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Daily news - 21st September 2023

UK news

Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012: Report on the operation and effect of the minimum pricing provisions 2018 - 2023

The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 allows the Scottish Parliament to set a price below which alcohol cannot be sold. The purpose of this report is to report on the operation and effect of the minimum pricing provisions during the first five years of the provisions being in force | Scottish Government, UK

New modelling of alcohol harms in Scotland

The Sheffield Alcohol Research Group has today (20 September 2023) published a major new report on the impact of alcohol pricing policies, alcohol consumption and harm in Scotland | University of Sheffield, UK

Proposal to raise minimum alcohol price to 65p in Scotland

The Scottish government is to consult on a proposal to raise the minimum unit price of alcohol to 65p. A 50p minimum price per unit was introduced in 2018, but that legislation will expire in April 2024 | BBC, UK

New advice for schools about vaping

Today, Public Health Wales has published new guidance for secondary schools to tackle vaping. The guidance sets out details of vaping use among young people in Wales and actions schools can take to address vaping. Figures from the School Health Research Network show that 20% of young people from year 7 to year 11 say they’ve tried vaping, with 5% of secondary school pupils in Wales vaping at least once a week | Welsh Government, UK

Vapes: What does the new guidance mean for you?

For the first time, guidance to help schools in Wales tackle vaping has been published - but what does it mean for you? Head teachers have reported growing problems, including having to monitor toilets, increased exclusions, and disrupted lessons | BBC, UK

Impact Assessment, The Home Office - Control of nitrous oxide under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (PDF)

Home Office assessment of the potential impacts of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2023, which will ban nitrous oxide, on the police, courts and prison systems | Home Office, UK

Home Affairs Committee Report on Drugs - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament

EDM (Early Day Motion)1640: tabled on 19 September 2023. Motion text: That this House welcomes the Home Affairs Committee's Report on Drugs, published on 31 August, and supports its call for an increased public health response and expanded range of harm reduction approaches; shares the concerns of the Committee, in particular the urgent need for a strategy to combat the feared forthcoming flood of synthetic opioids; notes that this Report recognises the value of drug-checking services, diversion schemes, naloxone availability, actions to overcome stigma and other barriers to treatment... | UK Parliament, UK

Drug Law Reform - September 19th 2023

Elena Whitham Scottish National Party: I am pleased to open this afternoon’s debate on drug law reform. Problem drug use impacts on many people in Scotland. It leads to lives ending prematurely and tragically. In 2022, 1,051 lives in Scotland were lost to drugs and, although the number was lower than the number in 2021, it is still far too many. More than 1,000 families have lost a loved one, and I extend my heartfelt condolences to each one of them. The drug deaths emergency in Scotland remains a priority for the Government... | They work for you, UK

Turning Point's Herefordshire service shortlisted at Recovery Street Film Festival 2023

Four inspirational short films documenting the recovery journey of service users at Turning Point’s Herefordshire service have been shortlisted for a prestigious annual film festival award | Turning Point, UK

Weymouth's first alcohol-free pub gets 'positive feedback' after opening

The landlord of an alcohol-free pub has hailed the "phenomenal and amazing" support from the community since its opening | BBC, UK

Smoking ban proposed for Runnymede council owned properties

Residents living in homes owned by a Surrey council could be banned from smoking on their balconies | BBC, UK

The Science of Psychedelics with Professor David Nutt

Thurs, 28 Sept, 7 - 8pm BST. Prof David Nutt and Anna Ross discuss the revolutionary drugs that could change your life | Edinburgh Wellbeing, UK

UK Patient Conference: Medical Cannabis Awareness Week 2023

Fri, 3 Nov 2023 10:00 - 17:30 GMT. We're back for the second year of the UK Patient Conference for Medical Cannabis Awareness Week 2023, hosted by Drug Science and Medcan Family Foundation in collaboration with the Cannabis Industry Council. This daytime event will be a chance for the medical cannabis patient and prescriber community to come together and celebrate one another's journeys | Drug Science, UK

International news

South Korea raids US military bases in drugs probe

South Korean police are investigating 17 US soldiers and five other people who allegedly smuggled or used synthetic marijuana via military mail | BBC, UK

Disposable vapes set to be banned in crackdown that will also target flavours and advertising

