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Daily news - 11th April 2024 |
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UK news
Drug-safety and harm reduction initiative for UK nightlife, Safer States, launches
A new initiative, Safer States, has been introduced in the UK to address drug safety and harm reduction in nightlife settings. Launched as a collaborative effort between the Good Night Out Campaign, Release, Safe Only Ltd and The Love Tank, Safer States aims to provide essential harm-reduction information and challenge the stigma surrounding drug use | DJ Mag, UK
Xylazine, heroin and drug markets with Caroline Copeland - audio
In this episode Ben Scher talks to Dr Caroline Copeland about her work analysing drug death data to identify drug use trends, harms and to inform policy. Caroline talks about how xylazine first entered the US drug market but has been increasingly identified in Europe and the UK, even being identified in vapes sold as containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Caroline covers the harms from xylazine and the implications for public health practitioners before relating the UK issues to wider global drug markets | SSA, UK
Forward Leeds launches edibles awareness campaign
Forward Leeds is embarking on a campaign to raise awareness about cannabis, with a particular focus on cannabis edibles | Forward Leeds, UK
Changing with the times
For this month’s column, we decided it would be best to reflect on what we learned in 2023, and spell out Release’s plans to try and do things differently in 2024 | DDN, UK
Bid submitted for Aberdeen drug-checking facility
Aberdeen could be the first Scottish city to operate a drug-checking facility after an application was submitted to the UK Government | Planet Radio, UK
Laughing gas abuse caused student's death - Berkshire coroner
Ellen Mercer, 24, died in hospital in February 2023, two weeks after she was left bedbound by burning her legs with a laughing gas canister | BBC, UK
Objections over 20-hour alcohol delivery service
Plans to run an alcohol delivery business for 20 hours every day have attracted a wave of objections from residents | BBC, UK
Mother jailed after baby son's drug-related death
A drug-dealing mother whose baby son died after being exposed to narcotics at her home in Aberdeenshire has been jailed for seven years | BBC, UK
Cotswolds county lines drug dealer jailed for 28 months
A man caught with a "breath-taking" 22,000 phone messages arranging heroin and cocaine sales has been jailed | BBC, UK
Drugs raids in Essex and Kent lead to gang members being jailed
Police discovered a large amount of Class A drugs during various raids by officers in Essex and Kent | BBC, UK
Buckinghamshire Council proposes new street trading rules
Street traders could be banned from selling vapes and balloons under proposed new rules | BBC, UK
International news
101. LSD, Nazis and the CIA with Norman Ohler - audio
In this episode, Prof Nutt meets with German author Norman Ohler as he speaks about his new book “Tripped” which addresses drug use in post-Nazi Germany. Ohler shares how a secret history held back therapeutic research of psychedelic drugs for decades and eventually Nazi policies became part of the foundation of America’s War on Drugs. Ohler discusses theories as to why substances have been omitted from certain parts of history. This episode delves into deep debates regarding the weaponisation of substances within war environments, touching upon the CIA’s attempts to weaponise psychedelics such as LSD in their MK Ultra experiments | Drug Science, UK
Cannabis use and dependence among festival attendees: results from the French OCTOPUS survey
Chronic use of cannabis is associated with an increased risk of psychosocial, mental and physical health impairments. Sociohealth institutions reach a very limited proportion of cannabis users in need of treatment. Using data collected from festival attendees, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of dependent cannabis users and to characterize cannabis dependence | BMC Public Health, UK
HSE concerned lethal 'zombie drug' could be on its way to Ireland
The HSE has admitted it is concerned over a new opioid appearing on the Irish market which has killed thousands of people in the US | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Watch the Recording of the City Report Launch | Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe - video
The City Reports are the final segment of Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network (C-EHRN)’s Civil Society-led Monitoring of Harm Reduction 2023 Data Report. These concise harm reduction ‘case studies’ highlight either innovative practices or urgent issues demanding immediate attention in five different European cities. The reports will serve as advocacy tools to engage decision makers at all levels, either by showcasing best practices or as an urgent call to action | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
A Groundbreaking Win at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs - podcast
On March 14-22, 2024, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held its 67th annual session in Vienna, Austria. The session saw a landmark vote that may have important repercussions for drug policy, in Latin America and elsewhere | WOLA, USA
Quarter 1 2024: Trend Report - NPS Benzodiazepines, NPS Opioids, NPS Stimulants & Hallucinogens, and Synthetic Cannabinoids in the U.S (PDF)
This report provides up-to-date information regarding the status of NPS benzodiazepine prevalence and positivity in the United States | CFSRE, USA
Switching from smoking to vaping: What happens?
Vaping vendors often sell their products as “healthier” tobacco alternatives or a way to quit cigarettes. However, vapes still have risks and are most beneficial as a step on the journey to becoming completely smoke-free | Medical News Today, USA
'Deaths of despair' among Black Americans surpassed those of white Americans in 2022
A new analysis by researchers at UCLA Health found that mortality rates of middle-aged Black Americans caused by the "deaths of despair"—suicide, drug overdose and alcoholic liver disease—surpassed the rate of white Americans in 2022. Native Americans also had more than double the rate of both Black and white Americans that year | Medical Xpress, USA
Study finds esketamine injection just after childbirth reduces depression in new mothers
A single low dose injection of esketamine given immediately after childbirth reduces major depressive episodes in individuals with depressive symptoms during pregnancy (prenatal depression), finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today | Medical Xpress, USA
Researchers show chemical found naturally in cannabis may reduce anxiety-inducing effects of THC
A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led research team has added to evidence that a chemical found naturally in cannabis (also known as marijuana) can—in the right amounts—lessen the anxiety-inducing effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive sister chemical found in cannabis | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Can AI-assisted media content creation perpetuate stigmas?
AI tools are increasingly being used to generate publicly available media content producing everything from facebook posts to first drafts of books and film scripts. Research shows that the media play a significant role in shaping stigmatising attitudes toward populations experiencing health problems, including addiction. Research also suggests that legacy and social media often depict individuals experiencing addiction, especially drug use, in a negative light. This raises the question as to whether use of AI to generate media content will help address stigma in media representation or further perpetuate it? | Anti-Stigma Network, UK
Richard Crosby: Nicotine pouches are the route to a smoke-free Britain
Smoking rates in the UK have never been lower, which we know will result in a decline in the rates of smoking-related illness, which in turn will lead to countless lives saved or extended. Despite this success, we have yet to reach the UN’s goal of ‘smoke free’, defined as less than 5 per cent of the population smoking. To do so, consumers need more than just one safer nicotine product to quit smoking. And this is where we see the highly effective nicotine pouch come into play | Conservative Home, UK