Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 28th March 2023 |
 |
UK news
Government response: ACMD nitrous oxide review
Letter from Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire to the ACMD. Dear Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, I wish to thank the ACMD for its extensive, thoughtful, and helpful report. I particularly appreciate the flexibility which you have shown through the rapid work to finalise the report in light of concern about the prevalence of use of nitrous oxide... | Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, UK
Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use
A ban on laughing gas will not stop people using it and will drive it into criminal hands, say experts | BBC, UK
Nitrous oxide: What is it and how dangerous is it?
The government is planning to make possession of nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas - a criminal offence in England and Wales | BBC, UK
Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas overdose left woman unable to walk
A 25-year-old said taking too much laughing gas left her unable to walk and put her in hospital for six weeks | BBC, UK
Nitrous oxide: Southend mum over-the-moon about new law
A bereaved mum who warns youngsters about her son's death from solvent abuse said she was "in tears" of relief after laughing gas was banned | BBC, UK
Drinking at bus stops and war memorials to be banned in anti social behaviour crackdown
The rules will also include punishments for graffiti and litter, as well as for leaving chewing gum and cigarettes on the streets. Those caught breaking the rules will be made to clean up the streets within 48 hours instead of going to court | Independent, UK
SNP leadership: recovery is key to tacking drug deaths says Ash Regan
There needs to be a greater focus on recovery if drug deaths are to be tackled properly | Glasgow Times, UK
Strip search of children in England and Wales – analysis by the Children’s Commissioner for England (PDF)
In this report, we are publishing never-previously-published data on strip searches conducted under stop and search powers by police forces in England and Wales between 2018 and mid-2022 | Children's Commissioner, UK
Children As Young As 8 Are Being Strip-Searched By Police Under UK Drug Laws
A new report [item above] says almost 3,000 children have been strip-searched by police in England and Wales in four years – mostly for suspected drug-related offences | VICE, UK
CNWL Addictions scoops prestigious award
Beth Crossland and Eugenia Moyo, Physical and Wellbeing Lead Nurses from two of our Addictions services (Hillingdon and Hounslow) won the tightly contested Infection Prevention Nurse of the Year award at the British Journal of Nursing Awards ceremony last Friday | Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Alcohol-free beer is evolving, and it's all due to this small pub
[Possible paywall] Has this pub finally turned the tide for the reputation of alcohol-free drinks? | Telegraph, UK
Arrest over £100K drugs find 'linked to East Belfast UVF'
Police said they have dismantled the supply of "drugs linked to East Belfast UVF" after drugs worth over £100,000 were found in a car during a search | BBC, UK
International news
Limerick council acquires suspected drug dens for conversion to housing
Vacant properties to be returned ‘as social or affordable housing once refurbished’ | Irish Times, Ireland
“NRT or Cold Turkey”: Why Finland Won’t Back Tobacco Harm Reduction
Finland has vaping laws that are about as strict as they can be, short of actually banning it. There’s a ban on all flavors other than tobacco; a total ban on advertising; and if there’s an area where you can’t smoke, that will mean you can’t vape, either. Online and cross-border sales are illegal | Filter Magazine, USA
Switzerland tries slow-mo cannabis revolution
Switzerland, which pioneered prescription heroin and safe injection sites decades ago, is now experimenting with decriminalizing recreational cannabis, with the drug now available in some Basel pharmacies | Medical Xpress, USA
Association of Electronic Cigarette Use by US Adolescents With Subsequent Persistent Cigarette Smoking
This cohort study using data from a national sample of 8671 cigarette-naive adolescents found that youth who had used e-cigarettes at baseline, compared with those who had not, had higher odds of continuing smoking 2 years following initiating smoking the year after baseline. However, the absolute risks of continued smoking for both baseline e-cigarette users and nonusers were very small, as were the differences in absolute risks | JAMA Network Open, USA
Newly available test strips can detect lethal ‘tranq’ in drug supply
Public health workers will soon have a new tool at their disposal to thwart a spreading danger to users of illicit drugs: xylazine test strips | STAT news, USA
Can buprenorphine-equipped ambulances help link overdose survivors to addiction treatment?
Many emergency departments now offer to start opioid overdose survivors on a medication, such as buprenorphine. The majority of overdose survivors, however, refuse hospital transport by ambulance or leave the hospital before treatment can be started. This study examined preliminary outcomes of an innovative model where overdose survivors receive ambulance-based buprenorphine and addiction treatment linkage | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Prescription drugs plus alcohol: Marker of youth substance use disorder
Youth who use prescription drugs and alcohol at the same time are at increased risk for more severe intoxication, injury, overdose, and mortality. This study examined how co-use is related to the prevalence of substance use disorder and if key life experiences play any role in co-use | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Harm Reduction for the Syringes We Make in Prison
Harm reduction supplies are hard to come by in prison. In some facilities, people who inject drugs might use needles salvaged from biohazard bins or bought from corrections officers at a markup. In Washington Corrections Center, needles themselves are relatively accessible—but syringes are not. In their place, we have binkies | Filter Magazine, USA
Many young Australians exposed to e-cigarettes despite restrictions, study suggests
Although you can't legally buy nicotine e-cigarettes in Australia without a prescription, and promotion of e-cigarettes in general is restricted, new research suggests more young Australians are using them and finding them easy to access | Medical Xpress, USA
Global reviews of injecting drug use highlight inadequate coverage of interventions for people who use drugs
Evidence of an increase in injecting drug use (IDU) at a global level highlights the need for improved coverage of interventions to prevent and manage drug-related harms among people who inject drugs (PWID), according to two new reviews led by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney | NDARC, Australia
Epidemiology of injecting drug use, prevalence of injecting-related harm, and exposure to behavioural and environmental risks among people who inject drugs: a systematic review
People who inject drugs are exposed to various and changing risk environments and are at risk of multiple harms related to injecting drug use (IDU). We aimed to undertake a global systematic review of the prevalence of IDU, key IDU-related harms (including HIV, hepatitis C virus [HCV], and hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection and overdose), and key sociodemographic characteristics and risk exposures for people who inject drugs | Lancet, Australia
Global coverage of interventions to prevent and manage drug-related harms among people who inject drugs: a systematic review
Harm reduction and treatment programmes are essential for reducing harms for people who inject drugs (PWID). We aimed to update estimates from a 2017 review of global coverage of needle and syringe exchange programmes (NSPs), opioid agonist treatment (OAT), and other harm reduction services that target PWID (eg, take-home naloxone [THN] programmes, supervised consumption facilities, and drug checking services) | Lancet, Australia
Online vape sales urgently need regulation
The easy access to, and uptake of, vaping by young Australians is a public health crisis, writes Professor Jonine Jancey | MJA, Australia
Yellow tablet/powder containing potent opioid likely to cause serious harm
Serious harm has been identified in relation to metonitazene found in a yellow powder. High Alert urges continued caution, particularly in the Auckland region | High Alert, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Nitrous oxide – criminalising possession as a “controlled drug”
On 26 March 2023, the Government announced its intention to make the simple possession of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) a criminal offence for the first time and that there will also be tighter controls on retailers “to prevent the supply of nitrous oxide for misuse” | Rudi Fortson KC, UK
Expert reaction to the news that the government are to ban nitrous oxide/laughing gas as part of their antisocial behaviour action plan
Prof David Nutt, The Edmond J Safra Chair and Head of the Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Dept of Medicine, Imperial College London and Dr David Caldicott, Senior Lecturer at the ANU Medical School, Australian National University (ANU), give their reaction to the ban | SMC, UK
Steve Rolles: The ban on Nitrous Oxide will be counterproductive. It puts politics ahead of scientific evidence
The Government has decided to criminalise the possession of Nitrous Oxide for personal use as part of its crackdown on antisocial behaviour, ignoring the advice of experts that such a move will be harmful and counterproductive. There are better ways to reduce health risks and antisocial behaviour associated with the drug | Conservative Home, UK
Blundering decision on Nitrous Oxide will Increase Danger, Harm and Anti-Social Behaviour
The ban on safe, legitimate supply of nitrous oxide will directly endanger young people, create a criminal market and introduce many to an underworld of drug supply, violence and exploitation | Peter Reynolds, UK
Despite political will, progress has been painfully slow on tackling Scotland's drug-death crisis
Sandra Holmes’ daughter was just 12 years old when she took an overdose of paracetamol. It was the beginning of a descent into drug use to help medicate the impact of childhood trauma that would lead to cannabis, ecstasy and, eventually, heroin | Holyrood, UK
James*' story: Stigma stops people from accessing the treatment they need
Stigma hurts and isolates people, and stops them from feeling able to access the help and support they need. This is James*' story | NHS APA blog, UK
What is DMT? A brief history
What is DMT aka dimethyltryptamine, and where does it come from? Let us take you through a brief history of and its uses... | Volteface, UK
Expert reaction to study of teen vaping and persistent smoking in the US
A study, published in JAMA Network Open, has looked at any link between teen vaping levels and persistent adolescent cigarette smoking in the US. Prof Lion Shahab, Professor of Health Psychology and Co-Director of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, University College London (UCL) comments on the study here | SMC, UK
People Can’t Get Their A.D.H.D. Medicine, and That’s a Sign of a Larger Problem
[Free registration required] Since last August, America has been experiencing a severe shortage of Adderall and related stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While the origin of the shortfall is contested, some blame rigid manufacturing quotas imposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which the agency hasn’t lifted despite increased diagnoses, insisting that the manufacturers have not used all of their existing allowances. The D.E.A. also has yet to provide a clear explanation of the shortage or to take emergency actions to help alleviate it | NYTimes opinion, USA