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Daily news - 26th June 2023

UK news

Warning after rise in Shropshire ketamine hospitalisations

Families are being warned to talk about the dangers of ketamine after a increase in those admitted to hospital. Shropshire Council said it has coincided with the "spell of hot weather and the end of exam season" | BBC, UK

Fatboy Slim backs appeal to allow onsite festival drug testing

Exclusive: Musicians and MPs say banning tests for harmful pills without onerous licence puts festival-goers at risk | Guardian, UK

Scheme to curb cannabis fumes could be rolled out across Lincolnshire

A scheme to reduce fumes from people smoking cannabis may soon be implemented across Lincolnshire. The Noxious Odour Pilot was initiated in the Boston area in March and has received up to three reports each week | BBC, UK

Recovery cafes expand across Scottish Borders

A recovery cafe, where people dealing with drug or alcohol addiction can gather in a safe space, first came to the Scottish Borders in March 2022. Every Friday the Focus Centre in Galashiels opened for two hours and would offer hot food, tea and coffee, and the chance to talk to others going through the same journey to sobriety | ITV, UK

‘No need to rush’: How to give up vaping

E-cigarettes are popular but the health risks remain unclear. Experts explain how to reduce your nicotine intake and help the environment | Guardian, UK

Vaping: E-cigarettes have ruined my life, woman says

A woman who became addicted to vaping at the age of 16 has warned of the struggles she has faced, claiming e-cigarettes have ruined her life | BBC, UK

Lewis Saggers inquest: County swimmer who drowned in reservoir had taken alcohol and ketamine

Lewis Saggers, 24, had taken alcohol, ketamine and cocaine when he went into the water at Hadham Hall reservoir near Bishop’s Stortford | ITV, UK

Sunken ice isn’t a reliable way to spot if your drink’s been spiked

A very high concentration of ethanol may cause ice to sink in a drink, but in most drink spiking cases, ice will continue to float. It can be very difficult to tell if a drink has been spiked, but changes to the taste or colour of a drink, or a gritty substance at the bottom, can be indicators | Full Fact, UK

Isle of Wight Festival: Warning over suspected vape spiking

A festival-goer has described "losing control" of her body after she was allegedly given a poisonous vape | BBC, UK

Glasgow to get its first 24-hour alcohol vending machine

The vending machine will sit in the lobby at the West George Street hotel in the city centre | STV News, UK

Join us in Parliament on 27th June

We will be taking action in Parliament on 27th June, 2023 to show the public and politicians that we stand for better drug laws | Anyone's Child, UK

Gang ferried drugs using ‘thank you NHS’ van during lockdown

A drug gang has been jailed for almost 100 years after using a government Covid loan to fund more than 100kg of heroin and cocaine | Independent, UK

International news

Fentanyl: More people injecting drugs worldwide, says UN

More people are injecting illegal drugs than previously thought, says a United Nations report on worldwide drug use. In all, 13.2 million people injected drugs in 2021, 18% more than previously estimated, said the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime | BBC, UK

Support. Don't Punish - Global day of Action

26th June. Support. Don’t Punish is a global grassroots-centred initiative in support of harm reduction and drug policies that prioritise public health and human rights. The campaign seeks to put harm reduction on the political agenda by strengthening the mobilisation capacity of communities targeted by the “war on drugs” and their allies, opening dialogue with policy makers, and raising awareness among the media and the public | IDPC, UK

Animal sedative adds new suffering to opioid drug crisis, but is it driving up deaths?

A powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis | Independent, UK

‘Incredibly noticeable’: alcohol bans have cut family violence and crime in Alice Springs, advocates say

Northern Territory police statistics show a drop in domestic violence callouts, property offences and other antisocial behaviour | Guardian, UK

Melbourne has had Australia’s worst heroin addiction for years. Why can’t the city kick its habit?

