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Daily news - 22nd May 2023 |
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UK news
Former drug addicts to help mentor jobseekers
The £3.7m peer mentoring programme run by the Department for Work and Pensions is being trialled in 40 Jobcentres across England as part of wider efforts to support people back into work | Local Gov, UK
Local action towards a smoke-free future
These case studies describe the efforts of local councils across England to improve health and wellbeing through tackling smoking | LGA, UK
Humankind - Being Human: A strategy for everyone
Humankind are proud to launch their new five-year strategy called 'Being Human'. Being Human is centred on people: the people who use our services, their families, and the communities they are part of. To shape Being Human, we listened to over 3,300 people: employees, those they support, their commissioners and their valued delivery partners | Humankind, UK
Researching Key Components of a Scottish Drug Checking Service
Tue, 20 Jun 2023 14:00 - 15:30 BST. There are currently no drug checking services in Scotland, but their delivery is being planned in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow. The Scottish Drug Checking research project (Jan 2021-May 2023) explored barriers and opportunities for setting up drug checking in these three cities, working closely with a range of relevant local and national parties to inform implementation. This webinar will present some of the findings from the project and outline next steps, progress and challenges for the delivery of drug checking services in Scotland | DRNS, UK
The £8bn boom in magic mushrooms that’s sweeping Britain
[possible paywall] They’re billed as a miracle cure for mental illness – but do psychedelic drugs live up to the hype? | Telegraph, UK
Vapes falsely advertised as nicotine-free sold online without age checks, LBC investigation finds
LBC has found evidence of retailers falsely advertising illegal vapes as nicotine-free to get away with selling them online, and in some cases without age checks | LBC, UK
Wine to become cheaper as government set to scrap EU red tape
[possible paywall] Ministers say plans to cut regulations on the production and marketing of wine will deliver a £180 million boost to the industry | Telegraph, UK
Jeremy Clarkson brews alcohol free beer: Former Top Gear star's Diddly Squat Farm trademarks its own brand of teetotal drinks in hopes of tapping into non-alcoholic market
Jeremy’s application to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office covers low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beer and wine | Mail Online, UK
CBI banned alcohol-only events after staff party, says ex-chief
The former boss of the CBI claims she banned alcohol-only staff events following accusations of drunken behaviour at a summer party | BBC, UK
The 100-year-old project management tool you can use for your PhD
The ‘Gantt chart’ is the tool favoured by PhD supervisors and funders for plotting a research timeline. Natalie Davies writes about the benefits of Gantt charts, and how you can make your own Gantt chart in four easy steps | SSA, UK
Midlands drug smugglers used furniture removal as cover
A criminal gang has been convicted over the smuggling of drugs with a street value of £135m - under the guise of a furniture removal company | BBC, UK
International news
Naloxone has been hailed as life-saving. Why isn’t it given to those who need it?
The spray can reverse an opioid overdose and access to it has been eased in recent months, but access is still limited | Guardian, UK
Australia wants to be the first to turn youth vaping rates around – but will its plan work?
