Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports

Daily news - 9th May 2023

UK news

Scores of local pharmacies closing across England

The number of pharmacies in England has fallen by 160 over the last two years, BBC analysis shows. There are now 11,026 community chemists, according to data from NHS Business Services Authority - the lowest number since 2015 | BBC, UK

Firms urged to cut down on alcohol at work parties

Businesses are being urged to limit the amount of alcohol served at work social events in order to prevent people from acting inappropriately towards others | BBC, UK

A medication-based intervention for people who use benzodiazepines

Karen Berry talks about prescribing protocols for people who are dependent on benzodiazepines, and why benzodiazepines have been such a prominent feature in drug-related deaths in recent years | SSA, UK

Square Mile veteran set to chair medical cannabis company

The first medical cannabis company to list on the London-stock exchange is set to draft in a financial services veteran as its chair and unveil a multimillion pound fundraising initiative this week | City AM, UK

The Truth About Drugs in Bristol - at the University of Bristol

Tue, 9 May 2023 18:30 - 21:00 BST. 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

Drugs Research Network Scotland - End of Phase Showcase Event

Thu, 8 Jun 2023 09:30 - 16:00 BST. Merchants House of Glasgow 7 West George Street Glasgow G2 1BA. DRNS showcase event highlighting work supported over the second Phase of the network | DRNS, UK

2022-2023 MCA Legacy Essay Competition

Closing date: 1st June. It has been widely reported that youth alcohol consumption has decreased over recent years. What is the evidence to support this view? What are the implications for alcohol related health harm, promotion of safe drinking and health policy? | MCA, UK

World Hepatitis Day in Bloom

World Hepatitis Day in Bloom is back! Show your support and remember those we've sadly lost by planting seeds for this year's event | Hepatitis C Trust, UK

Belfast: Two arrested after £125K heroin seizure

Suspected heroin with an estimated value of £125,000 was recovered during searches in Belfast on Thursday night | BBC, UK

International news

Can brains bounce back? Recovering addicts turn to science to map the effects of meth

Cohen Irwin is part of a group of former addicts in New Zealand working with researchers to trace signs of healing in the brains of those who stop smoking | Guardian, UK

Heroin overdoses surge in Melbourne as health services struggle to cope

Victorian capital’s CBD recorded most fatal heroin overdoses in country between 2020 and 2022, with 12,000 syringe kits now handed out each month | Guardian, UK

Will psychedelic drugs transform mental health treatment? – podcast

Psychedelic drugs have long been been used for their mind-altering effects. Now, they are making their way into western medicine as a treatment for mental health disorders. From July, psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder, making it the first country in the world to recognise psychedelics as medicines | Guardian, UK

Man who died at NSW northern rivers retreat was ‘blue in the face’ as ceremony continued nearby, inquest told

Jarrad Antonovich died from a perforated oesophagus after consuming ayahuasca and Kambo frog toxin at Dreaming Arts festival | Guardian, UK

Gang violence could end open cannabis trade in anarchist commune Christiania

Organised criminals have taken over ‘Pusher Street’ market in the Danish capital and are vying for dominance | Guardian, UK

Idyllic Galapagos turn into staging post in vicious new drug war gripping Ecuador

[Possible paywall] Gangs have turned to a Pacific route to avoid stricter US patrols in the Caribbean and North Atlantic | Telegraph, UK

Police arrest man for opening store selling hard drugs in Canada

A Canadian man has been arrested in British Columbia for opening a mobile shop to sell cocaine, heroin and other hard drugs | BBC, UK

US backs study of safe injection sites, overdose prevention

For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much | Medical Xpress, USA

How the Opioid Backlash Went Wrong

The twin problems of patients with a legitimate medical need losing access to opioids, while the addiction and overdose rates swell, add up to a new opioid crisis that may be worse than the original one that emerged at the turn of millennium. Federal and state governments, along with health care, bungled the response to that original crisis, say a range of experts | Newsweek, USA

