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Daily news - 6th August 2024 |
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UK news
Good governance in public health policy: Managing interactions with alcohol industry stakeholders (PDF)
This document provides guidance for identifying, managing and protecting against conflicts of interest associated with alcohol industry involvement in public health policy. The principles outlined here have been developed through collaboration with alcohol policy and public health experts across the UK, and informed by international best practice in approaches to managing interactions with unhealthy commodity industries... | IAS, UK
Pharmacies in England cutting services amid financial pressures, research finds
Poll reveals emergency contraception, free prescription deliveries and extended opening hours among services hit | Guardian, UK
Sobering times for UK alcohol-free bars as many struggle to survive
Economics of running a dry bar has led to closures despite the growing popularity of alcohol-free beers and cocktails | Guardian, UK
Ex-jockey launches scotland’s first-ever clinic to offer ketamine treatment for depression
Fronted by ex-jockey and rehab worker John Gillen, the Hamilton-based Eulas Centre is Scotland’s first clinic to be granted a license to offer Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) | MixMag, UK
Street Drug Discussions - CBD - video
Curious about cannabidiol (CBD)? Join us in this video where we explore: - The nature and uses of CBD - Harms and Benefits - Law and policy - The modern wellness industry - Future directions and policy challenges | Drug Science, UK
Annual Trustees’ Report 2023 (PDF)
2023 was an important - and successful - year for Drinkaware. It marked the first full year of implementing our new organisational strategy, with colleagues and partners coming together like never before with a shared goal of achieving the change needed to reduce alcohol-related harm | Drinkaware, UK
The story of Turning Point in 60 objects
Click on any of the objects in our online gallery to discover the story behind them. The first 20 objects have been chosen by Turning Point, while the rest have been shared by people across the UK | Turning Point, UK
Issues in the management of ARBD in the acute hospital setting - conference
Thu, 3 Oct 2024 09:30 - 15:15 BST. The ARBD Network and Alcohol Change UK present a day of expert speakers and workshops to explore issues around alcohol related brain damage | Alcohol Change UK, UK
International news
Can 24-hour drinking zones transform a city?
When Frank Sinatra sang about “a city that never sleeps”, he probably wasn’t thinking about the economic boost that busy nightlife can provide to a metropolis | BBC, UK
Alcohol control policy and alcohol-attributable disease burden in Finland and the Baltic countries: A longitudinal study 1995–2019
[Open access] A new version of a measure of alcohol policy restrictiveness revealed a strong link with alcohol-related harm in Finland and Baltic countries, suggesting that more restrictive national policies really do reduce harm | Addiction, UK
Cocaine worth $1m washes up on Florida beach after storm
Border Patrol said a good Samaritan found 32 kg of the drug and contacted authorities | Sky News, UK
Colombian congress debates banning souvenirs of drug lord Pablo Escobar
Vendors selling to tourists criticize proposal, but those wanting to shed the country’s mafia boss image praise it | Guardian, UK
The rural drug problem - addiction to illegal substances is not confined to the cities or built up areas
An explosion of readily available illegal drugs is tearing rural communities apart as young people suffer with addiction issues. Recent figures reveal a 98% rise in the number of drug-related deaths in the last 10 years - and rural towns and villages are certainly not immune to those statistics | Irish News, Ireland
Brand of kratom tied to one death, many severe illnesses, FDA warns
Millions of Americans use the opioid-like herbal supplement known as kratom, but evidence of its dangers continue to mount | Medical Xpress, USA
Uncovering the links between sleep struggles, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts in teens with depression
Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in Psychiatry Research, titled "Exploring sleep difficulties, alcohol, illicit drugs, and suicidal ideation among adolescents with a history of depression." | Medical Xpress, USA
Higher unemployment benefits are associated with reduced drug overdose mortality in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
[Open access] Economic, such as unemployment, are noted risk factors for drug overdoses. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated economic hardship; as a result, the US government enacted income protection programs in conjunction with existing unemployment insurance (UI) to dampen COVID-19-related consequences. We investigate whether UI, operationalized as the weekly benefit allowance (WBA) replacement rate, is negatively associated with drug-related overdoses | IJDP, USA
Cannabigerol shows promise in reducing anxiety and stress, study finds
In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover field trial to examine whether the phytocannabinoid cannabigerol impacted mood, stress, and anxiety and caused any related adverse effects of cognitive or motor impairment | News Medical, USA
New method tracks how psychedelics affect neurons in minutes
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a rapid, noninvasive tool to track the neurons and biomolecules activated in the brain by psychedelic drugs. The protein-based tool, which is called Ca2+-activated Split-TurboID, or CaST, is described in research published in Nature Methods | Medical Xpress, USA
Drugs and New Technologies (DNeT): Trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets, June 2023 - May 2024
Drug Trends has identified, crawled (or ‘scraped’), extracted, categorised and analysed drug listings on cryptomarkets on a regular basis since 1st February 2014. This bulletin series reports on trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets over a 12-month period. The current bulletin focuses on analysis of drug listings on cryptomarkets from June 2023 to May 2024 | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Adfam at 40 – Dr Emily Finch: “helping people recover is helping them reconnect”
2024 marks a special year for Adfam as we celebrate our 40th year. Throughout 2024, we will be reflecting on the past 40 years on the progress that has been made in supporting families affected by substance misuse, as well as looking to the future. Through a series of monthly articles, Adfam is speaking to a range of key individuals active in supporting families through substance misuse. For our sixth ‘Adfam at 40’ article we speak with Dr Emily Finch, an addiction psychiatrist at South London and the Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust | Adfam blog, UK
Leah Moyle obituary
My friend and research collaborator Leah Moyle, who has died aged 38 from a rapid onset brain tumour, was an academic in the fields of criminology and sociology | Guardian, UK
Tucibi, Also Known As "Pink Cocaine," Contains No 2C-B and No Cocaine
A Frankenstein's Monster of a drug has become all the rage | Ben Westhoff, USA
Psilocybin legislation is helping psychedelic drugs make a comeback – a drug researcher explains the challenges they face
An operations manager finds relief from her depression with the help of psilocybin, the primary psychoactive component of “magic mushrooms.” A veteran conquers his post-traumatic stress disorder through therapy using MDMA, a synthetic compound known on the street as “ecstasy” or “molly.” A stay-at-home mom tries LSD, otherwise known as acid, for her anxiety. Nearly every day, such stories appear about the healing potential of psychedelic drugs | Conversation, USA
Swimming In the River Lethe: Immersion in Un-mindfulness of our Own History
As I wrote about in a recent piece, Ways of Knowing and Our AOD Treatment & Recovery Workforce, a major source of information about addiction and recovery is the historical evidence of our successes and failures | Recovery Review blog, USA