Disposable vapes will be banned as part of a further crackdown on e-cigarettes, including curbs on flavours and advertising | Irish Independent, Ireland

End overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem – UN report

A UN human rights report today calls for a shift from punitive measures to address the global drugs problem to the use of policies grounded in human rights and public health, arguing that disproportionate use of criminal penalties is causing harm | OCHCR, Switzerland

Financial risk management strategies of small to medium illicit drug enterprises: considering low-level money laundering

The illicit drug trade generates billions of dollars in revenue per year, much of which comes from wholesale and retail sales late in the supply chain. Yet, the methods retailers and low-level wholesalers use to launder this revenue remain poorly understood. Using in-depth interviews with illicit drug entrepreneurs in the United States and the United Kingdom, this article analyses laundering strategies among such market actors. Our findings indicate that a significant proportion of their illicit proceeds are disposed of through relatively small-scale ‘everyday’ cash transactions (< $1,000) that are effectively untraceable | Trends in Organized Crime, USA

[Open access] Between January and December 2022 a multi-service center incorporating an overdose prevention site (OPS) operated with city government sanction in San Francisco. One concern often expressed about OPS is that they may increase social nuisance associated with drug use in the surrounding area, despite international evidence that this is not the case | DAD, USA

Researchers discover potential treatment for nicotine dependence

New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine suggests there may be another way to treat cigarette cravings. Researchers found that theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS)—strong, rapidly fluctuating magnetic field pulses that can affect brain activity—can lead to improved self-control, reduced cravings and as a result, less smoking | Medical Xpress, USA

Ketamine Therapy Is Now Being Offered Across the US by an Insurance Provider

Ketamine-assisted therapy is now available as a health benefit across the U.S. Enthea, a benefits company focused on providing insurance coverage for psychedelic treatments, announced it is offering ketamine-assisted therapy to its benefit plans nationwide. The company already has ketamine-assisted therapy on benefit plans in California, New York, and Texas | VICE, USA

Oregon to Weigh Recriminalizing Drug Possession, Adding New Penalties

Agroup in Oregon wants to criminalize drug possession again, having unveiled two versions of a would-be ballot initiative that would undo key provisions of Measure 110, the 2020 voter-approved measure that decriminalized simple possession of all drugs | Filter Magazine, USA

How do underage youth access e-cigarettes in settings with minimum age sales restriction laws? A scoping review

Despite measures to reduce young people’s access to electronic cigarettes (ECs), or “vapes”, many countries have recorded rising youth vaping prevalence. We summarised studies documenting how underage youth in countries with minimum age sales restrictions (or where sales are banned) report accessing ECs, and outline research and policy implications | BMC Public Health, New Zealand

Blogs, comment and opinion

With You comments on Minimum Unit Pricing (Scotland)

Graeme Callander, policy lead at With You, says: “We believe the minimum unit price of alcohol should be increased to 65p to match inflation and ensure that this continues to be an effective measure in tackling our nation’s complex relationship with alcohol... | With You, UK

Community harm reduction in colombia

This blog was written by Anyone's Child coordinator, Mary, to share some reflections from her PhD fieldwork at the Corporación Viviendo's harm reduction programme in Cali, Colombia | Transform blog, UK

Dope Men: How We Went From Alcohol Prohibition to Another

Just past midnight on April 7th 1933, a truck pulled up to the White House filled with beer. President Roosevelt had just legalised 3.2% alcohol content beer, although it wasn’t until early December that the 18th Amendment, under which the production, sale and transport of intoxicating beverages was banned in the United States, would be fully repealed. Among the signs it wasn’t working was the rise of the Mob and bootlegging kingpins like ‘Lucky’ Luciano | Talking Drugs, UK

Catherine Conlon: Lobbyists continue to deny the reality of alcohol harm in Ireland

Evidence shows that four people die every day from alcohol-related illness in Ireland, while hundreds of thousands of families are severely impacted by alcohol harm | Irish Examiner opinion, Ireland

Zero alcohol doesn’t mean zero risk – how marketing and blurred lines can be drinking triggers

The availability and sales of “zero-alcohol” products have soared in recent years. In Australia, these are products containing less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, designed to mimic the flavour, appearance and packaging of alcoholic drinks | Conversation, Australia

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