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Daily news - 21st December 2023 |
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UK news
Update on new synthetic drugs
The latest data from the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) early warning system, led by Public Health Scotland (PHS), shows that nitazenes have been detected in 25 deaths in Scotland since 2022 (up until 30 September 2023), based on post-mortem toxicology testing. There can be little doubt nitazenes are circulating in Scotland and pose a serious harm to health | Public Health Scotland, UK
Open call for evidence: ACMD internet-facilitated drug markets review
Updated closing date to 26 January 2024. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs call for evidence, collecting written evidence to better understand internet-facilitated drug markets (IFDMs) | ACMD, UK
Trip-killers: a concerning practice associated with psychedelic drug use
The use of potentially harmful 'trip-killers' to cut short 'bad drug trips' after taking psychedelics, such as LSD or magic mushrooms, is an emerging concern, warn doctors | BMJ Emergency Medicine Journal, UK
Drugs UK: Cities taking radical approach to addiction and recovery - video
Middlesbrough is the UK’s first member of the Inclusive Recovery Cities programme… an approach which emphasises the positive value that people in recovery have to wider society - and, crucially, to remove the shame and stigma around addiction | Channel 4 News, UK
Stockton North MP visits Stockton Recovery Service and sees positive effect on community
Visiting Stockton Recovery Service on Friday 15 December, Alex Cunningham MP saw how the local alcohol treatment and recovery service from Change Grow Live (CGL) is helping people to overcome difficulties with alcohol | Northeast Bylines, UK
Psilocybin for Anorexia Nervosa with Hannah Douglass
David talks to Hannah, a 3rd year PhD student as she discusses her research into using psychedelics to treat eating disorders. She highlights how following personal experiences she came to find current treatment methods for anorexia were not sufficient and instead began conducting her own research with Imperial College London to investigate psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat eating disorders | Drug Science, UK
Drug-driving 'alarmingly common', police warn
Thames Valley Police (TVP) and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary arrested 138 people on suspicion of drink-driving and 149 on suspicion of drug-driving between 1 and 19 December | BBC, UK
Drink and drug-drivers targeted in Christmas crackdown
Hundreds of people have been arrested for drink or drug-driving in south-east England since the start of December | BBC, UK
Armagh man refused bail over NI's biggest cocaine seizure
A 38-year-old man has been refused bail after being charged in connection with what police say is the largest ever seizure of cocaine in Northern Ireland | BBC, UK
International news
Under-18s to be banned from being sold vapes in Ireland
A new law banning the sale of vapes to under-18s will come into effect in the Republic of Ireland on Friday | BBC, UK
Ship detained after '€20m drugs seizure' in Limerick
A large quantity of suspected cocaine has been seized from a cargo ship in County Limerick, according to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. It reported that drugs worth €20m (£17.3m) were found, external while the vessel was docked at Foynes harbour | BBC, UK
Cocaine: Swiss capital Bern may allow sales as 'the war on drugs has failed'
In the US state of Oregon, having small amounts of cocaine has been allowed since 2021 and many European countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, no longer have prison sentences for possession of drugs including cocaine | Sky News, UK
Elf Bar and other e-cigarette makers dodged US customs and taxes after China's ban on vaping flavors
Until recently, the Chinese manufacturer behind Elf Bar e-cigarettes was able to slip its products passed U.S. customs officials | Independent, UK
‘We need to intervene’: landmark vaping study shows increased uptake among teenagers ahead of reforms
Report authors warn of a ‘small but rapidly closing window’ to prevent teenagers developing nicotine addiction and other health issues | Guardian, UK
Drugs at centre of recent Dublin overdose cluster purchased 'across one strip of the city'
It’s also thought that a more recent overdose cluster in Cork is “linked with the Dublin market”. The HSE’s emerging drug trend project manager added that lessons have been learned from the response to recent clusters of heroin overdoses in Dublin and Cork | Journal, Ireland
Vaping tax delayed over fears it could discourage smokers from trying to quit
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath held off on introducing a new tax on vaping amid fears it might put off smokers who were using e-cigarettes to help break the habit | Breaking News, Ireland
Limerick seizure part of cocaine 'bombardment' of Europe
