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Daily news - 20th February 2023 |
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UK news
Revealed: UK’s missing child refugees put to work for Manchester gangs
Police focus search for asylum seekers abducted from hotels run by the Home Office on an organised crime area dubbed ‘counterfeit alley’ | Guardian, UK
Colourful taxonomies of drugs
Mark Adley and Guy Jones discuss three ways of visually representing drugs and their effects, and the strengths and limitations of these colourful taxonomies for education, treatment, and harm reduction | SSA, UK
Is cocaine fuelling a new era of football violence? - video
Football violence in the UK is on the rise: pitch invasions; players and coaches being attacked by fans; fighting inside and outside grounds across England and Wales. But what’s driving it? Cocaine and class-A drugs? A new generation of younger fans? Or a collective release of bottled frustrations after two years of Covid lockdowns? | Channel 4 news, UK
Forward Leeds: Alcohol and drug support service renewed for five years by Leeds City Council
Forward Leeds has been successful in winning the contract to provide Leeds with its alcohol and drug support service for at least another five years | Yorkshire Evening Post, UK
Psychededelics & Cannabis: The Full Story - at University of Leeds
Thu, 2 March 2023, 18:30 – 21:00 GMT. Dr Callie Seaman and Dr Mourad Wahba will present the full story - that is the good, the bad and the ugly - of cannabis and psychedelics | Drug Science, UK
Bradford man jailed over European drugs conspiracy
A man has been jailed after being involved in large-scale cannabis and cocaine dealing which used lorries to supply drugs across Europe | BBC, UK
International news
Time for a new European approach on drug policy say people who use drugs
EuroNPUD was shocked to see the outdated and off-policy statements of EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Annelies Verlinden Belgium's Minister for the Interior during a visit to Antwerp Docks blaming people who use drugs for acts of violence committed by organised crime, and committing the European Commission to achieving an ‘addiction-free’ society | IDPC, UK
‘Something broke’: how an overdose at her back gate turned one Melbourne woman into an activist
Judy Ryan knew she had to do something to help her ‘beautiful’ inner-city community. She also knew it needed a safe injecting centre | Guardian, UK
Citizens' Assembly on drugs could make way for radical shake-up
The Government decision to hold a Citizens' Assembly on drug use clears the way for possibly the most radical shake-up of Ireland’s drug laws in the history of the State | RTe, Ireland
Deterrence effect of penalties upon adolescent cannabis use
[Open access] Penalties are used in an effort to curtail drug use by citizens in most societies. There are growing calls for a reduction or elimination of such penalties. Deterrence theory suggests that use should increase if penalties reduce and vice versa. We sought to examine the relationship between changes to penalties for drug possession and adolescent cannabis use | Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, Ireland
Let Me Tell You: Series 2 Ep 4 — Vaping is 'the revenge of the tobacco industry', says Micheál Martin
Vaping is the tobacco industry "coming back at" governments for indoor smoking bans, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has claimed | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Undercover gardaí checking pubs for drug use
Justice Minister Simon Harris has said there will be increased Garda operations in nightclubs and pubs to crack down on people using and dealing drugs | Irish Examiner, Ireland
EMCDDA webinar: Methamphetamine in Europe — past and present
In this webinar, we will explore the problem of methamphetamine in Europe, how it is deeply rooted in the history of our continent and how it evolved | EMCDDA, Portugal
Correspondence shows troubling interactions between US officials and the alcohol industry
There is growing evidence that the alcohol industry uses a variety of strategies to influence public policy in a way that is advantageous to its own corporate interests, rather than the interest of public health. Recent communication between employees of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and alcohol industry groups shows extensive interaction on policy-relevant scientific issues, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs | Medical Xpress, USA
How AI can help design drugs to treat opioid addiction
Approximately three million Americans suffer from opioid use disorder, and every year more than 80,000 Americans die from overdoses. Opioid drugs, such as heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone and morphine, activate opioid receptors. Activating mu-opioid receptors leads to pain relief and euphoria, but also physical dependence and decreased breathing, the latter leading to death in the case of drug overdose | Medical Xpress, USA
Hawaii Advances Bills to Legalize Cannabis, Explore Psychedelic Therapy
A pair of bills to legalize marijuana were approved in Hawaii Senate committees on February 16, and a House panel has separately advanced legislation to promote research into psilocybin and MDMA | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
What Sturgeon’s resignation means for the drugs crisis in Scotland
Sudden news of the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announcing that she is due to stand down as Leader within months – after eight years – has sent shockwaves through Holyrood and beyond. During a time of political turmoil, her iron-clad grip on the Scottish Parliament is coming to an end | Politics.co.uk, UK
Is the Future of the UK’s CBD Industry Entwined With Medical Cannabis?
What's next for the UK's CBD industry? We spoke to Robert Jappie about the sectors potential relationship with medical cannabis | Volteface, UK
An epidemic of secret drinking is plaguing Britain
[Possible paywall] Many children are suffering in silence – it's nothing short of a scandal that the state is turning its back on them | Telegraph, UK
Guest blog: Drinking in the LGBTQ+ community
Michael Handrick, author of Difference is Born on the Lips, looks at the historical role of alcohol in the LGBTQ+ community | Drinkaware, UK
Why are you not drinking? Alcohol and Advertising
‘I notice you’re not drinking, David’, she said. It was more of a question than an observation, but I didn’t answer. We were in an upmarket restaurant having a meal with our professional peer group celebrating the successful delivery of a teaching course on addiction treatment. My colleague, a fellow addiction specialist (not a current or recent colleague), was sitting opposite me at the table, her wine glass full | Recovery Review blog, UK
Vaping: The Great Innovation Public Health Failed to Embrace
Electronic cigarettes easily top the list of “disruptive technologies in public health.” In 2014, the Oxford English Dictionary christened “vape” the Word of the Year, a tribute to the impressive rise of the electronic cigarette, a battery-powered device that heats a flavored solution containing nicotine and converts it into an inhalable, or “vape-able,” aerosol. Electronic cigarettes have become the most important tool in the battle against cigarette smoking since Surgeon General Luther Terry first warned of their risks in 1964 | AEI, USA
It Is Time We Seize the Opportunity to Address SUD Stigma in the U.S. Healthcare System
Across our nation, far too often patients are treated rudely or provided inferior care when their healthcare provider learns that they use drugs, have a history of using drugs or are in recovery. Stigma is often the primary barrier for people seeking help. To shift these negative perceptions and improve care within our healthcare systems, we first must develop insight into the scope of the problem. Then we must commit to changing it | Recovery Review blog, USA