, was a notorious cocaine trafficker who was the leader of Colombia's most powerful gang for more than nine years | BBC, UK

Disparities in cannabis use and documentation in electronic health records among children and young adults

The legalizations of medical and recreational cannabis have generated a great deal of interest in studying the health impacts of cannabis products. Despite increases in cannabis use, its documentation during clinical visits is not yet mainstream. This lack of information hampers efforts to study cannabis’s effects on health outcomes. A clear and in-depth understanding of current trends in cannabis use documentation is necessary to develop proper guidelines to screen and document cannabis use. Here we have developed and used a natural language processing pipeline to evaluate the trends and disparities in cannabis documentation | Nature, USA

Study finds health care workers face increased risk for fatal drug overdoses

A study of health care workers (HCWs) found that registered nurses, social or behavioral health workers, and health care support workers were at increased risk for drug overdose death, suggesting the need to identify and intervene on those at high risk | Medical Xpress, USA

UK Councils Ramp Up Pressure to Ban Disposable Vapes

Councils in the United Kingdom have issued a joint call to ban single-use vapes, citing environmental and child safety concerns. It’s the latest big development in a heated national debate, targeting disposables in what’s seen as one of the world’s most vape-friendly countries | Filter Magazine, USA

Why Are Alcohol Use Disorder Meds Underprescribed in British Columbia?

Public health insurance in British Columbia covers some treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD), but not others. Medications (MAUD) like like naltrexone and acamprosate are considered first-line options, but as few as one in four people with moderate to severe AUD are accessing them | Filter Magazine, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Is a little bit of alcohol good for you?

The idea that life’s little pleasures – a glass of red wine, for example – might be good for us is seductive. Given that most public health advice is simultaneously common sense and mildly dispiriting – eat healthily, exercise, don’t smoke – the possibility that we don’t have to live like Spartans to live long and healthily lives is surely good news… But is that really the case? | IAS blog, UK

Drugs, Camera, Action! The Art of Making Drugs Look Real on TV

Scenes of drug taking and characters high on drugs are increasingly common in TV shows, movies, and computer games. This reflects the rising levels of illicit drug use in the real world, as well as the cultural dissolution of taboos about revealing the explicit details of activities like illicit drug use in dramatic entertainment formats | Talking Drugs, UK

A Security Guide to Drink Spiking

Security operatives (particularly door supervisors) are the best-placed people (aside from the victims themselves) to help stem the tide of Drink spiking. Accordingly, we decided to put together this comprehensive guide to drink spiking in order that you can be as informed as possible | Working the Doors, UK

One year post cannabis legalisation in thailand…

Megan Townsend takes a look at the situation in Thailand in the year following their decision to legalise cannabis | Volteface, UK

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