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Daily news - 3rd February 2023 |
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UK news
Press release: £53 million cash boost to improve housing support for drug and alcohol recovery
28 local authorities across England will receive funds to help people in drug and alcohol treatment | Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities , Neil O'Brien MP, and The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, UK
Drug strategy housing support funding: allocations 2022 to 2025
Information about a new funding grant to local councils to help them improve housing support for people in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery | OHID, UK
National statistics: Substance misuse treatment for young people: statistics 2021 to 2022
There were 11,326 young people (people under the age of 18) in contact with alcohol and drug services between April 2021 and March 2022. This is a 3% increase from the previous year (11,013) but a 54% reduction in the number in treatment since 2008 to 2009 (24,494). Cannabis remains the most common substance (87%) that young people come to treatment for | OHID, UK
Hepatitis C in the UK 2023 Working to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat (PDF)
This report comes at a pivotal point in the elimination of hepatitis C. In May 2022 the UK government adopted the World Health Assembly’s updated global strategies that support the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ambition to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. UKHSA has prioritised work to reduce the harmful impact to health of hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV. In this report we review the progress that has been made in the UK towards the WHO elimination targets for hepatitis C with data to the end of 2021 | UKHSA, UK
Electronic Cigarettes: Health Hazards
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will commission further research into the health impacts of e-liquids containing propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin in vaping products | They work for you, UK
Drugs minister pushes consumption rooms during ‘constructive’ UK summit
Scotland’s drugs minister has again pushed the UK Government to allow safe consumption rooms north of the border during a “constructive” meeting | Press and Journal, UK
MAT Standard 10 - Towards Implementation: The MAT Standards Webinar Series - video
Standard 10: All people receive trauma informed care. The treatment service people use recognises that many people may have experienced trauma, and that this may continue to impact on them in various ways. The services available and the people who work there, will respond in a way that supports people to access, and remain in, services for as long as they need to, in order to get the most from treatment. They will also offer people the kind of relationship that promotes recovery, does not cause further trauma or harm, and builds resilience | SDF, UK
Psychedelics for managing pain
Three experts discuss their research into the use of psychedelics for managing various types of pain | Drug Science, UK
Do you know a researcher who has made a ‘significant and specific contribution’ to the addictions field?
The SSA is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Fred Yates prize. Learn more about the prize, including its aims, previous winners, and most importantly, how to nominate someone | SSA, UK
Police storm abandoned factory and find £6.5m worth of cannabis
It is one of the largest cannabis farms ever found in Lincolnshire | Independent, UK
International news
‘Gets police out of the lives of drug users’: decriminalization move takes effect in Canadian province
British Columbia now allows possession of 2.5g of illegal drugs in measure to mitigate opioid crisis | Guardian, UK
MDMA and magic mushrooms are approved for medical use in Australia: Psychiatrists will be able to prescribe once-illegal drugs for mental health conditions
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the prescription of MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin, which is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, for treatment-resistant depresson. [See more below] | Mail Online, UK
Health impact of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: current and emerging evidence
[Open access] Quitting is the only proven method to attenuate the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, most COPD smokers do not seem to respond to smoking cessation interventions and may benefit by lessening the negative health effects of long-term cigarette smoke exposure by switching to non-combustible nicotine delivery alternatives, such as heated tobacco products (HTPs) and e-cigarettes | Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, UK
Safer-Nicotine Consumer Groups Have Almost No Funding Worldwide
Consumer organizations advocating for tobacco harm reduction (THR) are often underfunded, led by volunteers, and still successful, according to a new studyby the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction, a project of the UK-based organization Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC) | Filter Magazine, USA
How Can Implementation of Oregon’s Drug-Decrim Law Improve?
In November 2020, Oregon voters made history by passing Measure 110, to decriminalize personal possession of all drugs and shift more funding to vital services. The resulting law, the Drug Addiction Treatment Recovery Act (DATRA), has now been in effect for two years. In that time, it has prevented thousands of arrests and pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into treatment, support and resources. But implementation has not gone perfectly. So what still needs to be improved? | Filter Magazine, USA
Androstenedione: A banned bodybuilding supplement you should avoid
Androstenedione is one of those supplements that was peddled to athletes for years as a quick path to bulging muscles and high testosterone levels, but it carries some grave dangers | Medical Xpress, USA
Change to classification of psilocybin and MDMA to enable prescribing by authorised psychiatrists
From 1 July this year, medicines containing the psychedelic substances psilocybin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) can be prescribed by specifically authorised psychiatrists for the treatment of certain mental health conditions | Australian Government TGA, Australia
NSW parents report alarming rise of e-cigarette poisoning in young children
The NSW Poisons Information Centre received 213 calls regarding this age group's exposure to e-cigarettes and liquids in 2022, compared with 127 the previous year | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Harrys’ blog 116: Unheard Voices
Nicotine consumer advocates the world over are fighting for the right to health. Nobody is listening | NSP blog, UK
What to do about Nitrous Oxide
The UK Government must reconsider its threat to criminalise possession of Nitrous Oxide - a move that would be harmful and counterproductive. There are better ways to reduce health risks and antisocial behaviour associated with the drug | Transform blog, UK
How does a healthy diet and not drinking alcohol affect your risk of memory decline?
Memory decline is a common issue among old adults, which can be affected by various factors, according to the literature. In this prospective study in the BMJwe aimed to identify the association between healthy lifestyle and memory decline through a long follow-up period of 10 years | IAS blog, UK
Lessons on Psychedelic Evangelism from the UK Counterculture of the 60s
At a recent activism event advocating for the medical utility of psychedelic drugs, I heard a member of a psychedelic treatment facilitator’s management team end an otherwise optimistic discussion with a warning: “be realistic about psychedelics, don’t be an evangelist”. | Talking Drugs, UK
EXPERT REACTION: TGA approves the use of psychedelics for mental health treatment
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has announced from July 1 this year, medicines containing the psychedelic substances psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and MDMA can be prescribed by authorised psychiatrists for mental health treatment. MDMA will be allowed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, while psilocybin will be used for treatment-resistant depression. These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue | Scimex, Australia
Marketers are targeting teens with cheap and addictive vapes: 9 ways to stem rising rates of youth vaping
Existing regulations have not managed to reduce the rising rates of youth vaping in Aotearoa New Zealand | Conversation, New Zealand