There’s heated debate about a second safe injecting room for Victoria’s capital – yet few are asking why use of the drug is so much higher than other cities | Guardian, UK

QMJC May 2023: The lived effects of prison drugs policy

In May 2023, colleagues from Deakin University (Australia) held a meeting of the Qualitative Methods Journal Club to discuss an article about how drug use is problematised in prison drugs policy in Victoria (Australia) | SSA, UK

Health Research Board reports latest drug-related deaths figures

New preliminary figures from the Health Research Board (HRB) on drug-related deaths show there were 409 poisoning deaths in 2020. There were also 397 non-poisoning deaths, with hanging the most common cause of these deaths. The findings were presented at the Citizens Assembly on Drug Use on Saturday 24 June 2023 | HRB, Ireland

'Sustained increase' in overdose deaths in recent years, Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use hears

Lyons said that since 2017 there has been a “sustained increase” in poisoning deaths, which is not attributable to factors such as population growth | RTe, Ireland

HSE confirms drug testing will continue at Irish festivals

The HSE has confirmed it will continue its on-site drug testing program for Irish festivals this summer following successful outreach at this year's Life festival | Hot Press, Ireland

Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: session 24 and 25 June 2023 - video

The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use held its third meeting Saturday 24and Sunday 25 June, where members are focusing on the role of the health and community sectors in significantly reducing the harmful impacts of illicit drugs use on individuals, families, and communities. The 99 members and independent Chair, Paul Reid, examined policy and service delivery in these areas, including contributions from experts in health-led strategies from Portugal and Austria as countries regarded as leading the way in reducing the harmful impact of illicit drugs use | Citizen's Assemby, Ireland

UNODC World Drug Report 2023 warns of converging crises
as illicit drug markets continue to expand

Vienna, 26 June 2023: Continued record illicit drug supply and increasingly agile trafficking networks are compounding intersecting global crises and challenging health services and law enforcement responses, according to the World Drug Report 2023 launched by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today. New data put the global estimate of people who inject drugs in 2021 at 13.2 million, 18 per cent higher than previously estimated. Globally, over 296 million people used drugs in 2021, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous decade. The number of people who suffer from drug use disorders, meanwhile, has skyrocketed to 39.5 million, a 45 per cent increase over 10 years | UNODC, Austria

World Drug Day (26 June) – Statement by the Global Commission on Drug Policy (PDF)

June 26 is a day dedicated to raising awareness about the consequences of repressive drug policies and practices on people across the globe. There is growing recognition around the world that drug prohibition has failed to achieve its goals of promoting the “health and the wellbeing of humanity”. | GCDP, Switzerland

Factors associated with abstinence in addiction inpatient treatment cohort: a five-year follow-up [Czechia]

[Open access] Overcoming addiction is characterized by a long-term recovery process and a high rate of relapse. This study aimed to identify factors associated with relapse and long-term abstinence in patients with substance use disorders or behavioral addictions (SUDs/BA) five years after completing the inpatient addiction treatment based on the Apolinar model | Journal of Substance Use, USA

Patterns and Characteristics of Nicotine Dependence Among Adults With Cigarette Use in the US, 2006-2019

In this cross-sectional study of 152 354 US community-dwelling adults with past-month cigarette use, the adjusted prevalence of nicotine dependence decreased from 59.52% in 2006 to 56.00% in 2019 among adults with past-month cigarette smoking and among each age group, except for ages 18 to 25 years. Adults 50 years and older (especially those with substance use disorder and/or depression) had the highest prevalence of nicotine dependence | JAMA Network Open, USA

FDA orders stores to stop selling Elf Bar disposable vapes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has sent warning letters to 189 retailers, telling them to stop selling unauthorized tobacco products such as Elf Bar and Esco Bars | Medical Xpress, USA

Steady rise in vape product poisonings among kids under 5

The number of cases of vape product-related poisonings reported to America's poison control centers doubled between 2018 and early 2023, a new report finds | Medical Xpress, USA

The DRAM, Vol. 19(7) – Minority stress and drinking behavior among same-gender couples

Sexual minority women have higher rates of hazardous episodic drinking when compared to heterosexual women. Sexual minority stress, such as harassment and discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation, might contribute to this behavior | BASIS, USA

US launches prosecutions of Chinese companies on charges of trafficking fentanyl ingredients

The U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges on Friday against four Chinese companies and eight individuals for allegedly trafficking the chemicals used to make the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl in the United States and Mexico | Medical Xpress, USA

MDMA and magic mushrooms aren’t a ‘miracle cure’, psychiatrists warn ahead of new rules

MDMA and magic mushrooms are not “miracle cures” for mental illnesses and Australia must approach them cautiously, the country’s training body for psychiatrists has warned ahead of the psychedelics being classified as medicines for certain purposes next week | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia