Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 2nd May 2023 |
 |
UK news
New campaign shares letters to loved ones lost to alcohol and drugs
‘Everyone knows someone’ is the message behind See Beyond - See the Lives - Scotland, a new campaign from academics and advocacy organisations that aims to reduce the stigma that surrounds deaths due to alcohol and drugs | University of Stirling, UK
7 tips for helping smokers with mental health problems QUIT
This Mental Health & Smoking Partnership resource sets out 7 tips for helping smokers with mental health problems quit for good. These tips were developed by Rethink expert by experience, Hannah Moore, based on her personal experience of quitting smoking as a mental health service user | ASH, UK
Has Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) been effective? The evidence so far (PDF)
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol (MUP) was implemented in May 2018 at a rate of 50p per unit. The policy is subject to a sunset clause, which means it will lapse unless renewed by the Scottish Parliament by end of April 202 | Alcohol Focus Scotland and SHAAP, UK
Rishi Sunak rejects call for rethink on Scotch whisky tax
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected calls to reconsider a big increase in the tax on Scotch whisky | BBC, UK
Alcohol (Deaths and Harm)
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to Alcohol Focus Scotland’s emergency call to urgently take action to prevent further deaths and reduce harm from alcohol | They work for you, UK
Catering: Alcoholic Drinks
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing alcohol labelling for menus in restaurants and cafes in England | They work for you, UK
Smoking: Greater London
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people who died from smoking in (a) Enfield and (b) London in each year since 2017 | They work for you, UK
Episode 11: Overdose Prevention Centres - podcast
In this episode we are delighted to welcome Peter Krykant @PeteKrykant_OPC and Dr Gillian Shorter @GWShorter discuss Overdose Prevention Centres and why they are a vital part of supporting people who use drugs | Frontline, UK
Episode 3: Failed by the system - Scotland's drug death crisis - podcast
The Ordinary Elite is a new Scottish podcast series brought to you from Glasgow by John McGovern and Mike Dailly. Both are Solicitor Advocates. In our third episode we're joined by Annmarie Ward, the founder and CEO of the charity Faces & Voices of Recovery UK. FAVOR UK challenge the stigma of addiction and are campaigning for a proposed Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament. We asked Annmarie how did Scotland come to have the highest death rate from drug overdoses in Europe? | The Ordinary Elite, UK
Pain ordeal for Fife man with rare Ehlers Danlos syndrome
A Fife an who suffers more than 100 dislocations a day due to a rare genetic condition says he will be left without effective pain relief within months due to a crackdown on prescription medication as a result of rising drug deaths | Herald, UK
‘My body felt like it was giving up’: Busted’s Matt Willis on the addictions that nearly destroyed him
The bass player has made a bitingly honest documentary about his struggles with cocaine and alcohol, and how he recovered. He hopes it might help others who are facing the same demons | Guardian, UK
Policy paper - High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age
This white paper sets out the government’s plan for reform of gambling regulation following the review of the Gambling Act 2005 | Department for Culture, Media and Sport, UK
UK Gambling White Paper Aims to Redress Power Imbalance and Prevent Addiction
The UK Government has released a White Paper that proposes several changes to gambling regulation in the country. The aim of the White Paper is to redress the power imbalance between gamblers and operators while preventing addiction from occurring | Forward Trust, UK
Recovery Street Film Festival - Themes for 2023
Please read the potential theme descriptions and vote for your favourite | RSFF, UK
The Truth About Drugs in Bristol - at the University of Bristol
Tue, 9 May 2023 18:30 - 21:00 BST. Bristol. An opportunity to learn about much-needed drug harm reduction strategies in the city, plus new psychedelic research at a Bristol clinic | Drug Science, UK
Alcohol Occasionals - Alcohol marketing to LGBTQ+ people
Wed, 24 May 2023 12:45 - 14:00 BST. Growing evidence demonstrates higher rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms among LGBTQ+ people compared to their cisgender/heterosexual counterparts. Scottish research relates this to alcohol’s normalisation within LGBTQ+ social settings, its importance to identity construction, and substance use to cope with stigma and discrimination | SHAAP, UK
Drugs Research Network Scotland - End of Phase Showcase Event
Thu, 8 Jun 2023 09:30 - 16:00 BST. Glasgow. DRNS showcase event highlighting work supported over the second Phase of the network | DRNS, UK
Crime bosses who used encrypted platform EncroChat jailed
Two crime bosses who conspired to buy and supply heroin, cocaine and guns on encrypted communications platform EncroChat have been jailed | BBC, UK
Men behind 'ghost' drug dealing line in Cornwall jailed
A gang of organised criminals who ran the 'ghost' line in Cornwall have been jailed for a combined total of more than 14 years | ITV, UK
International news
Biden commutes sentences of 31 convicted of drug crimes
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 31 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes who were serving time in home confinement | Independent, UK
Cannabis companies proliferate on list of fastest-growing American businesses
[Appears to be open access] Spread of legal marijuana lifts 11 companies into FT/Statista ranking, with some recording $1bn in annual revenue | FT, UK
Vietnam arrests 65 for drug smuggling in toothpaste tubes
Police have arrested 65 people for smuggling 50kg of drugs - some hidden in toothpaste tubes - into Vietnam. It follows last month's arrests of four Vietnam Airlines cabin crew found with the tubes in carry-on bags after a flight from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City | BBC, UK
Australia to ban non-prescription vapes in biggest smoking reforms in a decade
Quality standards to be introduced to tackle youth vaping, including restricting flavours, colours and other ingredients | Guardian, UK
Seven psychoactive drugs detected in Australian wastewater for the first time
Drugs have previously been detected in other research but wastewater results suggest increasing consumption | Guardian, UK
Victoria Greens to push for greater access to safe injecting rooms with proposed bill change
