Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 23rd May 2023 |
 |
UK news
Guidance: Drugs strategy national outcomes framework
Document outlining the National Combating Drugs Outcome Framework, including supporting metrics to monitor progress towards the outcomes in From Harm to Hope | Home Office, UK
Vaping: High lead and nickel found in illegal vapes
Used vapes gathered at Baxter College in Kidderminster were tested in a laboratory. The results showed children using them could be inhaling more than twice the daily safe amount of lead, and nine times the safe amount of nickel. Some vapes also contained harmful chemicals like those in cigarette smoke | BBC, UK
Nearly 9,000 drivers caught drink or drug driving in six week police operation
Results from the latest national policing operation to target drink and drug driving across England, Wales and Northern Ireland reveal 8,713 positive results from those tested for drink and drug driving during the six week period which ran from 21 November 2022 – 1 January 2023 | NPCC, UK
Feasibility and Acceptability of an Overdose Prevention Intervention Delivered by Community Pharmacists for Patients Prescribed Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain
[Open access] There have been increases in prescriptions of high strength opioids for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), but CNCP patients perceive themselves as being at low risk of opioid overdose and generally have limited overdose awareness. This study examined how an overdose prevention intervention (opioid safety education, naloxone training, and take-home naloxone (THN)) delivered by community pharmacists for patients prescribed high-strength opioids for CNCP would work in practice in Scotland | Pharmacy, UK
Keir Starmer vows to ban ads for ‘harmful’ products like sugary snacks aimed at children
He outlined his plans for reforms to the NHS, Labour’s third ‘mission’ for government, in a speech this morning, setting out a bid to shift to a prevention-focused approach, including a ban on junk food, vaping and sugar adverts | City AM, UK
‘My daughter had 30 seizures a day. Medicinal cannabis helped turn her life around’
Father of girl, 7, with severe epilepsy opens London clinic to help those with chronic conditions | Evening Standard, UK
Cuckooing crimes on rise across London
Cuckooing, a crime that involves taking over a victim's house for criminal activity, is steadily on the rise in London, council data shows | BBC, UK
Abergavenny: Customer complains to Royal Mail when parcel containing cannabis doesn't arrive
A Royal Mail customer made a complaint that his package hadn't arrived - with his stash of cannabis. The brown parcel was marked "special delivery" was due to be delivered by a postman to a house in Abergavenny | ITV, UK
International news
Drug testing pilot rolled out to Irish festivals
Health officials in the Republic of Ireland have said a drug testing pilot, first introduced at Electric Picnic last year, will be rolled out to other festivals this summer | BBC, UK
Rebuilding Social Networks in Long-term Social Recovery from Substance-Use Problems
[Open access] Rebuilding one’s social network is essential to long-term social recovery from a substance-use problem. Despite this awareness, studies are needed for showing how people in long-term social recovery describe their networks and what they perceive as important in developing these networks. This study has sought to investigate (i) how people in long-term social recovery from substance-use problems describe their social networks and (ii) what they experience as key factors in developing their networks | British Journal of Social Work, UK
Out of our minds: opium’s part in imperial history
How a mind-altering, addictive substance was used as a weapon by one empire to subdue another | Guardian, UK
HSE Launches Safer Nightlife Programme To Reduce Harms This Summer
Continuing the work of last summer’s successful pilot project, the HSE is partnering with a small number of festivals this year to put in place Safer Nightlife harm reduction programmes onsite. The multi-component campaign will involve outreach at festivals’ ‘back of house’ drug checking through the use of surrender bins, media awareness and a social media campaign | Cork Safety Alerts, Ireland
Ireland set to become first country with mandatory health warnings on alcohol
Display of information on dangers of drinking will be required from 2026 | Irish Times, Ireland
Ban on TV and radio ads for alcohol before 9pm could be in place by next year
A ban on alcohol adverts on TV before a 9pm watershed could take effect before the end of next year, the Department of Health has said | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Drug injecting centre due in early 2024
The long-awaited pilot drug injecting centre in Dublin should be operational by early next year, the HSE boss over the project has said | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Skills and learning in focus as 2023 Reitox week begins
Representatives from a record 80 countries will be joining members of the EMCDDA this week (22–26 May) for the agency’s eleventh Reitox week. The purpose of this annual event is to provide a platform for the Reitox networkand the agency’s international partners to share success stories and challenges in the drugs field and to facilitate the exchange of ideas and collaborative partnerships. In the context of the European Year of Skills, the focus this year will be on empowering through upskilling and learning | EMCDDA, Portugal
National Drug Observatories from Latin American and Caribbean countries meet in Lisbon for ‘COPOLAD week’
National Drug Observatories (NDOs) from Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries are gathering in Lisbon from 22–26 May for a week of activities under the COPOLAD III programme. The overarching theme of the initiative will be strengthening the technical capacity and institutional role of the NDOs. The EMCDDA is an official partner of the programme, which promotes dialogue and bi-regional cooperation on drug policy between the European Union and LAC countries | EMCDDA, Portugal
FDA Approves Prescription Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdose
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Opvee, the first nalmefene hydrochloride nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older. This is the first FDA approval of nalmefene hydrochloride nasal spray for health care and community use | FDA, USA
The role of substance use treatment in reducing stigma after release from incarceration: A qualitative analysis
[Open access] Results from this study suggest that substance use treatment has the potential to decrease the negative impacts of stigma upon release from incarceration, which continues to be a major barrier. Though more research on stigma reduction is needed, we suggest some preliminary considerations for treatment programs and providers | BMC Health & Justice, USA
Study analyzes the relationship between tobacco use and cancer-related symptom burden
In a recent study, current smoking and vaping were associated with a higher burden of symptoms among adult cancer survivors, but these symptoms were not related to survivors' desire to quit smoking | News Medical, USA
Cannabis users' cognitive abilities compared: Flower vs. concentrate - surprising findings revealed!
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers examine the cognitive test performance of chronic cannabis flower and concentrate users as compared to non-users | News Medical, USA
Canada's got a drinking problem — and one senator says Ottawa needs to step up
The federal government pitched a sizeable increase to the alcohol excise tax earlier this year — only to walk back that commitment in response to backlash from some MPs, lobby groups and cost-conscious Canadian drinkers | CBC News, Canada
Iran hangs three on drug charges amid criticism
The latest executions were carried out after offenders were reportedly caught with large quantities of heroin | Aljazeera, Qatar
Lindy has a terminal illness. Psilocybin, the compound found in 'magic mushrooms', is helping her face death
Just over an hour after swallowing a plain white capsule, Lindy Bok pulls off her eyeshade and sits up in bed. "Excuse my French, but f*** me," she exclaims to the two therapists sitting either side of her in the darkened room. "It's so intense." | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Should Researchers be Taking the Tough Stuff Home?
I’ve felt increasingly aware that there isn’t enough care around the ways researchers can be affected by what they experience when they are collecting data on sensitive topics. This became especially apparent to me when I was interviewing someone about their mental health. In this interview, we touched on trauma and the lasting effects of PTSD | DRNS blog, UK
Uganda’s Cannabis News Unveiled a Deeper Systemic Injustice
Uganda, compared to its neighbouring countries, continues to have a harsh enforcement of drug prohibition. That is why news broke two weeks ago that the Controlled Substances Act was nullified, it reverberated across the international community | Talking Drugs, UK