Attempts to ban vaping in other countries have been mixed at best, but there are reasons for optimism | Guardian, UK
Chrisann Pereira: How a Bollywood actress was framed as a drug mule
What happened to aspiring actress Chrisann Pereira last month resembles the plot of a Bollywood thriller | BBC, UK
Supervised injection centre being considered to protect Cork City drug users
A medically supervised injection centre may be considered for Cork after a delegation from Cork City Council, the HSE and An Garda Síochána travelled to Lisbon to learn from the drug policy there | Irish Examiner, Ireland
HSE to run drug-testing service at several summer festivals
Vast differences in MDMA concentrations in apparently identical “skull” pills and new psychoactive substances being mis-sold as MDMA pills or crystal are among Health Service Executive concerns as the music festival season gets under way | Irish Times, Ireland
President says addiction services needed 'now more than ever'
President Michael D Higgins has said that, unfortunately, the addiction services at Coolmine in Dublin are needed "now more than ever" | RTe, Ireland
€2.4m worth of cannabis seized by Revenue at Dublin Port
Gardaí have arrested a man after more than €2m worth of cannabis was seized at Dublin Port | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Charleroi working on a mobile ‘room’ where addicts can use hard drugs safely
The low-risk consumption rooms are aimed at offering drug users a safer alternative away from unsanitary public spaces | Mayor, Belgium
Study reports a shared genetic basis for cannabis use and psychiatric disorders
A new study from the University of Oslo published in the Lancet Psychiatry, reported a shared genetic basis for cannabis use and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These findings may indicate that a subset of the population is at high risk for both cannabis use and psychiatric disorders, based on their genetic propensity | News Medical, USA
An Equity Action Plan for Marijuana: The Biden Administration’s Opportunity to Advance Equity Through Cannabis Reform
This paper examines the Biden Administration’s executive orders on equity, its position on marijuana reform before and after President Biden’s related October 2022 statement, and it's repeated statements acknowledging both cannabis criminalization’s disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities and marijuana reform as an opportunity to advance equity | SSRN, USA
Trends in Methadone Dispensing for Opioid Use Disorder After Medicare Payment Policy Changes
In this cross-sectional study of 9 870 791 Medicare Advantage enrollees, increased rates of methadone dispensing were observed, largely driven by beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and those younger than 65 years | JAMA Network Open, USA
Why It’s So Hard to Crack Down on Stoned Drivers in New York
[Free registration may be required] Smoking marijuana while operating a vehicle appears to have become ubiquitous in New York City after the drug’s legalization. But it’s a trend, though illegal, that’s not easy to curb | NYTimes, USA
Fired for Cannabis Impairment? What Recourse Do You Have?
As cannabis legalization spreads across the United States, it helps protect people from criminalization, but it doesn’t protect you from being fired if you’re under the influence at work | Filter Magazine, USA
Using Technology to Implement Client-reported Core Outcome Measures with Feedback into Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services'
The demand for alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment greatly outweighs the available resources. Consequently, current healthcare funding models prioritize the volume of AOD service delivery over quality. Value-based healthcare which shifts focus onto the achievement of positive client AOD outcomes (value), relative to the resources and costs, provides a potential solution to these problems | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Minimum unit pricing and the messiness of evidence-based policy
As somebody with a keen interest in evidence-based policy, and somebody who has been involved in United Kingdom alcohol policy analysis and debate for the past 7 years, following minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland has been a fascinating experience. The Scottish Government's approach to evaluation has been, as John Holmes remarks, ‘notable for its ambition and comprehensiveness’ | Addiction commentary, UK
It’s time for retailers to take responsibility for underage vaping
Whether in supermarkets, corner shops or the increasing number of vape shops, vaping products have become a common sight on high streets. Last year, e-cigarette market revenue in the UK was just over $3.5 billion. That’s expected to grow to more than $4 billion in 2024. Consumer demand for tobacco harm reduction goods such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches shows no sign of slowing down | Taxpayers Protection Alliance, UK
Being an addict is brutal. Loving one will break your heart
When you love someone dearly, fighting addiction tears you apart. It's a living hell that I’m lucky to have escaped, says Charlotte Cripps | Independent Voices, UK
Can psychedelics cure depression?
Is there a clinical case for psychedelic drugs? Professor David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist, has spent his career trying to demonstrate that there is — and that, beyond their recreational powers, drugs such as psilocybin can effectively treat depression | UnHerd, UK
How Much Evidence Is Enough to Exonerate E-Cigarettes?
E-cigarettes have a PR problem. From concern about young people illegally obtaining and using them to being wrongly implicated in the outbreak of EVALI (i.e., e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injuries), e-cigarettes get a lot of bad press | R Street, USA
To reduce harm from alcohol, we need Indigenous-led responses
Alcohol management in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has been a deeply divisive issue, as seen recently in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory | Conversation, Australia
No doubting the need, Melbourne needs a second safe injecting room
[Free registration may be required] If there is a lesson to be learnt from Melbourne’s first safe-injecting room in North Richmond, which the state government finally made permanent this month after a five-year trial, it’s that the success of such a facility relies on appeasing the community as much as managing what goes on inside | Age editorial, Australia