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Daily news - 4th May 2023

UK news

Drink and Drugs News - May 2023

‘Encountering difficulty remains a fact of life,’ writes Lisa Ogilvie (p6) and we know that for many people involved with treatment services, the dice have been loaded against them from the minute they were born. But as we look for opportunities around Mental Health Awareness Week (9-15 May) she offers advice on developing strategies to boost resilience and improve wellbeing. The model is based on identifying character strengths so we can all build on what works well for us and reframe what doesn’t – an empowering and motivating message | DDN, UK

Ban smoking and tax fruit juice, says George Osborne

Ex-chancellor urges UK PM extend sugar tax and raise legal age for tobacco to curb obesity and cancer | Guardian, UK

Vaping: Under-18s

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma, and it is great to welcome many colleagues from across the House to this important debate. I completely recognise that vaping has a vital role to play in supporting adults to give up tobacco smoking. However, vaping is a public good only if it is helping people to end addictions that they already have, not creating new ones, especially in our vulnerable young folk | They work for you, UK

Asylum: Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken any investigations into instances of drug dealing within asylum dispersal accommodation | They work for you, UK

Alcoholism: North West

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died from alcoholism in (a) St Helens and (b) the North West in each year since 2018 | They work for you, UK

Hot, sober spring: How to master the art of booze-free socialising

From sober-friendly pubs and dry discos, to navigating dating teetotal — here’s how to still have all the fun minus hangovers this season | Evening Standard, UK

Cigarettes and tobacco worth £2m seized in County Tyrone

A 70-year-old man was arrested after millions of pounds worth of cigarettes and tobacco were seized by customs officials and police | BBC, UK

Claverham: Pair arrested after suspected cannabis farm raid

Officers "acted on intelligence" and discovered 222 suspected cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £90,000, the force added | BBC, UK

International news

The impact of the deadly fentanyl ‘plague’ on one American city - video

We head to Baltimore to look at the impact of the synthetic drug which is now the biggest killer of Americans aged 18-35 – more than gun crime, more than road accidents | Channel 4, UK

Australia’s tobacco tax is among the highest in the world – and it’s about to get higher

Labor wants to reduce the number of daily smokers to below 10% of the population | Guardian, UK

The end of recreational vaping in Australia – Full Story podcast

The Albanese government has announced the biggest smoking reforms in a decade – banning non-prescription vapes and hiking the tax on tobacco. Health minister Mark Butler says these reforms will close ‘the biggest loophole in Australian health care history’ that saw nicotine vapes marketed and sold to children. Medical editor Melissa Davey explains why the government has chosen this approach, and what these reforms means for vape users and sellers | Guardian, UK

France weighing ban on disposable e-cigarettes: minister

The French government may ban disposable electronic cigarettes popular in particular among teenagers by the end of this year, Health Minister Francois Braun said Wednesday | Medical Xpress, USA

U.S. deaths due to fentanyl nearly quadrupled in 5 years

Overdose deaths in the United States tied to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl soared 279% from 2016 to 2021, health officials reported Wednesday | Medical Xpress, USA

When naloxone isn't enough: How technology can save lives when people use drugs when they're alone

When Ju Park was studying epidemiology in graduate school, she volunteered with a harm reduction organization that trained local community members on how to prevent a drug overdose. She traveled around the state to demonstrate how the medication naloxone can be used to reverse an overdose from opioids if administered in a timely manner | Medical Xpress, USA

Restricting flavored e-cigarettes may reduce their use among teens and young adults: Study

Getting many adolescents and young adults to stop using e-cigarettes may be as simple as doing away with flavored versions of the product, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. This study suggests that a large majority of current users may discontinue their use if the product became available in the tobacco version only | Medical Xpress, USA

Nondisordered Cannabis Use Among US Adolescents

In this cross-sectional study of 68 263 adolescents, NDCU was approximately 4 times more common than cannabis use disorder (CUD). NDCU and CUD were both significantly associated with adverse psychosocial events in a stepwise gradient manner | JAMA Network Open, USA

Case report: Magic mushrooms may induce lasting improvements in color-blind vision

Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Center for Behavioral Health, Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have authored a case report on the positive effects of psilocybin on color blindness | Medical Xpress, USA

Parents are not ready for the new reality of teen cannabis use

The voice mail was waiting on Amy’s phone one morning in February 2019, a missed call from her 18-year-old son the night before. When Amy, a mom from Connecticut who is being identified by first name only to protect her family’s privacy, played the message, she heard the panicked voice of her child | Washington Post, USA

Activists Crash Texas Legislature Over Contrasting Fentanyl Bills

Harm reduction activists crashed the Texas State Capitol in Austin on April 27, protesting lawmakers’ combination of inaction and regressive action around fentanyl and people who use it. A bill to decriminalize fentanyl test strips is currently stalled in a Senate committee. Meanwhile, lawmakers are moving on a different bill, to drastically increase penalties for selling fentanyl—including potentially charging sellers with murder in overdose cases | Filter Magazine, USA

A Store Selling Heroin, Meth, and Cocaine Just Opened in Canada

Jerry Martin has opened The Drugs Store in Vancouver. If arrested, he plans to launch a constitutional challenge | VICE, USA

Five drug-induced deaths per day in Australia in 2021: new report

A new report sheds light on trends in overdose and other drug-induced deaths in Australia and identifies steps to avoid some deaths | NDARC, Australia

Doctor warns the vape crack down will cause booming black market

A doctor whose life’s work has been to stop Australians from smoking has slammed the government’s announcement as a “$234m mistake” | News.com.au, Australia

Dosing and Therapeutic Conduct in Administration Sessions in Substance-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Systematized Review

[Open access] While the potential of serotonergic psychedelics and related substances as adjuncts in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAPT) has been investigated for the treatment of several disorders, evidence for the appropriate therapeutic conduct in administration sessions is sparse. In this article, we discuss the current evidence for best therapeutic practice during administration sessions with serotonergic psychedelics and entactogens as adjuncts to psychotherapy | Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Australia

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