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Daily news - 23rd February 2023 |
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UK news
Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas users risk spine damage, say doctors
Doctors at an east London hospital say they are seeing so many risky cases of laughing gas misuse that they have drawn up treatment guidelines for colleagues in the UK | BBC, UK
Nitrous oxide-induced subacute combined degeneration of the cord: diagnosis and treatment
Recreational use of nitrous oxide (N2O) has increased rapidly in recent years and is now the second most commonly used recreational drug among young people in the UK. There has been a corresponding rise in cases of nitrous oxide-induced subacute combined degeneration of the cord (N2O-SACD), a pattern of myeloneuropathy usually associated with severe vitamin B12 deficiency. This can cause serious and permanent disability in young people but, if recognised early, may be effectively treated. All neurologists should be aware of N2O-SACD and its treatment; however, there are currently no agreed guidelines. Based on our experience in East London, an area of high N2O use, we provide practical advice on its recognition, investigation and treatment | BMJ Practical Neurology, UK
Scotland’s drug-death epidemic may have peaked, data suggests
Reason could be shrinking pool of most vulnerable, say experts as report shows first fall in deaths since 2013 | Guardian, UK
Reporting of Substance Media Toolkit
The Reporting of Substance Toolkit is a resource for journalists and editors looking to report on alcohol and drugs with dignity and respect. The toolkit contains 5 Key Recommendations to follow when reporting and also has interviews with family members and people in recovery, information about support services across the UK, photography advice and resources for further information | SFAD, Adfam, UK
Call for more support after drop in numbers trying to quit smoking
The number of people trying to give up smoking in Scotland has fallen, prompting demands to improve support for those wanting to stub out cigarettes for good | The National, UK
Performance-enhancing Drugs and Body Image — [David Mundell in the Chair]
We need to talk about steroids in the UK. I am talking about not just any steroids but anabolic steroids and image and performance-enhancing drugs—or IPEDs. There are an estimated 500,000 to 1 million users in the UK, but no one is talking about it | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Trials
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) ineffective, (b) cracked and (c) vacated trials there were for the (i) production, (ii) supply and (iii) possession with intent to supply of class A drugs in each quarter between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022 | They work for you, UK
Use of Digital Technology in Overdose Prevention: Knowledge Exchange
Thu, 9 March 2023, 15:00 – 17:00 GMT. Drug overdoses continue to impact different countries in the world particularly in North America and Scotland. Scotland has the most severe Drug-Related Deaths (DRD) problem in Europe, almost four times that of other countries. Innovative solutions are required to support people at risk of harm. Digital technology such as smartphone application, wearable or sensors, could help to identify and prevent overdose. This seminar will present international innovation studies on different digital solutions with speakers from across the globe as well as Scotland | DRNS, UK
With You IAPT Careers Open Event
Tue, 7 March 2023, 17:30 – 19:00 GMT. If you want to progress your career within NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT), come along to our online open event to find out more about opportunities in our Surrey and Kent With You IAPT services | We are With You, UK
Ark House Virtual open morning [Microsoft Teams link]
Friday 24th February at 10.30am. Meeting ID: 348 431 917 971
Passcode: R5HU All professionals, clients and their families are welcome to join to discuss what happens in a 12 step rehab as well as discussing some of the myths around a 12 step program. We will have an ex client sharing her experience of recovery also | Ark House, UK
International news
East Midlands Airport: Man jailed after £1m cannabis haul seized
The consignment - delivered from an address in Los Angeles, California - had been destined for an address in Hucknall Road, Sherwood. It contained 260 bags of cannabis and had a total weight of 153kg, Nottinghamshire Police said | BBC, UK
Cocaine Bear: True story of infamous bear who consumed duffel bag of cocaine and got Hollywood treatment
Animal overdosed after it ate 70 pounds of drugs thrown out of plane by infamous smuggler | Independent, UK
Almost €5m of cannabis, tobacco and cigarettes seized in Dublin and Athlone
Almost €4.9 million worth of tobacco, cigarettes and herbal cannabis was seized by Revenue at Dublin Port and Athlone over the course of the last week | Independent, Ireland
New Research Reveals Why CBD Is Such An Effective Treatment For Seizure Disorders
Long before CBD was a household name, parents of kids with epilepsy were engaging in a whisper network: a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis and hemp, they said, had helped reduce or eliminate their children’s seizures | Inverse, USA
What is naloxone and should everyone have access to it?
Two panels that advise the Food and Drug Administration are recommending that naloxone nasal spray be approved for over-the-counter sale for emergency treatment of opioid overdoses. The Joint Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve the measure. The FDA will make a final decision on March 29 if naloxone will become a nonprescription drug | Medical Xpress, USA
US to allow Medicaid to pay for drug treatment in prisons
In an announcement made during a visit to the Camden County Jail in New Jersey on Tuesday, Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said states are being encouraged to submit proposals for how they would like to use that money, the Associated Press reported | Medical Xpress, USA
New Mexico’s Effort to Authorize Safe Consumption Sites
New Mexico lawmakers are working to pass a bill to open safe consumption sites (SCS, also known as overdose prevention centers) in the state. If successful, it would make New Mexico just the third jurisdiction in the United States to authorize this approach to saving the lives of people who use drugs | Filter Magazine, USA
Experiences of stigma while visiting healthcare services among people who use drugs in Australia, 2022
This bulletin investigates the experience of stigma while visiting healthcare services among people who regularly inject drugs and people who regularly use ecstasy and/or other stimulants | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Key Facts About Alcohol Treatment
The National Audit Office has just (21 February 2023) published a briefing on alcohol treatment services. The briefing collates publicly available evidence on alcohol treatment services, which, as most readers know, affect only a small number of heavy drinkers | Russell Webster, UK
America Has Lost the War on Drugs. Here’s What Needs to Happen Next
For a forgotten moment, at the very start of the United States’ half-century long war on drugs, public health was the weapon of choice. In the 1970s, when soldiers returning from Vietnam were grappling with heroin addiction, the nation’s first drug czar — appointed by President Richard Nixon — developed a national system of clinics that offered not only methadone but also counseling, 12-step programs and social services. Roughly 70 percent of the nation’s drug control budget was devoted to this initiative; only the remaining 30 percent went to law enforcement | NYTimes opinion, USA
Tobacco companies pledge ‘harm reduction’ but are doing the opposite
This year could shape up to be a historic one for tobacco control — or one in which Big Tobacco accelerates its steady transformation into Big Nicotine. We are hoping for the former, but aren’t betting against the latter | STAT News opinion, USA
And finally...
Cocaine Bear and wayward wallabies: the improbable history of animals getting high
A new comedy horror film tells the true story of a black bear running amok on cocaine – and it is far from the only creature to have had a run-in with a mind-bending substance | Guardian, UK