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Daily news - 6th July 2023 |
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UK news
Public health alert: New benzodiazepines – Bromazolam
Bromazolam is now the most common drug detected in ‘street benzos’.
Bromazolam has been seized in both community and custodial settings and implicated in hospitalisations and deaths in different areas of the country.
Reports to RADAR indicate that bromazolam produces strong sedative and sleep-inducing effects. As a result, there is a substantial risk of overdose | Public Health Scotland, UK
Only one in five know alcohol guidelines
Just 18 per cent of adults know the government’s low-risk drinking guidelines, according to research by industry-funded charity Drinkaware. While 87 per cent had heard of the guidelines, only 18 per cent knew that they were 14 units a week for men and women. The results are based on a survey of more than 6,300 people for this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week, which runs from 3 to 9 July | DDN, UK
Homeless charity declares emergency in Glasgow after 132 deaths in hostels since 2020
According to the statistics, which have been branded 'a scandal', there were 132 deaths between March 2020 and the same month this year | Scottish Daily Express, UK
Youth service cuts create void for drugs gangs - Southend council
A community safety officer has told MPs that "county lines" drug dealers have been recruiting vulnerable children by stepping into the void left by cuts to local agencies | BBC, UK
With You and roll nine shortlisted for uk content award for their wigan and leigh drug & alcohol service video
With You, supported by the video production team at Roll Nine, have been nominated for a UK Content Award for the Public Sector Campaign of the Year | UK Content Awards, UK
Head Injury, Professional Rugby and Psychedelics with Rory Lamont - podcast
This weeks podcast features Rory Lamont, a former professional Rugby Union player, as he discusses his experiences discovering the transformative healing potential of plant medicines such as Iboga and Ayahuasca | Drug Science, UK
Via and Amitis Group take over Awakn Clinics London
Via is proud to announce that it is launching a new and exciting joint venture with UK private investment company, Amitis Group, to take over treatment provision at Awakn Clinics London | Via, UK
Police seize £130m worth of cannabis in UK-wide crackdown
Police have seized up to £130m worth of cannabis plants and arrested almost 1,000 people in the UK's largest ever crackdown on organised crime | BBC, UK
West Yorkshire gang in Harrogate drugs push
North Yorkshire Police say they have identified "a pattern of increased drug dealing" and associated violent crime | BBC, UK
Drug smuggling query in beauty spot body mystery
Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) are helping determine if a body found off the coast of County Donegal is that of a man due to go on trial over a multi-million pound drug seizure | BBC, UK
International news
Fake cigarettes worth €10m seized in west Dublin
The cigarettes were discovered in a trailer during the search of a yard in west Dublin on Tuesday evening, An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said. They said the search was carried out as part of Operation Tara, an initiative targeting organised crime | BBC, UK
Medical cannabis laws have no effect on opioid prescriptions, study finds
State laws allowing medical cannabis use did not reduce prescriptions for opioids or other therapies for chronic, non-cancer pain, according to a policy analysis by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators | Medical Xpress, USA
FDA sends warning to companies selling THC products that look like candy, cookies
On Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission warned six companies about selling these copycat food products that contain delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as delta-8 THC, a substance found in the cannabis sativa plant | Medical Xpress, USA
Vaping nicotine during pregnancy may be no safer for developing fetus than smoking cigarettes
Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that vaping nicotine during pregnancy may be no safer for a developing fetus than smoking cigarettes. The study suggests that vaping nicotine interferes with fetal bone and lung development | News Medical, USA
Cannabis Use Disorder and Perioperative Complications
In this cohort study that analyzed 12 422 hospitalizations after major elective, noncardiac surgery from the 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample database, cannabis use disorder was associated with an increased risk of composite perioperative complications and mortality. The outcome occurred more frequently in the group with cannabis use disorder (7.73%) than in the unexposed group (6.57%) | JAMA Surgery, USA
Program helps folks battling mental illness beat another foe: Smoking
Dr. Richard Stumacher's coworker at Northwell Health in New York City used to smoke to curb her severe anxiety, and tried multiple times to stop | Medical Xpress, USA
The push for legal weed faces hostile ground in red states
Weed legalization advocates are running out of friendly territory. The movement has swept the country over the last decade: Nearly half of Americans now live in a state where anyone at least 21 years old can legally possess and purchase marijuana | Politico, USA
Racial/ethnic differences in newborn drug testing rates and results
Most U.S. states require that their clinicians report any suspected prenatal drug use. Despite the fact that Black and White adults use drugs at similar rates, clinicians tend to report Black parents for prenatal substance use at higher rates than they do White parents. Although these reports can help parents get connected to substance use treatment programs and social services, they can also lead to termination of parental rights. This week, STASH reviews a study by Sebastian Schoneich and colleagues that examined racial/ethnic differences in newborn drug testing rates and results | BASIS, USA
How to End Stigma in Hospitals Against People Who Use Drugs?
In 2020, Ronald Richardson and his friends who used drugs in Philadelphia began noticing wounds forming on their bodies. This is now more widely known as a side effect of xylazine in the drug supply. At the time, Richardson didn’t understand why he had wounds because he didn’t inject drugs. So he went to his local emergency department | Filter Magazine, USA
Mothers in recovery are reuniting with their children, thanks to housing designed to help
A new centre in Vancouver for mothers in recovery from addiction offers a safe place to bond with their kids | CBC News, Canada
Majority support for drug checking services
A new La Trobe University study shows majority support for drug checking services with 56 per cent of the over 18,000 respondents supporting related policies | La Trobe University, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Guest blog: The Good Drinker
In an excerpt from his latest book, The Good Drinker, author, and broadcaster Adrian Chiles talks about drinking and the benefits of alcohol moderation | Drinkaware blog, UK
A flexible playbook: what unites corporate political strategies of alcohol and other health-harming industries?
The alcohol industry has long tried to influence public health policies that it deems a threat to its profits and market share. So have the tobacco, ultra processed food (UPF) and gambling industries, though much less is known about the last | IAS blog, UK
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast 2
If the Scottish Government is genuinely committed to its national mission of preserving lives, it is imperative to thoroughly examine the experiences and lessons from England over the past 13 years | FAVOR, UK
How regulation controls availability of drugs
This blog makes the case for the legalisation and regulation of drugs and explains how it can control the availability of drugs. This piece is an edited extract of Transform’s Debating Drugs guide, which addresses common concerns about the legal regulation of drugs including | Talking Drugs, UK
The Trip Report 05/07
Through the work of organisations such as WEDINOS, The Loop, and SaferParty, we know a little more about the drugs in circulation. The report provided below is a summary of their findings over the last few weeks | Cameron Scally, UK
Scaling up community drug-checking services in B.C. could help respond to the overdose crisis
British Columbia is in the midst of an enduring drug overdose crisis that continues to claim hundreds of people every year with no end in sight. With a significant rise in deaths over the last seven years, innovative responses are urgently needed. Among these responses is community drug checking, which continues to gain traction in both public health practice and research | Conversation, Canada
Do psychedelics really work to treat depression and PTSD? Here’s what the evidence says
As of July 1, authorised psychiatrists have been allowed to prescribe MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin to treat depression that hasn’t responded to other treatment. Psychedelic therapies have researchers excited because evidence suggests they might have lasting beneficial effects on factors that cause psychological distress beyond the treatment period | Conversation, Australia
Legalise it: vape prohibition isn’t working, and doubling down certainly won’t either
The government's ridiculous proposal to further strengthen an already failed ban on vaping makes no sense — even among public health experts | Crikey blog, Australia