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Daily news - 24th October 2023 |
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UK news
18 October 2023 response to the ACMD's report on barriers to research on synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists
The government responds to a report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and commissions Part 2 of work on barriers to research | Rt Hon Chris Philp MP Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, UK
Draft bill published to allow gps to prescribe cannabis
The Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) have drafted a bill to enable general medical practitioners (GPs) to prescribe cannabis medicines in the UK. The CIC have been campaigning for this cause since the launch of the ‘Protect our Patients‘ campaign in July 2023. Their report explains why GPs should be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis and what impact this could have on patients in the UK | Volteface, UK
Frome parents plead for NHS medicinal cannabis prescription
The parents of a four-year-old girl with epilepsy are pleading for access to medicinal cannabis on the NHS. Clover, from Frome, in Somerset, has Aicardi syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder which causes her to have hundreds of seizures a week | BBC, UK
Drug Consumption rooms with Laurence Lalanne - podcast
In this episode Ben Scher talks to Professor Laurence Lalanne about drug consumption rooms and the recent publication based on the COSINUS cohort study. They cover the range of interventions available in drug consumption rooms and how they can increase people's access to psychiatric support alongside barriers to accessing drug consumption rooms. Laurence talks about the epidemiological point of view in relation to the more biomedical aspects of drug consumption rooms, their objectives in reducing overdose and their impact on hospitals and the wider health-care system | SSA, UK
Viticulture, the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sector – in pictures
The cultivation and harvesting of grapes is the UK’s fastest-growing agricultural sector, with wine production expected to reach between 25 and 29m bottles by 2032, according to an industry report. Research published in the journal OENO One predicts that climate change will increasingly allow UK winemakers to grow varieties of grape, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillion, which have previously been extremely difficult or impossible to cultivate in the British climate | Guardian, UK
Guns and knives found in Lincolnshire county lines crackdown
More than 20 people were arrested after drugs, imitation guns and knives were seized in a police crackdown on county lines drug dealing | BBC, UK
International news
Ex-NYPD officer allegedly made deals for fentanyl and heroin while on duty
Former officer and man she shared apartment with arrested on charges of conspiracy and narcotics distribution in the Bronx | Guardian, UK
Citizens’ Assembly on drugs use publishes full 36 recommendations
Following the conclusion [Sunday] of the final meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, a summary of the recommendations has now been published. In total, the Assembly made 36 recommendations. Taken together, these provide a strong and unequivocal signal to the Government and the Oireachtas that the State needs to take a far more progressive, ambitious, comprehensive and coherent approach to drugs use in Ireland | Citizen's Assembly, Ireland
"There is no time to waste": What happens next after the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use?
After six day-long sessions over six months, in which they heard from experts on drug policy, Gardaí, HSE officials and people with lived experiences of addiction, the 99 randomly selected people who made up the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use have agreed on 36 key policy recommendations for Government | Journal, Ireland
Review of National Prevention Systems based on the UNODC/WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention Final report of the pilot in Norway (PDF)
The Review of Prevention System (RePS)2 is a tool that has been created by UNODC to allow the assessment of the extent to which the drug prevention system of a country or a sub-national entity (e.g. a municipality) is in line with the Standards with a view to identifying areas of strength and weakness to allow improvement. This report presents the results of the assessment of the national prevention system of Norway, undertaken on the basis of the RePS and serving as first pilot of this tool. Following this pilot assessment, a process of adaptation at global level will be led by UNODC, in order to avail the tool to all Member States | UNODC, Austria
Technical dialogue on cannabis policies kicks off in Montevideo
This week in Montevideo, the EMCDDA is co-organising with the Uruguayan Junta Nacional de Drogas, a technical dialogue on cannabis policies. The event is one of a range of activities organised by the agency under the COPOLAD III programme to strengthen drug policy and evaluation systems | EMCDDA, Portugal
Homeless people are 16 times more likely to die suddenly, San Francisco County study finds
A study led by UC San Francisco has found that people who are experiencing homelessness have a 16-fold higher rate of sudden death from heart attacks, as well as other causes | Medical Xpress, USA
Q&A: New research gains ground in detecting recent cannabis use
Drug tests commonly used today cannot reliably detect how recently someone used cannabis or even whether they were impaired when an accident occurred | Medical Xpress, USA
Georgia to be first state to let pharmacies sell low-dose cannabis
Four years after the state of Georgia approved the distribution of low-dose THC, medical marijuana may be sold at local pharmacies | Medical Xpress, USA
A still-hazy picture of cannabis after five years of legalization
Ottawa’s expectations of a clear, early assessment of the law’s impact have been clouded by COVID and a lack of data | Policy Options, Canada
Understanding drinking behaviours in young Australian adults
Young Australian adults aged 18-24 years are more likely to binge drink than any other age group prompting a team of Griffith University researchers to take a different approach to better understand why this is the case | Griffith University, Australia
Using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test to predict substance-related hospitalisation after release from prison: A cohort study
[open access] Poor substance use-related health outcomes after release from prison are common. Identifying people at greatest risk of substance use post-release would help to target support at those most in need. The Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is a validated substance use screener, but its utility in predicting substance-related hospitalisation post-release is unestablished. We measured whether screening for moderate/high-risk substance use on the ASSIST was associated with increased risk of substance-related hospitalisation | Addiction, Australia
Under pressure: The paradox of autonomy and social norms in drug education
Much contemporary youth drug education operates from the assumption that young people's decisions to use alcohol and other drugs often stem from a misunderstanding that youth consumption is so common as to constitute a ‘social norm’. Known as the ‘social norms’ approach, the stated aim of this form of drug education is to empower young people to avoid consumption by constituting it as uncommon and, therefore, abnormal | IJDP, Australia
A comprehensive review of the evidence on nicotine vaping. New report
Today we sent a comprehensive review of the latest evidence on nicotine vaping to all Australian federal, state and territory Members of Parliament. We hope the review will help to support evidence-based policymaking | Colin Mendelsohn, Australia
Why low-cost ketamine is still inaccessible to many with severe depression
A case study on ketamine reveals systemic barriers that prevent repurposing existing low-cost drugs like ketamine for treatment-resistant depression | Medical Xpress, Australia
Alcohol advertising within 500m of more than half of schools
Researchers say that alcohol advertising near schools is a problem for more than half of the kura it sampled | 1 news, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
CND Thematic Discussions 2023 // Session 1 – Expanding & diversifying range of drugs and drug markets
Live reporting from the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Chair: Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed delegates, and distinguished guests, I welcome you to the 23 thematic discussions focusing on the implementation and interests of policy commitments following up on the 2019 declaration | CND Blog, UK