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Daily news - 25th July 2023 |
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UK news
Codeine linctus: public consultation on the proposal to reclassify to a prescription-only medicine
MHRA have launched a public consultation on the proposal to reclassify codeine linctus to a prescription-only medicine | MHRA, UK
Humankind approaches to drug-related offending and dual diagnosis showcased in first national drug strategy report
Two Humankind services, Calderdale Recovery Steps and Staffordshire Integrated Co-occurring Needs (ICoN) have been featured in the first annual national drug strategy report for their innovative approaches to supporting people with a drug related support need | Humankind, UK
Psilocybin offers “paradigm shift in mental health treatment”
Psilocybin – the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms - offers “a paradigm shift in mental health treatment” for traumatised veterans, according to experts | Herald, UK
Psilocybin may be a potential treatment for anorexia, research suggests
A single dose of the psychedelic, given alongside psychological support, is a safe and acceptable treatment for the condition, a study suggests | Evening Standard, UK
BBC Studios looking for Edinburgh cocaine users to take part in new documentary
Local drug charity, Crew shared the appeal on Instagram that is looking for cocaine users who have issues with addiction | Edinburgh Live, UK
Cumbria police boss 'pleased' with drug crime increase
Peter McCall, Cumbria's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said it looked like "bad news" but actually it meant officers were "catching more people" | BBC, UK
Adam Clapham murder: Drug gang who tortured father jailed for life
The mother of a man tortured to death over a £300 debt has told a court that the manner of her son's death continues to give her nightmares | BBC, UK
International news
Juul to launch new vapes with parental locks on them
Many e-cigarette companies have been criticised for how often their products end up in the hands of children, as well as how they are advertised and marketed and their potential health implications, but this would represent something of a novel attempted solution to at least one of the problems | LadBible, UK
Singapore: Stop two imminent and unlawful executions for drug trafficking
In response to news that two executions for drug-related offences have been set to take place on Wednesday 26 July and Friday 28 July, Amnesty International’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said: “It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control... | Amnesty International, UK
Public consultation on Disposable Vaping Devices
The Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Ossian Smyth, invites the public to participate in this consultation. Feedback will help to inform Ireland’s policy response to dealing with waste disposable vaping devices | Gov.ie, Ireland
Older people and drugs: health and social responses
This miniguide is one of a larger set, which together comprise Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide. It provides an overview of the most important aspects to consider when planning or delivering health and social responses for older people using drugs, and reviews the availability and effectiveness of the responses. It also considers implications for policy and practice | EMCDDA, Portugal
Q&A: Pill might help those looking to cut back on alcohol consumption
Recent research by UCSF Community Health Systems Professor Glenn-Milo Santos, Ph.D., MPH, shows naltrexone—a prescription drug used as a daily pill or monthly injection for decades to treat alcohol use disorder—may reduce binge drinking if taken as needed without the daily pills or painful shots | Medical Xpress, USA
Journal Retracts Study That Linked Vaping to Liver Disease
A study linking the use of nicotine vapes to liver disease has been retracted after its authors failed to reply to concerns raised about the article’s methods and findings | Filter Magazine, USA
New York’s Unlicensed Cannabis Stores Still Focus of Controversy
Elected officials in New York are once again threatening unlicensed cannabis dispensaries, vowing to shut them down. This comes as the state continues its slow rollout of legal cannabis dispensaries | Filter Magazine, USA
The promise of zero-shot learning for alcohol image detection: comparison with a task-specific deep learning algorithm
Exposure to alcohol content in media increases alcohol consumption and related harm. With exponential growth of media content, it is important to use algorithms to automatically detect and quantify alcohol exposure | Nature, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
An interview with Dave Liddell
Dave worked for SDF since its inception in 1986 and in the field of drugs, homelessness and alcohol. A few of us at DRNS put our heads together to think about what would be useful to ask him. Speaking with him just prior to his retirement felt timely | DRNS blog, UK
Raves, drugs and tabloid hysteria – how dance music divided Britain
[Possible paywall] In Party Lines, Ed Gillett looks at the decades-long fight between music-lovers and the state, and reminds us why the dance floor matters | Telegraph, UK
Michael Pollan: ‘There’s a dangerous message that psychedelics will solve all your mental health problems’
It’s October 2018 and Michael Pollan, one of America’s most respected journalists, is in New York, at his mother’s Park Avenue apartment. He has had a successful career writing about food and eating, and now he has just published a book on the resurgence of the scientific use of psychedelic substances, following decades of prohibition, called How to Change Your Mind | El Pais, USA
Why Australia should not ban disposable vapes
Minister Butler has announced a plan to ban all (legal and non-legal) disposable vaping products in Australia, because of widespread use by young people. The proposed ban has been widely criticised by leading experts. It will not stop illegal imports and is likely to increase smoking | Colin Mendelsohn, Australia