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Daily news - 7th March 2023 |
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UK news
News story: Publication of ACMD’s review on nitrous oxide
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has on the 6th March 2023, published an updated harms assessment of nitrous oxide | ACMD, UK
UK’s drug advisory panel rejects calls for nitrous oxide ban
ACMD says sale and possession of laughing gas for recreational use should not be barred despite Home Office desire for crackdown | Guardian, UK
National drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce census findings
The findings of the first-ever national drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce census completed in 2022 by Health Education England (HEE) and NHS Benchmarking Network (NHSBN). This census – which had an 83% response rate – covered the local authority (LA)-commissioned drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, LA commissioning teams and lived experience recovery organisation (LERO) workforce from 1st July 2021 to 30th June 2022. LAs will be receiving LA-level reports and employers that responded to the census have also received reports comparing LA- and employer-level findings to national findings | NHS Health Education England, UK
DDN March 2023
Soaring rents, stagnant rates of housing benefit, and many more families facing homelessness. The investments in the drug strategy and rough sleeping strategy are a vital intervention but we need to heed Crisis’ call for a more preventative homelessness system (p15). There’s a key role for drug and alcohol workers here in making the integrated care systems a reality, right from the commissioning stage, so in this issue we’ve had a look at some of the excellent work going on around the country to address homelessness and the many complexities that relate to it | DDN, UK
What do mental health experts think about cannabis?
[Possible paywall] Prince Harry says cannabis helps him deal with anxiety and trauma, but some say the drug can lead to dependence and even psychosis | Telegraph, UK
Blackpool: Recovering drug addict celebrates six years sober after art therapy 'changed [his] life' and opens painting exhibition at Tea Amantes
A former alcoholic and drug addict who says ‘art changed [his] life’ is launching a joint exhibition of his paintings at Tea Amantes in Blackpool – after celebrating six years sober | Blackpool Gazette, UK
Dumfries and Galloway: Police officers to use Naloxone
A senior police officer has spoken of the 'effectiveness' of Naloxone, as the treatment's roll-out to operational officers in Dumfries and Galloway nears completion | Cumnock Chronicle, UK
Women Supporting Women – stories from the frontline
Wed, 8 March 2023, 10:00 – 11:30 GMT. Are you working with women with drug or alcohol issues? Do you want to better understand what gender responsive treatment looks like in practice? Do you want to hear ideas as to what you can do to improve outcomes for women? This 90 minute webinar will be exploring good practice when working with women in drug and alcohol treatment services | Collective Voice, UK
Street Drugs Discussions: Deep Dive into Benzodiazepines
Fri, 10 March 2023, 12:00 – 14:00 GMT. This webinar looks at the science and hard realities around benzodiazepine use, including recreationally amongst UK young people | Drug Science, UK
Teesside Cannabis Club pays tribute to former police boss
A cannabis club has paid tribute to a former police boss by dedicating a branded grinder to him | BBC, UK
International news
Who Invented Mephedrone? A Brief History of Research Chemicals
You can thank rogue chemists, labs and the “Godfather of Ecstasy” for drugs like MCAT, 2C-E and 2C-B | VICE, UK
‘I’m not impaired’: Victoria’s parliament to debate drug driving in age of medicinal cannabis
Alice Davey was legally able to drive on other painkillers but now risks losing her licence on the school run | Guardian, UK
Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol
Move met with indignation by many across country, where liquor sales have boomed in recent years | Guardian, UK
Study: As naloxone treatment becomes more widespread, heroin use is not on the rise among adolescents
The adoption of laws around naloxone use is not associated with changes in adolescent lifetime heroin or injection drug use (IDU), finds a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. According to latest results, naloxone access and pharmacy naloxone distribution were more consistently associated with decreases rather than increases in lifetime heroin and IDU among adolescents | Medical Xpress, USA
Community strategy reduced opioid overdose deaths in Pennsylvania counties
The monthly opioid overdose death (ODD) rate fell by 30% in Pennsylvania counties that implemented a novel community-focused strategy developed by University of Pittsburgh researchers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs | Medical Xpress, USA
Hair analysis shows child drug use could be twice as high as previously thought
Hair analysis could be the key to understanding adolescent drug usage, as a new study uncovers almost double the number of children were found to be using substances than those who admitted to in a U.S. survey. Published in the journal American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the research looking at more than 1,300 children, aged 9 to 13, found a 9% increase in substance use when adding hair analysis results to those of the survey | Medical Xpress, USA
How heavy alcohol consumption increases brain inflammation
For people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), there is a constant, vicious cycle between changes to the brain and changes to behavior. AUD can alter signaling pathways in the brain; in turn, those changes can exacerbate drinking | Medical Xpress, USA
Why Are My Classmates Switching From Vaping to Smoking?
When I first arrived in Rome to attend university last summer, I was surprised by both the widespread cigarette smoking and the lack of vaping I witnessed | Filter Magazine, USA
City-Level Psychedelic Decrim Still Spreading Fast, But Questions Remain
The city of Ferndale just approved a bill to decriminalize psychedelic plants and fungi. It’s the fourth city in Michigan to take this step. And so many municipalities across the United States have now done so that it’s hard to keep count | Filter Magazine, USA
No, a BC Company Can’t Sell You Cocaine Now
A Langley firm’s confusing announcement sparked a political fuss. Experts say the outrage blurs a chance to save lives | The Tyee, Canada
North Richmond safe-injecting room to be made permanent, Daniel Andrews announces
Victoria's controversial North Richmond supervised-injecting room has saved dozens of lives and will be made permanent, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Is smoking cannabis safer than breathing air?
Dr Nuke's Drug Mortality Risk Chart brings us some strange but true comparisons on drugs and harm | Volteface, UK
The Trip Report 06/03
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
Clare Foges interviews Peter Reynolds about Prince Harry's claim that cannabis has helped with his mental health - audio
LBC Radio, Clare Foges interviews Peter Reynolds about Prince Harry's claim that cannabis has helped with his mental health. 5th March 2023 | LBC, UK
How Antwerp became Europe’s drug gateway
Antwerp harbour leads up the River Scheldt and into the heart of Europe, a port the size of 16,600 football fields, sucking in 240,000,000 tonnes of freight each year. From the giant aerial photograph on the floor of the Port Authority Building, you can see the open sprawl of its spreading fingers and multiple roads. But it’s not just bananas, steel and new cars being unloaded. Antwerp is now Europe’s main artery for cocaine smugglers, and the violence they bring with them | UnHerd, UK
Ricardo Soberón: How Peru’s Cocaine Economy Endangers Indigenous Amazonians
Peru is the second largest producer of coca leaf and cocaine in the world. In addition, more than 500 active clandestine landing strips feed a large part of the almost 21 million cocaine users worldwide. And there, the lawyer Ricardo Soberón has twice held the leadership of the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (DEVIDA), the entity that manages the nearly 8 million dollars the US embassy assigns to eradicate coca plantations | Talking Drugs, UK
A potted history of smoking, and how we’re making the same mistakes with vaping
When smoking first became popular we were told it was healthy, it was heavily marketed (including to young people) as being cool, and the time it took for us to learn otherwise was long, and came too late for many. Unfortunately, it seems history is repeating itself with vaping | Conversation, Australia