Exclusive: Proposed amendment would make North Richmond facility permanent and widen eligibility criteria | Guardian, UK
HSE launches street art that teaches the public about naloxone use
The HSE has launched new street art which aims to teach the public how to respond to an opioid overdose and how Naloxone can save lives | IMT, Ireland
Prescriptions for medicines containing codeine up 22% since 2012
The number of prescriptions issued for medicines containing codeine has increased by more than 22% since 2012 | RTe, Ireland
Growing number of farmers now seeking treatment for cocaine addiction
‘It's a public health issue – and it’s only going to get worse,’ says addiction expert | Independent, Ireland
Lunchtime drug dealing taking place in Dublin as children play nearby
Parts of north inner city Dublin have become an “open drugs market”, with dealing taking place in broad daylight under the noses of gardaí, it has been claimed | Independent, Ireland
Expert calls for reforms to address the overdose crisis
At the end of 2022, the federal government eliminated the "X waiver," a major hurdle to providing addiction treatment, but progress needs to be continued, according to the authors of a new Perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine | Medical Xpress, USA
A Suicide Attempt Following Psilocybin Ingestion in a Patient With No Prior Psychiatric History
[Open access] Several studies have been conducted and more are underway examining psilocybin-assisted therapy as a treatment for various psychiatric conditions including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and alcohol use disorder. However, many studies have been limited by small sample size and have not comprehensively evaluated treatment risks outside of controlled settings. To this point, we present a case of a 30 year old male with no psychiatric history who presented to the emergency department with multiple self-inflicted stab wounds to the neck in a suicide attempt in the setting of psilocybin ingestion | Psychiatry Research Case Reports, USA
Vaping in the presence of supplemental oxygen can lead to burns, explosions, even death
Common wisdom warns against smoking cigarettes in the presence of supplemental oxygen, whether at home, in a hospital or in an industrial setting | News Medical, USA
Pennsylvania set to ban supervised drug use sites, in setback for harm reduction
Pennsylvania lawmakers are set to pass a new ban on supervised drug consumption, effectively ending a Philadelphia nonprofit’s long-running effort to offer a sanctioned substance-use site meant to prevent overdose and death | STAT News, USA
ADB-5’Br-PINACA
ADB-5’Br-PINACA is a novel synthetic cannabinoid which is structurally related to ADB-5’Br-BINACA (or ADB-5’Br-BUTINACA), ADB-PINACA, and other similar indazole carboxamides | CFSRE, USA
Needing Younger Workers, Federal Officials Relax Rules on Past Drug Use
[Free registration required] As more states legalize marijuana and competition for talent grows fiercer, the U.S. government is loosening guidelines from the “Just Say No” era | NYTimes, USA
Deep brain stimulation for alcohol use disorder recovery
Brain stimulation, a neuro–surgical procedure intended to directly influence brain activity, shows promise as a new treatment. This pilot study tested its safety and preliminary efficacy for individuals with severe alcohol use disorder | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Black patients less likely to get buprenorphine during opioid-related emergency visits
Reduced access to healthcare may explain why Black and Hispanic Americans have increasingly higher rates of opioid overdose than White Americans. This study investigated if racial/ethnic minorities were prescribed buprenorphine at different rates relative to White patients as part of a real-world trial to engage patients with buprenorphine in the emergency department| Recovery Research Institute, USA
The DRAM, Vol. 19(5) – An online program to prevent underaged drinking among Korean students
This week, The DRAM reviews a study by Younkyoung Kim and colleagues that discusses the development and assessment of a novel online, school-based intervention designed to influence Korean school childrens' perspectives on alcohol consumption | BASIS, USA
Colombia’s Coca Market Crash Unlikely to Impact Cocaine Trade
The plummeting price of coca in some of Colombia’s cultivation hotspots is unlikely to affect major drug trafficking operations despite forcing farmers out of growing the crop | Insight Crime, Colombia
'This must end': Govt moves on child vaping
A major public health campaign will be announced today to crack down on vaping in a bid to prevent the next generation of “nicotine addicts,” and to stamp out what’s claimed to be the “number one” behavioural issue among high school students | InDaily, Australia
‘We must not focus solely on young people’: An overview of deaths related to inhalant misuse within Australia
NDARC's Professor Shane Darke discusses his recently published study on deaths related to inhalant misuse in Australia | NDARC, Australia
Cask wine sales ban trialled at Adelaide CBD bottle shops to curb alcohol-fuelled violence
Authorities are monitoring the impact of a trial ban on the sale of cask wine in Adelaide's city centre, which has been introduced to curb alcohol-fuelled violence | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The vaping industry preyed on young Australians with a flood of dangerous products. Change was much needed
Weak restrictions on vapes left teens vulnerable to addiction, but this plan puts Australia back at the front of the pack on tobacco laws | Guardian, UK
German cannabis reform: more mirrors than smoke?
Although cannabis has been made legal — or at least decriminalised — in over 20 countries, most notably Canada, the announcement last year following the federal election that Germany was to follow suit still caused quite a stir internationally | EU Observer, Belgium
Cannabis-derived products like delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC have flooded the US market – two immunologists explain the medicinal benefits and potential risks
These days you see signs for delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC and CBD, or cannabidiol, everywhere – at gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops and online. Many people are rightly wondering which of these compounds are legal, whether it is safe to consume them and which of their supposed medicinal benefits hold up to scientific scrutiny | Conversation, USA
The tricky economics of subsidising psychedelics for mental health therapy
Australia is the world’s first country to legalise the medical use of psychedelics. But not everyone is sure the timing is right. There are still major issues to work out for this move to benefit those most in need | Conversation, Australia