Restricting e-liquid flavors may help adolescents and young adults to stop using e-cigarettes

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 | News Medical, USA

“I’m Clean and Sober, But Not Necessarily Free”: Perceptions of Buprenorphine Among Patients in Long-Term Treatment

[Open access] Patients receiving buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) experience a roughly 50% reduction in mortality risk relative to those not receiving medication. Longer periods of treatment are also associated with improved clinical outcomes. Despite this, patients often express desires to discontinue treatment and some view taper as treatment success. Little is known about the beliefs and medication perspectives of patients engaged in long-term buprenorphine treatment that may underlie motivations to discontinue | Substance Abuse, USA

As fentanyl deaths surge, some state lawmakers push back against 'harm reduction'

Fentanyl overdoses have emerged as the leading cause of death for young Americans ages 18 to 45, but some state legislatures are pushing back against health measures designed to help people survive opioid addiction | npr, USA

Cannabis product authenticity: a metabolomic big data approach

In a recent study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences researchers examined the use of an authentomics approach to authenticating cannabis products | News Medical, USA

From São Paulo, a Wave of Medical Cannabis Reform Across Brazil

On 4/20, São Paulo State Deputy Caio França (Socialist Party) filed a bill that that would authorize domestic cannabis cultivation within the Brazilian state. With São Paulo already preparing to roll out medical cannabis access via public insurance, a fresh determination to legalize and regulate cannabis has sparked at the federal level, too | Filter Magazine, USA

‘You almost died’: Safe drug use saves lives in Australia

Melbourne’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) has courted controversy but is estimated to have saved 63 people dying from drug use | Aljazeeera, Qatar

Trends in Overdose and Other Drug-Induced Deaths in Australia, 2002-2021

This report presents the most recent and in-depth data on overdose and drug-induced deaths in Australia, covering the period 2002 to 2021. It is the most recent output in a series of annual publications on trends in drug overdose deaths issued by Drug Trends for over 20 years | NDARC, Australia

[Open access] Opioid dependence is associated with substantial health and social burdens, and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is highly effective in improving multiple outcomes for people who receive this treatment. Methadone and buprenorphine are common medications provided as OAT. We aimed to examine buprenorphine compared with methadone in the treatment of opioid dependence across a wide range of primary and secondary outcomes | Lancet, Australia

Novel stimulants sold as MDMA, cocaine or speed

Synthetic cathinones and PMMA are circulating in a range of forms in Victoria | Victoria Department of Health, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

The Left-wing obsession with cannabis could destroy an entire generation

[Possible paywall] A new study suggests that almost a third of schizophrenia cases in young men had been triggered by regular use of the drug | Telegraph, UK

Irish Examiner View: Costs of cannabis decriminalisation unclear

When the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use gathered for its first meeting last month, our writers warned of the complications of drawing conclusions from what was happening elsewhere | Irish Examiner opinion, Ireland

Early Notes From the Post Pandemic Addiction Tsunami

Two years ago, I started talking about the likelihood of the pandemic related isolation and turmoil leading to dramatic increases in substance misuse. I termed it an addiction tsunami, others made similar comparisons. The analogy is holding. COVID was the precipitating earthquake. The water is now beginning to rise and envelope a fragile service infrastructure teetering on collapse. It is probable that we are seeing only the initial ripples of this tidal surge | Recovery Review blog, USA

After a Decade, Marijuana Legalization Is Not Going Well | Opinion

Adecade's worth of data are in, and the promises of marijuana legalization are increasingly proving empty. From more marijuana-related hospitalizations to higher usage rates and an expansion of the illicit market, the effects of legalization have been detrimental to public health and safety, communities of color, and even the environment | Newsweek opinion, USA

Why NZ should not copy Australian vape clampdown

The Australian position on vaping is too extreme and, frankly, punitive towards people who smoke | Newsroom, New Zealand

Extend Studio