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Daily news - 16th November 2023

UK news

New bill gives police more powers to take zero-tolerance approach to crime

The Criminal Justice Bill will give police additional powers to tackle knife crime, antisocial behaviour, theft and drugs... Officers will be given more powers to stamp out anti-social behaviour and crack down on drug-taking, with powers to test suspects for more drugs on arrest. There are also measures to help direct more drug users into treatment. [For more detailed information please see the Impact Assessment (PDF)] | Home Office, The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, and The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP, UK

Can drug consumption rooms reduce drug-related harm?

Even after the approval of a long-awaited pilot service allowing people to inject drugs under medical supervision, experts are still divided over the impact it will have on both drug users and communities | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK

Theories of practice can support understanding of health-related behaviours, but few studies use quantitative methods to understand time-trends in practices. This paper describes changes in the prevalence and performance of alcohol drinking practices in Great Britain between 2009 and 2019 | SSM Population Health, UK

What we say about… Alcohol

Latest position statement from the Association of Directors of Public Health | ADPH, UK

Medical cannabis: Parents 'denied it turn to illegal means for children'

A woman whose son uses medical cannabis from the NHS fears families of hundreds of children denied the treatment feel forced to get the drug illegally | ITV, UK

Frome dad joins medicinal cannabis campaign at Parliament

A father has lobbied Parliament for better NHS access to medicinal cannabis for his four-year-old daughter. Spencer Carkeet, from Frome, travelled to London with other members of the Save the Unicorn campaign group | BBC, UK

World's largest trial into whether magic mushrooms can treat depression launched at London hospital

Scientists hail 'milestone' in mental health research as new site opens at Maudsley hospital in Camberwell | Evening Standard, UK

Bristol: Transforming Drug Policy

TODAY. Thursday, November 16 · 6:30 - 8:30pm GMT. Bristol. Come along to learn about the impact of drugs in Bristol and how the city is innovating around policy to help better protect our community | J Slater, UK

Free exhibition: Using art to help with drug and alcohol recovery

The Royal Borough of Greenwich, Via and Woolwich Service User Project (WSUP) are hosting the Discovery Art Exhibition on 22 November from 11am to 5pm at WSUP centre | Royal Borough of Greenwich, UK

Lincolnshire residents urged to report neighbours' cannabis fumes

People being plagued by nuisance smells caused by neighbours smoking illicit substances such as cannabis are being urged to report it | BBC, UK

Cocaine with street value of £1m seized in Aberdeen

Detectives recovered a "significant" amount of the class A drug in Ferrier Gardens on Tuesday | BBC, UK

Watch: Trading standards find hydraulic cupboard hiding illicit tobacco - video

More than £10,000 worth of illicit tobacco, cigarettes and vapes have been found in an "elaborate" hydraulic cupboard. Police and a trading standards team made the discovery at a shop in Derby with the help of a sniffer dog | BBC, UK

International news

Overdose prevention centres, safe consumption sites, and drug consumption rooms: a rapid evidence review (PDF)

This rapid review on overdose prevention centres (OPCs) aims to collate and summarise existing evidence. It describes the impact of OPCs on individuals who use drugs, communities, and public health. OPCs are community facilities which provide a safe, hygienic space for people to consume their own drugs in the presence of trained individuals who can intervene if an overdose occurs | Drug Science, UK

Hard Solo to be renamed Hard Rated after regulator finds alcoholic drink had ‘evident appeal to minors’

Drink itself will not change but must be rebranded after consumer complaints and backlash from health bodies | Guardian, UK

Jersey medicinal-cannabis firm makes first commercial shipment to UK

A Jersey-based medicinal cannabis firm has completed the “remarkable achievement” of making its first commercial shipment to the UK – after four years of preparation | Jersey Evening Post, Jersey

Denmark to restrict alcohol sales to minors

Denmark will restrict alcohol sales to minors and increase taxes on nicotine products to combat a worrying rise in consumption, the health ministry said Tuesday | Times of Malta, Malta

Accelerating the implementation of international drug policy commitments in Africa through civil society action

From 8 to 10 November 2023 the African Union Commission, in cooperation with UNODC, UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) organized a High-Level session on Addressing Drug Use and Substance Use Disorders among Youth, Women and Children in Lusaka, Zambia | UNODC, Switzerland

Criminalization prevents steroid users from seeking help, research finds

New research from Griffith University's School of Applied Psychology has investigated the effect criminalization of Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid (AAS) use has on users' ability to seek help | Medical Xpress, USA

Excluded Tobacco Harm Reduction Consumer Groups Fight On

“So little is published about the grassroots groups which advocate for tobacco harm reduction, but as our briefing paper shows, there is much to be said,” Jessica Harding, director of external engagement at the public health group Knowledge-Action-Change, told Filter | Filter Magazine, USA

Supervised Consumption Sites - Dashboard

Data on supervised consumption sites (SCS) in Canada, including the number of visits, client demographics, client safety, drugs used and overdoses | Government of Canada, Canada

“Safer Drug Supply” Measures in Canada to Reduce the Drug Overdose Fatality Toll: Clarifying Concepts, Practices and Evidence Within a Public Health Intervention Framework

North America has been home to an unprecedented crisis of drug overdose deaths, driven largely by drug users’ exposure to highly potent and toxic, illicit opioid drugs (e.g., fentanyl). Although a large and diverse menu of interventions (e.g., targeted prevention or treatment measures) has been implemented or expanded in Canada, these have not effectively managed to revert and reduce this excessive death toll | JSAD, Canada

NSW Health warns of heroin overdoses among people who think they are consuming cocaine

One person has died and others have been hospitalised in the past week from heroin overdoses after they consumed a drug they thought was cocaine | West Australian, Australia

Public opinion on alcohol in Australia

This report highlights that Australians are concerned about alcoholic products and the impact they are having on our community. Alcohol harms are at a crisis point and Australians support change | Alcohol Change Australia, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Acceptable, accessible and affordable – but at what cost?

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Road Traffic Act (1988) which made it an offence to drive under the influence of alcohol. The legislation is responsible for saving countless lives – since official records began in 1979, the number of deaths caused by drink driving per year has fallen by a staggering 88% | IAS blog, UK

For decades, mothers have borne the brunt of scrutiny for alcohol use during pregnancy − new research points to dad’s drinking as a significant factor in fetal alcohol syndrome

Men drink more, are more likely to binge drink and are almost four times more likely to develop alcohol use disorder than women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet when it comes to diagnosing babies born with birth defects associated with alcohol consumption, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, historically only the mother’s drinking habits are taken into consideration | Conversation, USA

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