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Daily news - 11th May 2023 |
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UK news
Webinar Part Two: Continuity of Care – sharing learning from local areas
Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:00 - 11:30 BST. Continuity of care in drug and alcohol treatment between prison and community continues to be a priority within the Government’s drug strategy. Many local areas’ treatment systems have worked in partnership with prisons to improve their performance in supporting people on release from prison to ensure a seamless transition. Following on from the first webinar, this webinar will cover:1) Working in partnership, processes and communication; 2) Engaging women in the CJS; 3) Data accuracy & reconciliation and 4) Building professional relationships & coordinating continuity of care partnerships | OHID, UK
Inside London’s chemsex crisis: paramedics to hand out advice cards as ambulance is called every day
A groundbreaking project to stop people dying at hook-ups is now under way, as paramedics give out harm reduction cards at chemsex meetings | i news, UK
Accessing psilocybin in the UK
A debate on ‘Psilocybin Access Rights’ is expected to be heard in the House of Commons later this month. The session, scheduled for three hours, provides an opportunity for MPs to advocate for the rescheduling of psilocybin to enable better access to the psychedelic medicine | PSYCH, UK
Flintshire teens in hospital after mixing drugs and alcohol
Two teenagers have been taken to hospital after mixing alcohol with what is believed to be ketamine. The pair, aged 14 and 15 and from Flintshire, were taken to Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital having become "seriously ill" last week | BBC, UK
The Association Between Trauma, Substance Use, Schizotypy and Risk of Aggression - survey
The aim of this study is to explore the schizotypy-aggression relationship whilst accounting for the effects of substance use and trauma. The study will involve an online questionnaire, participants will be introduced to the study and asked to sign the consent form. The study will begin by asking demographic questions followed by a questionnaire based on four areas (Trauma; Substance Use; Schizotypy and Aggression). | University of Nottingham, 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. However, the activities of the alcohol industry in targeting LGBTQ+ communities have been largely ignored | SHAAP, UK
Join us in Parliament on 27th June
We will be taking action in Parliament on 27th June, 2023 to show the public and politicians that we stand for better drug laws | Anyone's Child, UK
Man had cannabis sent to his home in board game box
A man who had more than £2,200 worth of cannabis hidden in the box of a board game which was posted to his home address has been handed a suspended sentence | BBC, UK
International news
Qualitative researchers discuss…overeating as a form of addiction
Colleagues from Deakin University (Australia) led the Qualitative Methods Journal Club in April 2023, where the subject was overeating, obesity, and the neuroscience of addiction. The group talk about notions of bingeing and craving, comparisons between ‘junk foods’ and drugs, and societal concerns about the body and the everyday practice of eating | SSA, UK
Almost half of tobacco lobbyists in Australia have held positions in government, study finds
Research investigates the ‘revolving door’ between the tobacco industry and politics and how it influences policy | Guardian, UK
In Africa’s ‘first narco-state’, rehab can mean torture for addicts
[Possible paywall] Guinea-Bissau’s drug crisis is threatening to incapacitate an entire generation of young people | Telegraph, UK
EMCDDA and SICAD formalise ‘Lisbon Addictions’ cooperation with new agreement
The EMCDDA and the General-Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), formalising their cooperation in the organisation of the European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies — ‘Lisbon Addictions’. The signatories of the agreement were SICAD Director-General João Goulão and EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdee | EMCDDA, Portugal
EMCDDA Webinar: Teens and substance use — what can parents do? - video
The objective of this webinar was to help adults manage risks relating to adolescent substance use in line with evidence-based prevention principles | EMCDDA, Portugal
Substantial racial inequalities despite frequent health care contact found in treatment for opioid use disorder
In the wake of an opioid-related event such as an overdose, infection, or detox admission, white patients received medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) up to 80% more frequently than Black patients and up to 25% more frequently than Hispanic patients, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Medical Xpress, USA
Perspectives of Clinicians and Staff at Community-Based Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Settings on Linkages With Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine Programs
In this qualitative study of 103 clinicians and staff at 4 community sites providing OUD treatment, participants voiced concerns with buprenorphine initiation in the absence of counseling services and in the ED; concerns about the ED as a treatment initiation site; difficulty accepting patients into buprenorphine treatment because of treatment capacity and payment issues; regulatory barriers; the need for more addiction-trained staff; the need for improved systems for communication between EDs and community partners; and means to address sociostructural needs of patients | JAMA Network Open, USA
SAMHSA Distributes Additional Grant Funding for Programs That Combat Overdose and Substance Use on Multiple Fronts
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is announcing awards in four grant programs devoted to combating the overdose epidemic on multiple fronts. The grant awards total nearly $11.3 million in additional funding to programs and support the President’s Unity Agenda focus on beating the nation’s opioid and overdose epidemic | SAMHSA, USA
Harm Reduction Overlooks Hep A and B. They Matter Here in Prison
On May 7, UNAIDS called for prisoner access to harm reduction—medication for opioid use disorder, sterile syringes and condoms—to reduce viral transmission of HIV, along with hepatitis C. I’m told that in the harm reduction movement outside of prison, when people talk about viral transmission they’re referring mainly to just those two. Which makes sense for the harm reduction work taking place out there, but in here the conversation isn’t about two viruses—it’s about four | Filter Magazine, USA
Prescribed alcohol program in Halifax to add social activities after finding surprising side effect
An evaluation of a Halifax program that prescribes alcohol to people who have struggled with homelessness and alcohol dependency is showing positive results — but it's had a surprising side effect. Participants were bored | CBC News, Canada
HRA Federal Budget Media Release – 9 May 2023
Harm Reduction Australia welcomes the announcement in tonight’s Federal Budget that will see $377.3m over 4 years (with $98.4m ongoing) invested in making access more affordable under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program (ODTP) | HRA, Australia
Solving the problem of youth vaping
A University of Queensland researcher said current Australian laws were failing to prevent young people using nicotine vaping products (NVPs). Professor Coral Gartner from UQ’s School of Public Health said many people were unwilling to comply with regulations around nicotine vaping, and retailers were continuing to sell the products under the counter, including to children | University of Queensland, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The best drugs for stopping smoking that you probably can’t have – new review
When so much time and effort goes into developing the best medical treatments, we expect them to be available when we need them. The same goes for addiction treatments, so it’s worrying that two of the most effective drugs for quitting smoking aren’t available in the UK | Conversation, UK
Perhaps it’s time to admit it: drinking at work is an ugly hangover from the past
Booze still runs deep in Britain’s workplace culture. At last bosses are being urged to think hard about its role | Guardian, UK
Psychonauts by Mike Jay review – the drug-takers who changed history
Humphry Davy on laughing gas, Sigmund Freud on cocaine … how self-experimentation shaped science and art | Guardian, UK
INPUD condemns Singapore’s execution of Tangaraju
Our opposition to the death penalty is based on moral and practical grounds. Capital punishment is a violation of the Declaration for Human Rights, especially its fundamental tenets on the right to life and that no one be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment | INPUD blog, UK
The FDA should crack down on marijuana misinformation on social media
Marijuana is now legal for medicinal purposes in more than 30 states. I have several friends and colleagues who swear by cannabis products to help them sleep or ease their back pain. I’m happy they found something to address their ailments. But marijuana’s legal status in some states and the health benefits touted by companies is often hyped far beyond any basis in science | The Hill opinion, USA