Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 30th October 2023 |
 |
UK news
Webchat ‘first port of call’ for people struggling with drugs, alcohol or mental health
A webchat run by WithYou is breaking down barriers for groups less likely to seek traditional support – with more than two-thirds of all users never before accessing professional help. See new report - Accessing support in the digital age:The impact of WithYou’s webchat service | DDN, UK
Vaping in Schools (Ministerial Discussions)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to reduce instances of vaping in schools | They work for you, UK
Nitrous Oxide: Motor Sports
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the consultation outcome entitled Nitrous oxide: legitimate uses and appropriate controls, published on 25 September 2023, whether she plans to exempt motorsports from the proposed ban on nitrous oxide | They work for you, UK
Khat: Smuggling
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the smuggling of khat from the Middle East | They work for you, UK
Caitlin McLaughlin mural: 'Ecstasy tablet took Londonderry teen's life'
The family of a teenage girl who died after taking an ecstasy tablet at a concert have warned other young people about the dangers of experimenting with drugs | BBC, UK
Free drug and alcohol addiction support group to launch in West Belfast
It will focus on one-to-one support for individuals who need it, but also those families who are impacted by drug and alcohol addictions | Belfast Live, UK
Belfast City Council bid for special bins for drug users’ discarded needles
A Belfast council motion has been tabled calling for special bins to be installed in the city for intravenous drug users to discard their used needles in | Belfast Telegraph, UK
Grieving Plymouth women finding solace at a very special cafe
Two Plymouth women who've lost loved ones to addiction share their heart-breaking stories as a new bereavement service opens in the city to help people whose relatives have died due to addiction | Plymouth Herald, UK
89. David Vs David with Dr David Erritzoe - podcast
Recorded live from the launch event of David Nutt’s latest book, “Psychedelics: The revolutionary drugs that could change your life – a guide from the expert,” in this episode Dr. David Erritzoee and David Nutt engage in a discussion about Psychedelics | Drug Science, UK
The Alcohol 'Problem' Podcast: In conversation with Joe Heeney
In this episode we talk to Joe Heeney about his life and experience of alcohol problems and recovery. Joe is a former CEO of Resolve, a drug and alcohol treatment service based in Hertfordshire, which he founded in 2008 after experiencing his own drug and alcohol issues. Joe worked for 14 years in the Fire Brigade at a time when heavy drinking was normalised | Alcohol Problem Podcast, UK
Addiction Awareness Week 2023
October 28th - 4th November. This year's theme is 'Everybody Knows Somebody' and we are calling on our followers, advocates and champions to support this year's campaign by debunking some of the myths about addiction | Forward Trust, UK
Book launch: Rethinking Drug Laws: Theory, History, Politics
Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:00 - 20:00 GMT. Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Join MetroPolis and the Substance Use and Associated Behaviours (SUAB) research group for the Manchester launch of Toby Seddon’s major new drug policy publication, 'Rethinking Drug Laws: Theory, History, Politics' (Oxford UP) | MetroPolis, UK
Prescribing Cannabis - with University of Birmingham Medical School
Tue, 28 Nov 2023 19:00 - 21:30 GMT. University of Birmingham Medical School. Cannabis has been a legal medicine in the UK for 5 years. So how is it being used in psychiatry? How is it helping with mental health? What conditions is it being proven to help treat? Join us for a very special evening at the University of Birmingham Medical School in collaboration with Birmingham Psychiatry Society, as we hear from some current UK prescribers of cannabis-based medicines | University of Birmingham Medical School, UK
Derry judge says convicted drug dealers will go to jail
Judge Neil Rafferty said he wanted the message "to be clear" to dealers as he sent a serial drug offender to prison on Friday | BBC, UK
Drug dealing in Evesham open and blatant - mayor
Alan Booth said "everybody knows it's going on" and that it happened openly in the street, not down hidden alleyways | BBC, UK
£10m buried in ship’s hull seized at Sheerness
Cocaine hidden deep within a container ship at Sheerness Port in Kent has been seized as part of a National Crime Agency investigation involving police officers and Border Force. packages of cocaine in two bagsThe drugs, which weighed 137 kilos, were found on a Panamanian-registered ship carrying a load of bananas | NCA, UK
Four men jailed over West Midlands drug network
Four members of a drugs supply ring centred in the West Midlands have been jailed | BBC, UK
Isle of Man drug dealer caught with £19k spared jail
His defence advocate said any profit made from selling the drugs had been used to pay for "essentials" for his children, and his partner had a medical condition that meant she relied heavily on him emotionally, physically and financially. Deemster Cook said were it not for those "exceptional circumstances" there "would be no question" that he would face "an immediate custodial sentence" | BBC, UK
HMP Lindholme nurse and inmate lover jailed over largest drug-smuggling ring
A health worker at the heart of the biggest prison drug-smuggling ring ever uncovered has been jailed for more than 10 years | BBC, UK
International news
US government says it plans to go after legal goods tied to illegal fentanyl trade in new strategy
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced a new government-wide strategy that will target not only fentanyl but precursor materials used to make the synthetic opioid | Independent, UK
How Matthew Perry confronted his drug addiction, and spent his life urging others to seek help
‘Friends’ star, who has died aged 54, was a prominent campaigner for drugs reform and spoke candidly about his own battles with substance abuse | Independent, UK
Do the Citizens' Assembly recommendations on drug use go far enough?
The Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use has recommended that people found in possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use would be diverted to a health-led system, rather than the criminal justice system. But some believe they could have gone further | Rte, Ireland
Judge's drugs diversion programme helping cocaine users avoid criminal conviction
'A fierce problem with cocaine' in Cork prompted one judge to devise a scheme to help users of the drug, mostly young men, to avoid a conviction. Now retired from the bench, Judge Olann Kelleher tells Security Correspondent Cormac O’Keeffe about the success of the diversion programme and his hope that other judges will embrace it | Irish Examiner, Ireland
A Eulogy to Roland Griffiths
Roland Griffiths, a leading scientist studying psychedelics, passed away on October 16. The following article is as much a eulogy, praising his achievements, as a personal note about my own spiritual journey | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Prescription psychostimulants for the treatment of amphetamine-type stimulant use disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials
[Open access] There is currently no standard of care for pharmacological treatment of amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use disorder (ATSUD). This systematic review with meta-analysis (PROSPERO CRD42022354492) aimed to pool results from randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate efficacy and safety of prescription psychostimulants (PPs) for ATSUD | Addiction, Canada
ACT becomes first jurisdiction to decriminalise small quantities of illicit drugs
The ACT has become the first Australian state or territory to decriminalise possession of small amounts of illicit drugs including ice, cocaine and heroin. The laws came into effect on Saturday after they were passed late last year by the ACT’s Labor-Greens majority government | West Australian, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The nitrous oxide ban: what you need to know
Nitrous oxide (NOS) has been banned by the UK Government and will become illegal from 8 November 2023. Guidance to date has been confusing, especially given the legitimate uses of the substance for medicine and catering. The Home Office have published their factsheet with all of the key information you need to know regarding the ban and the real reason behind why it is happening. Let’s break it down | Volteface, UK
There’s nothing funny about the move to outlaw laughing gas
You have two weeks left to have a laugh. Specifically, to take nitrous oxide before it becomes illegal, with those who “repeatedly misuse the drug” facing up to two years in prison, and dealers up to 14 years. Let us prepare for the funniest two weeks of our lives, as we remain able, if not obliged, to inhale a modest canister of gas and enjoy its euphoric effect, its ability to reduce anxiety and kill pain. After that, we’re on our own | Guardian opinion, UK
Should alcohol marketing be restricted? Scotland should follow other European countries in banning alcohol sports advertising
Alcohol health harm remains at an unacceptably high level in many countries including in Scotland where, as elsewhere in Europe and North America, alcohol specific deaths rose during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumption increased in those already drinking heavily | Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, UK
White patients are more likely than Black patients to be given opioid medication for pain in US emergency departments
White people who visit hospital emergency departments with pain are 26% more likely than Black people to be given opioid pain medications such as morphine. This was a key finding from our recent study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. We also found that Black patients were 25% more likely than white patients to be given only non-opioid painkillers such as ibuprofen, which are typically available over the counter | Conversation, UK
Alcohol Change UK and Alcohol Health Alliance join forces at this year's Party Conferences’
Political party conferences take place in the Autumn every year and are a place where the great and good of political parties meet to hear about their party’s priorities, discuss the important issues of the day, network with attendees and in some cases, vote on their party’s policies | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK
How do weed nanotech edibles work?
Weed nanotech seem to be all the craze when it comes to innovations in consumer cannabis products. Let’s look at what makes them so interesting and effective | Volteface, UK
Hamas atrocities have nothing to do with ‘jihadi pill’ captagon
[Possible paywall] After the Israelis identified the corpse of a Hamas fighter who had attacked an IDF outpost near Dolev, Dvorak published an article alleging a connection between a an amphetamine-type stimulant primarily originating from Syria and Lebanon, “captagon,” and the Hamas attack. The article alleged that captagon was found on the bodies of Hamas prisoners and corpses | Telegraph, UK