Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports

Daily news - 26th April 2024

UK news

We know how to deter British children from alcohol, say experts, after concerns over WHO report

Study found Great Britain had worst rate of child alcohol consumption in world, but youth drinking is said still to have ‘declined sharply’ | Guardian, UK

Patients prescribed gabapentinoids at increased risk of drug misuse or overdose, researchers find

Keele researchers have found a link between patients prescribed gabapentinoids and a greater risk of ‘adverse events’ such as drug misuse, overdose, and major trauma such as a bone fracture or head injury | Keele University, UK

Alcohol deaths at record high in North West borough

New data shows deaths relating to alcohol in Sefton, Merseyside, are up by a third since the Covid pandemic, with the borough having the sixth highest number in the UK | BBC, UK

Diversion schemes for drug-related offending - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament

Motion text: That this House endorses the recognition from Dame Carol Black and the Home Affairs Committee that improved use of diversion schemes, where police deal with low-level offending without the involvement of courts, can be an important tool in reducing drug-related crime... | UK Parliament, UK

Independent Scotland could make own choices on drug law says new white paper

The Scottish Government’s latest independence paper says Scotland could take its own decisions on issues such as gambling and drug prohibition if it was to leave the UK | Yahoo News, UK

Alcoholism and Drugs: Rehabilitation

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's drug strategy on the number of people who are in (a) drug and (b) alcohol treatment | They work for you, UK

Electronic Cigarettes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning the use of vapes in (a) public spaces, (b) bars and (c) vehicles with child passengers | They work for you, UK

Electronic Cigarettes: Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a full advertising ban on companies promoting vaping products | They work for you, UK

THC Vape resource (PDF)

This A5 16-page full colour booklet covers information on THC Vapes and key harm reduction tips on vaping and THC vapes specifically | Crew, UK

’Peers are Bridge Builders’ with Mat Southwell - podcast

In this episode of Drugs Uncut, SDF’s Wez Steele is joined by Mat Southwell, Project Co-ordinator at EuroNPUD. Mat and Wez discuss the key role peers have in the development of policy and practice as well as the effective delivery of services. They also discuss the uniquely British division between harm reduction advocacy and recovery when the community’s diverse experiences and perspectives are most impactful when peers work together | Drugs Uncut, UK

Nine arrested in county drugs line raid

Officers from Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire police forces carried out warrants at eight addresses yesterday which resulted in the arrests as well as drugs, cash, weapons and electronic devices being seized | BBC, UK

International news

Benzodiazepines and treatment with Adam Bakker, Michael Liebrenz and Alexander Smith - podcast

In this episode Ben Scher talks to Dr Adam Bakker, Professor Michael Liebrenz and Dr Alexander Smith about their commentary in response to a previous paper by Domzaridou and colleages (2023). They discuss the complexities of providing treatment for people who use, and are prescribed, opiates, opiate agonist medications and benzodiazepines. They talk about using a combination of medical and non-medical treatments when working with people who use benzodiazepines as well as the research needed to bring clarity to this pressing clinical issue | SSA, UK

Calls for Government to raise minimum age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21

The appeal comes as the Government examine whether Ireland “can and should” increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes and other tobacco products | Irish Mirror, Ireland

Hundreds of used syringes and other drug paraphernalia found in Dublin park

Northway Estate Park, in Finglas, is regularly frequented by children and people with their pets, and the materials were found dumped close to a wall near where children play sports | Irish Independent, Ireland

Alcohol, e-cigarettes, cannabis: concerning trends in adolescent substance use, shows new WHO/Europe report

Across Europe, central Asia and Canada, a concerning picture of adolescent substance use emerges from a new WHO/Europe report. With over half of 15-year-olds surveyed having experimented with alcohol and a shocking 1 in 5 having recently used e-cigarettes, the risks to young people are clear. The new data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study also highlights a narrowing gender gap in substance use, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention strategies. The long-term consequences of these trends are significant, and policy-makers cannot afford to ignore these alarming findings | WHO, Denmark

Abandoned: Designer Drugs on the Margins of Hungarian Society

How does the use of new psychoactive substances, such as "herbal" or "crystal", affect the Hungarian countryside and cities in 2024? How does Hungarian society treat the users of these drugs? Drug users, ex-dealers, the mayor, helpers and experts answer these questions in a new documentary by Drugreporter | Drug Reporter, Hungary

EMCDDA webinar: Drug consumption rooms in Europe — current practices and future scenarios

May 8th 2024. Online. The main aim of this webinar is to inform discussions on drug consumption rooms (DCRs), by reviewing current models and their characteristics. We will present three well-established examples from different European countries and discuss possible future scenarios with the speakers | EMCDDA, Portugal

Drug, alcohol abuse goes untreated in many ex-prisoners

Most ex-cons are unlikely to receive substance use treatment following their release from prison, even though odds are high they are struggling with addiction, a new study finds | Medical Xpress, USA

Perinatal substance use may shape how strongly mothers feel toward infants

Substance use during pregnancy and postpartum may impact areas of the brain associated with what psychologists and neuroscientists call "affective empathy," or the emotional response experienced as a result of others' emotions, a new study suggests | Medical Xpress, USA

Job losses help explain increase in drug deaths among Black Americans

New research points to an economic factor that might be overlooked when considering why drug-related deaths among Black Americans increased significantly after 2010 in U.S. regions reporting heightened fentanyl activity: job losses that followed the Great Recession | Medical Xpress, USA