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Daily news - 15th August 2024 |
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UK news
The Pain of our Loss – an open letter from families bereaved by substance use
We are family members who have lost a loved one through substance use. We have lost children, partners, siblings, and parents. Some of us have been bereaved for nearly thirty years, and some for only a few months. We have written this letter as a collective account of our experiences, to highlight the need for change | SFAD, UK
Water park allowed to serve alcohol from 08:00
A multimillion-pound water park attraction in North Yorkshire has been granted a licence to serve alcohol from 08:00 every day, despite some objections from local residents | BBC, UK
Overdose Awareness Day event
Sat 31 Aug 2024 6:45 PM - 9:15 PM. We will be holding a remembrance event on the 31st of August, which is International Overdose Awareness Day. We will have a vigil space for people to come and light a candle for loved ones and community members who have passed, and we will set up a demonstration safer consumption site outside of the venue to show life-affirming alternative interventions which we could have in London, to help prevent future drug deaths | Release, UK
UK Recovery Walk 2024
Saturday 14 September, Crystal Palace Park, London. Join thousands of people in recovery, their families and friends for the biggest gathering of recovering people in Europe as we walk through the iconic Crystal Palace Park celebrating and advocating for recovery. Meet from 11am, with the Walk starting at noon | FAVOR UK, UK
Cocaine sharks: Why are marine animals being tested for drugs? - audio
We get a round up of the research from Alex Ford, a professor of biology at the University of Portsmouth. He explains how recreational drugs and medicines have been found in seawater samples in the U.K. and how that could impact animal behaviour and development | BBC Sounds, UK
Gang behind hard drugs supply line jailed
The “ZK line” used a phone to send mass texts to would-be buyers of crack cocaine and heroin | BBC, UK
International news
110. Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World with Satya - podcast
In this episode, we meet with Satya, a consciousness activist, who has been entirely dedicated to the expansion and evolution of human consciousness for 15 years. Throughout this time, she has facilitated retreats for over 60 000 people around the world, with profound processes of transformation | Drug Science, UK
Irish man arrested after Peru cocaine seizure
The 40-year-old was one of three detained by police in the capital city Lima. They had been under surveillance by detectives from Peru's anti-drugs unit, known as Dirandro | BBC, UK
More than 2,300lb of meth found hidden under celery at Atlanta farmers’ market
Drug Enforcement Administration says haul was one of largest of its kind and ‘obviously, we threw away the celery’ | Guardian, UK
City councilman jailed for six years, forfeiting monster truck and $1.9m, for selling drugs
One mom said her two sons became ill after ingesting products from former councilman’s store | Independent, UK
‘It’s a group-on-one’: social disconnection as a tool of and defence against child criminal exploitation in the Republic of Ireland
Despite progress in Great Britain with regard to ‘County Lines’exploitation, and in Ireland regarding youth criminality and grooming, the subjective accounts of how young people understand child criminal exploitation (CCE) remain under-evaluated. This exploratory study captures the perspectives of Irish youth on CCE and draws on the theory of social capital to explore the social structures that enable CCE and the (limited) choices available to the young people | Crime Prevention and Community Safety, Ireland
‘Overcrowding adds to prisons’ drug issues’
The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said that overcrowding is contributing to some of the issues with drugs in Irish prisons | Law Society Gazette Ireland, Ireland
An implantable sensor could reverse opioid overdoses
In 2023, more than 100,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. The most effective way to save someone who has overdosed is to administer a drug called naloxone, but a first responder or bystander can't always reach the person who has overdosed in time Medical Xpress, USA
Q&A: Marijuana use can worsen outcomes for young adults with psychosis—how can mental health providers help them stop?
Twelve years after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, it's safe to say that weed is here to stay. Nearly 30% of Washington adults report using cannabis in the last month, and a majority of Americans believe marijuana products are safe | Medical Xpress, USA
Q&A: How opioid treatment can keep newborns out of foster care
Opioid-exposed newborns were 41% more likely to be discharged home from the hospital with their biological mother when the mothers receive medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy, according to a study published by JAMA Health Forum on July 12 | Medical Xpress, USA
Disposable Vapes Eating Into Cigarette Sales, Industry Data Show
The most striking thing about tobacco giant Altria’s second-quarter report is the nature of the rapid transition it reflects from cigarettes to non-combustibles in the United States, according to expert David Sweanor, who reviewed the information released in late July | Filter Magazine, USA
Vape chemistry: Decoding the cloud - video
This presentation will examine the evolving landscape of the e-cigarette market in Australia. Regulatory updates in 2021 and more recent revisions have altered these products' availability and chemical content. The presentation will explore the current chemical composition of e-cigarette products on the market, the changes observed in recent years, and the potential future developments considering the upcoming regulations | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative (NESI): Everything you ever wanted to know about NESI (but were afraid to ask)
Yesterday marked the publication of the report from the 8th iteration (or “sweep” as we usually call it) of the Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative (NESI), which was carried out from November 2022 to December 2023. NESI is a national “bio-behavioural” survey of people who inject drugs (PWID), so-called because it collects information on people’s self-reported behaviour via a questionnaire and collects biological information via a blood spot (which is obtained via a finger-prick device and later tested for blood-borne viruses). Participants are recruited from needle exchange sites across the country | DRNS blog, UK
Early prevention programs for children could help end the opioid crisis
Can a program for Grade 7 students help end the opioid crisis? The answer is yes, according to compelling research findings on school-based primary prevention interventions | Conversation, Canada