Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports

Daily news - 26th September 2023

UK news

Recovery Voices - new website

Recovery Voices, developed by David Clark and Wulf Livingston, captures conversations about what works in supporting recovery from addiction, and in the development of peer-led recovery communities. We highlight common messages and learnings, providing a resource for people working with, and supporting, recovery and recovery communities | Recovery Voices, UK

Would you support or oppose raising the legal smoking age by one year each year, effectively making it so that smoking is illegal for those born on 1 January 2009 or later?

Graph showing responses to the question by age, gender, politics etc | YouGov, UK

Thousands of spiking incidents emerge ahead of freshers’ week with vapes used to target victims

Exclusive: ‘After only two drinks I lost all control of my limbs and ability to talk. I was trapped within my own body and left powerless,’ woman says | Independent, UK

The Future of Psychedelic Science with Imperial College London

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 19:00 - 20:30 BST. Join us for an online panel discussion on the present and future of psychedelics with three PhD students at Imperial College London | Drug Science, UK

Illegal vapes worth over £95k seized in shop raids

Shops in Stockport and Burnage were found to be selling the disposable vapes which also had packaging and flavouring to "appeal to children", police said | BBC, UK

Man faces trial over cannabis farm above Gloucester job centre

A man arrested in connection with the discovery of a £1.9m cannabis farm above a job centre is to face trial | BBC, UK

Tebay Services: Men charged after £1.3m of cocaine found in car

Two men have been charged after nearly £1.4m worth of cocaine was found in a car at a motorway service station | BBC, UK

International news

Dublin Airport: Drugs worth almost half a million euro seized

Gardaí (Irish police) and the Irish Revenue service seized drugs with an estimated street value of €450,000 (£390,000) at Dublin Airport on Friday. Detector dog Blue searched the luggage of a passenger who had disembarked a flight from Los Angeles | BBC, UK

Fentanyl, poly-substance use and the US opioid epidemic with Joseph Friedman - podcast

Ben Scher talks to Dr Joseph Friedman about his research on fentanyl overdoses. Joseph explains the four waves of opioid overdoses in the US and how opiate and opioid overdoses have changed. They discuss how patterns of poly-substance use are different across the US and how the combination of fentanyl and methamphetamines is become more prevalent across states. Along with the challenges of standardising results when coroners’ reports vary across the US | SSA, UK

[Open access] We found that implementing authorized OPS services in a U.S. city did not increase the prevalence of visible signs of drug use and homelessness in the surrounding area. These findings are similar to those found at OPS outside the U.S. | DAD, UK

Third person charged for infant’s death from fentanyl in New York City daycare

Prosecutors say Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, played a key role in selling the drugs that were stored at the childcare facility | Guardian, UK

The Biden-Harris Administration Awards $131.7 Million to Support At-risk Youth and Families

[Yesterday], the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has announced $131.7 million awarded this month in grant programs that connect youth and families to behavioral health services | SAMHSA, USA

Cost of treating liver disease tied to drinking projected to double over 20 years

With high-risk drinking on the rise across the nation, experts project the annual cost of treating alcohol-associated liver disease, or ALD, will more than double over the next two decades, increasing from $31 billion in 2022 to $66 billion in 2040 | Medical Xpress, USA

Common brain network detected among people with substance use disorder

A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital suggests a common brain network exists among people with substance use disorder. By evaluating data from across more than 144 studies of addiction, the team found abnormalities across substance use disorders mapped to a common brain network across substances and lesion locations, suggesting a potential brain circuit to target with neurostimulation therapies | Medical Xpress, USA

Florida Just Banned ‘Gas Station Heroin’

It joins a handful of other states that have banned tianeptine, which causes severe opioid-like withdrawal in some users | VICE, UK

The opioid epidemic is deadly and expensive. Here's what it has cost Texas

Every fentanyl death in North Texas is exponentially destructive. Classroom chairs sit empty. Families mourn. Grandparents go back to work to raise their orphaned grandchildren. Then come the bills | Medical Xpress, USA

Talking to a loved one battling substance abuse: Staying positive is key

A conversation with a family member or loved one struggling with addiction can be the catalyst for getting help. But it's important to choose your words carefully when discussing possible addiction to controlled substances with your loved one, said Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska, a professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine | Medical Xpress, USA

Victorian medical bodies urge Daniel Andrews to open Melbourne CBD supervised injecting room

Almost 20 of Victoria's peak medical bodies and unions are calling on Premier Daniel Andrews to urgently open a supervised injecting room in Melbourne's CBD | abc.net.au, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Generation Next: How Youth-led Organisations Refresh Global Drug Policies

The corridors of global policy discussions have been, for the most part, off-limits to the younger generation. This exclusionary practice, particularly acute in drug policy regimes, has kept the world’s youth off the decision-making tables. Rarely are their fresh perspectives, boundless energy, and innovative ideas taken seriously. This not only undermines the immense potential of the youth but also neglects their crucial role as architects of our shared future | Talking Drugs, UK

Extend Studio