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Daily news - 8th September 2023 |
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UK news
Programme for Government 2023 - 2024: First Minister's speech
First Minister's statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Programme for Government, 5 September 2023. "We will continue with our mission to reduce drug deaths, and we will invest in Alcohol and Drug Partnerships. Recent drugs death figures show we are heading in the right direction, but no more than that. The scale of the challenge in front of us requires us to take radical approaches. These approaches must be grounded in the evidence of what works. That is why we will support a proposal to establish a Safer Drug Consumption Facility, and argue for drug law reform." ... | Scottish Government, UK
‘Lifeline’ female residential unit faces £850,000 in cuts
A service which helps support female offenders to rebuild their lives after drug and alcohol use is facing £850,000 in cuts. The Turning Point 218 Service, which has been running for almost two decades and has been hailed as “groundbreaking”, is now facing compulsory job losses and closure after a reduction in funding from both the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council | STV, UK
Call for UK ban on single-use vapes as more than 5m discarded each week
Five million single-use vapes are being thrown away in the UK every week, a fourfold increase on 2022, research has found. This amounts to eight vapes a second being discarded, with the lithium in the products enough to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year | Guardian, UK
Vapes: Claim pupils are leaving lessons to use e-cigarettes in toilets
Vape-addicted children are so hooked on using e-cigarettes some can't get through school lessons without them, Public Health Wales (PHW) has said | BBC, UK
Wandsworth prison life: Decay, drugs and drudgery
It has been described as a "dystopian Fawlty Towers" and a "powder keg" waiting to explode, with inmates packed in cramped cells, watched over by a demoralised and threadbare staff | BBC, UK
Off-trade alcohol availability & violence: the impact of on-trade closures
Mon, 18 Sep 2023 15:00 - 16:00 BST. How did alcohol-related violence change during on-trade closures in pandemic restrictions? | IAS, UK
The Science of Psychedelics with Professor David Nutt
Thursday, September 28 · 7 - 8pm BST. Prof David Nutt and Anna Ross discuss the revolutionary drugs that could change your life | Drug Science, UK
Drink-drug killer driver's sentence insufficient, appeals court is told
The prison sentence given to a driver who killed a teenage girl while under the influence of alcohol and drugs is "insufficient", a court heard | BBC, UK
Russ Millions: Rapper banned for 12 months for drug-driving offence
A chart-topping rapper has been banned from driving for 12 months after being found behind the wheel while nearly three times the cannabis limit | BBC, UK
Former Leeds United footballer among four drug dealers jailed
A former Leeds United footballer is among four men jailed for dealing large amounts of cocaine after their encrypted messages were intercepted | BBC, UK
Horden drugs gang jailed for gun feud and ram-raids
A drugs gang involved in a violent feud which saw buildings rammed and a drive-by shooting have been jailed | BBC, UK
International news
Children and gambling – evidence to inform regulation and responses in Ireland. Based on a secondary analysis of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD)
Almost a quarter of 16-year-olds in Ireland gambled for money in the previous year, according to a new report, which found the odds of gambling stacked against boys compared to girls. The report, ‘Children and gambling – evidence to inform regulation and responses in Ireland’, presents data from Irish secondary school students, collected through the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) | Institute of Public Health, Ireland
Convincing evidence supports avoidance of cannabis during adolescence, pregnancy and while driving
Experts recommend avoiding cannabis during adolescence and early adulthood, in people prone to or with mental health disorders, in pregnancy, and before and while driving, based on an in-depth evidence review published by The BMJ today. However, they say cannabidiol (one active compound in cannabis) is effective in people with epilepsy, and cannabis-based medicines can help people with multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease, and in palliative care | News Medical, USA
UW assessment finds fentanyl and methamphetamine smoke linger on public transit vehicles
Two years ago, as life regained its rhythm and public transit once again filled with people, train and bus operators spotted a troubling trend. Some operators reported instances of people smoking drugs on their vehicles, and worried that the haze it created could linger, potentially affecting workers’ physical and mental health | University of Washington, USA
Is psilocybin a promising therapy for treatment-resistant depression?
A growing body of evidence suggests that psychedelic drugs may be useful in treating various mental health conditions. However, many challenges remain in defining their clinical benefits and overcoming the complex regulatory obstacles to their use. The September issue of Journal of Psychiatric Practice presents a research review and update on therapeutic use of psychedelics—focusing on the use of psilocybin for treatment of depression | Medical Xpress, USA
Researchers identify genes associated with addiction to psychostimulant drugs
Psychostimulant drugs like methamphetamine (METH) and cocaine (COC) affect the brain and nervous system by boosting alertness, attention, and energy levels of the individual. However, their persistent use results in drug addiction, compromising the life of the individual and burdening the health care, social, and legal systems as a consequence | Medical Xpress, USA
Australian patients with chronic conditions using medical cannabis show improvements in overall health-related quality of life
Australian patients with chronic health issues prescribed medical cannabis showed significant improvements in overall health-related quality of life and fatigue in the first three months of use, along with improvements in anxiety, depression, and pain. Interestingly, cannabis therapy did not seem to improve reported sleep disturbances, according to a study published September 6, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Margaret-Ann Tait from the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues | News Medical, USA
Coroner again pushes for pill testing after ‘Blue Punisher’ death
A Victorian coroner is again calling for the introduction of pill testing after a man died from an MDMA pill known as the Blue Punisher at a festival last year – the fourth coroner to do so in six years | The Age, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
With You: Building Brighter Futures for Children in East Dunbartonshire
The team behind With You’s service for young people in East Dunbartonshire may be small, but it’s certainly having an impact. Referrals to the service have increased by nearly 40% since January, highlighting the urgent need for support tailored to those under the age of 25 | With You, UK
Why criminalising nitrous oxide is a mistake
The Government has decided to criminalise the possession of nitrous oxide for personal use as part of its crackdown on antisocial behaviour, ignoring the advice of experts that such a move will be harmful and counterproductive. There are better ways to reduce health risks and antisocial behaviour associated with the drug | Transform blog, UK
Can I drink alcohol-free beer at work? (And other possibly inappropriate scenarios)
Actress Kristen Bell recently revealed she sometimes lets her young daughters drink non-alcoholic beer. "Judge me if you want, I'm not doing anything wrong," she said. But the internet had plenty to say about it. And it got us thinking... | Sky News, UK
“Las Bestias” : The Armoured Vehicles of the Mexican Drug War
In mid-June of this year, Mexican armed forces destroyed 14 armoured vehicles belonging to drug trafficking groups. These armoured vehicles, known as cartel ‘monsters,’ were seized in the Northeastern border state of Tamaulipas where there is regular ongoing violence between drug trafficking groups and state forces | Talking Drugs, UK