Investigators believe the 300kg cocaine seizure in Limerick was to be distributed across the country, and that a single drug gang — rather than a network of groups — was behind it | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Seeds of Inequality Contrasting Realities in South Africa’s Cannabis Industry (PDF)
This briefing paper focuses on Mpondoland, the Eastern Cape centre of traditional small-scale cannabis farming. It provides an overview of the changing dynamics in the national cannabis economy, with a specific emphasis on inclusive policies. It addresses the question of how to create the inclusive cannabis industry, ‘serving the ordinary farmer’ as envisaged by President Ramaphosa | TNI, The Netherlands
Changes in Alcohol-Specific Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 14 European Countries
When compared to 2019, alcohol-specific mortality rates in 2020 increased by 7.7 % and 8.2 % for women and men, respectively. Increases in alcohol-specific mortality were seen in the majority of countries and continued in 2021. In contrast, alcohol sales declined by an average of 5.0 % | SUCHT, Germany
DrugNet Europe - December
Monthly news round-up of drug policy news and reports published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) | EMCDDA, Portugal
1 in 8 older adults use cannabis products, suggesting need to screen for risks
More older Americans use cannabis now than before the pandemic, with 12% saying they’ve consumed a THC-containing substance in the past year and 4% saying they do so multiple times a week, according to a new study of people aged 50 to 80. Those who drink alcohol at risky levels have a much higher rate of cannabis use | University of Michigan, USA
Review highlights rise in psychiatric disorders linked to increased cannabis use
The widespread use of cannabis (marijuana) and its increased potency are associated with a rise in cannabis-related psychiatric conditions, according to a new University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) review article | Medical Xpress, USA
Legal but not available: How powerful international banks are limiting accessibility of cannabis
A new study suggests that despite cannabis being legal in certain jurisdictions, such as Canada and Uruguay and 24 U.S. states, restrictions imposed by the international control of drugs and finance mean it is often not available | Medical Xpress, USA
ortho-Methylfentanyl
ortho-Methylfentanyl is a novel synthetic opioid bearing structural resemblance to fentanyl. In November 2023, ortho-methylfentanyl was detected for the first time at our laboratory | CFSRE, USA
Want to keep Gen Z off vaping? Teach them about the industry's marketing tactics, study says
Young adults who are more familiar with e-cigarette marketing practices are more likely to have attitudes against vaping than those unaware of the industry's marketing, according to a study led by Drexel University public health researchers | Medical Xpress, USA
Beyond Addiction: Reframing Recovery
In this podcast with The Mayo Lab at the University of Mississippi, Graham MacIndoe, MFA and Susan Stellin, MPH talk about their traveling exhibition, Beyond Addiction: Reframing Recovery; depictions of addiction and drug use in news, entertainment and social media, and ways to bridge divides in care for people with substance use disorders | Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Generation X hardest hit as drug deaths rise yet again in England and Wales
It’s another tragic record. A new report has confirmed yet another rise in drug related deaths in England and Wales. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that 4,907 “drug poisoning” deaths were recorded in 2022 (84.4 deaths per 1,000,000 of the population), the highest on record | Conversation, UK
Confronting our drug crisis with real solutions or continuing down a path of failure?
Britain at a crossroads: Drug Deaths in England, Wales, and the shocking reality in Scotland. Annemarie Ward for the Scottish Daily Express on a national crisis ignored | Scottish Daily Express opinion, UK
The FDA must stop companies from evading upcoming new tobacco rules
Early next year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to issue a final rule prohibiting the sale of menthol cigarettes, as well as a separate rule prohibiting the sale of flavored cigars. In October, the FDA sent these two rules, which collectively could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, to the White House for final review | The Hill opinion, USA
The U.S. must raise federal alcohol taxes to address the alarming rise in alcohol use
Eleven years ago, two days before Christmas, my 24-year-old brother, who was a university graduate and former law student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After a decade of hard and continuous drinking interspersed with addiction and mental health treatment, he could not sustain his recovery. His suicide came on the heels of my mother’s death a year before, and just weeks later, my grandfather died in a car accident. My family’s holidays would never be the same | STAT News opinion, USA