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Daily news - 27th September 2023 |
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UK news
Government reponse to UK naloxone implementation report
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has undertaken a review of the availability and implementation of naloxone in the UK. Here is the Government's response | ACMD, UK
UK's first drug consumption room to get go-ahead
The UK's first official consumption room for illegal drugs including heroin and cocaine is expected to be approved by authorities in Glasgow later | BBC, UK
Drug Consumption Room will be 'restricted in what it can do'
Charities working with drug users have warned MSPs that it is “too early” to say if Scotland’s national emergency is making a difference | Herald, UK
National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times
11,230 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,835 (52%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 4,179 (37%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,216 (11%) for co-dependency | Public Health Scotland, UK
Number of people receiving treatment for problem drinking down 40%
The number of people in Scotland receiving treatment for problem drinking has dropped 40% in the past eight years, sparking new calls by the Scottish Conservatives for a right to treatment to be enshrined in law | STV News, UK
Review of smoking cessation services in Scotland
Public Health Scotland were commissioned by Scottish Government to carry out a review of smoking cessation services and make recommendations for the delivery of services going forward. This report presents the findings of the advisory group that led the review | Public Health Scotland, UK
The Today Debate: Drug deaths in Scotland - is decriminalisation the answer? - audio
Broadcast live from Glasgow, Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the best approach to drug abuse and drug deaths in Scotland | BBC, UK
Police powers and procedures: Stop and search and arrests, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2023
In total, including searches under section 1 PACE and section 60 CJPOA, police in England and Wales conducted 547,003 stop and searches, an increase of 3% compared with the year ending March 2022 (up 16,033 from 530,970) | Home Office, UK
Vapes '95% safer' than cigarettes messaging backfired
The message that vaping is 95% safer than smoking has backfired, encouraging some children to vape, says a top health expert | BBC, UK
Vaping: Wells headteacher working to combat increased usage in schools
A headteacher has called on parents to help him combat the rising issue of vaping in schools. Mark Woodlock, from the Blue School in Wells, wants tighter regulations on the sale of vapes after seeing a "significant increase" in pupils using them | BBC, UK
Podcast host to bring sober pop-up bar to Manchester city centre with open mic night and alcohol-free cocktail classes
There will be a Sober Girl mixer, cocktail tasting classes, art workshops and a queer film screening | Manchester Evening News, UK
Woodhouse moor to host leeds’ first recovery park run
Saturday 30th September, from 9am. The Leeds recovery community will join with other runners at the first-ever Park Run in the city for people in recovery from issues with alcohol and drugs | Forward Leeds, UK
Llanelli drug treatment centre near playground turned down
Hywel Dda health board wanted to move Dyfed Drugs and Alcohol Service to North Dock in Llanelli, but the proposals were turned down by Carmarthenshire Council | BBC, UK
NI lorry driver charged after cocaine found in truck doors
A Northern Ireland-based lorry driver has been charged after cocaine worth £6.8m was found hidden in a lorry in Liverpool, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said | BBC, UK
Cambridgeshire drug dealer jailed after taking selfies with cannabis
Police seized cannabis and cocaine with a street value of more than £3,000 from the home of Derek Waters, 36, in Ramsey Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, in 2020 | BBC, UK
International news
Ukraine war: Cannabis in focus for veterans treatment
In a modest Kyiv apartment, off-duty soldiers meet to smoke cannabis and forget, for a moment, the things they have seen. They don't want to be identified. The drug is frowned upon in the military, even here, far from the front | BBC, UK
Does the decline in Swedish adolescent drinking persist into early adulthood?
[Open access] Sweden has experienced a substantial decrease in adolescent drinking over the past decades. Whether the reduction persists into early adulthood remains unclear. Using survey data, the present study aimed to determine whether reductions in indicators of alcohol use observed among adolescents remain in early adulthood and whether changes in alcohol intake are consistent among light/moderate and heavy drinkers | Addiction, UK
Alarming figures show surge in drug related issues in Limerick
Statistics from January to the end of August 2023, revealed incidents of drug possession for personal use in Limerick have surged by 48% when compared to last year | Limerick Leader, Ireland
Celebrating European Day of Languages: EMCDDA multilingual drug glossary unveiled
In celebration of the European Day of Languages, we are delighted to unveil the online EMCDDA multilingual glossary of drug-related terms, a practical resource aimed at ensuring high-quality and comparable content on drug-related topics in Europe | EMCDDA, Portugal
Glasgow expected to approve Scotland’s first official drug consumption room
Scotland has the worst drug death rate in Europe with 1,051 people dying due to drug misuse last year alone | Aljazeera, Qatar
Online Marijuana Shops Make It Easy for Minors to Buy, Study Finds
Many online marijuana dispensaries do not enforce age limits on purchases, and they have other lax policies that enable minors to buy cannabis on the internet, according to a new study published on Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics | NYTimes, USA
What is kratom? Professor discusses the herbal extract's use a safe alternative to opioids
Is kratom a welcome respite for those with chronic pain? Or is it a different style of opioid that can be addictive? | Medical Xpress, USA
Elevated temperatures and climate change may contribute to rising drug and alcohol disorders
Hospital visits from alcohol- and substance-related disorders are driven by elevated temperatures and could be further affected by rising temperatures due to climate change, according to new research by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health | Medical Xpress, USA
STASH, Vol. 19(10) – Habits and routines of adults in early recovery from substance use disorder
Over 85% of individuals with substance use disorder return to use1 within a year of treatment. Many people in recovery from substance use disorder face challenges finding new activities to occupy time previously filled with substance use-related activities. Thus, the habits and routines established during early recovery may be particularly important in a person’s recovery journey. This week, in recognition of September as National Recovery Month, STASH reviews a study by Robert H. Kitzinger, Jr. and colleagues that explored the habits and routines of adults in early recovery from substance use disorder | BASIS, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Nitazenes: synthetic opioids more deadly than fentanyl are starting to turn up in overdose cases
The synthetic opioid fentanyl is well known for the many lives it has claimed – mainly in the US, but elsewhere too. Now, a less well-known class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes is starting to crop up in overdose cases, on both sides of the Atlantic. Nitazenes have recently been the subject of a national patient safety alert in the UK as a result of a spike in opioid-related deaths over the last two months, with several cases involving nitazenes | Conversation, UK
Alcohol availability and accessibility around schools in Ireland
Per capita alcohol use in Ireland remains among the highest across OECD countries. By the time Irish adolescents reach 17, four in every five have consumed alcohol, and girls are ranked 3rd and boys 4th for their rates of binge drinking in a comparison of 195 countries globally. In recognition of this, the Irish Government passed the Public Health (Alcohol) Act in 2018 in an attempt to reduce overall alcohol use and alcohol-related harms, but central to the legislation is to delay and prevent alcohol use among children | IAS blog, UK