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Daily news - 29th August 2024

UK news

Ministers consider tighter outdoor smoking rules

As first reported by the Sun, smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, outside hospitals and sports grounds | BBC, UK

WEDINOS: Philtre April 2023 – March 2024 (PDF)

WEDINOS monitors drug trends across the UK, whilst sharing information with, and receiving information from, regional, national and international partners to ensure the continued provision of timely and pragmatic harm reduction information for people who use drugs and those working or concerned with the well-being of people who use drugs. Within the 7,064 samples analysed by WEDINOS, 206 substances were profiled either in isolation or combination. The most commonly identified chemical group of psychoactive substances for the sixth year were benzodiazepines, with 19 benzodiazepines identified | WEDINOS, UK

Alcohol minimum unit pricing: posters and flyers

Materials for retailers to tell customers about minimum unit pricing, produced in collaboration with trade bodies and industry representatives | Scottish Government, UK

Drugs worker shares addiction story to help others

Now a team leader with the charity We Are With You, Mr Dobson said his story began one Christmas, at the age of just eight, when he drank sherry until blacking out | BBC, UK

Addiction group working to beat cultural stigma

Peterborough-based Aspire has expanded its work with religious groups, community centres and local radio station Salaam Radio to beat "cultural stigma" surrounding drug and alcohol use within South Asian communities | BBC, UK

Drug overdose training given to stop deaths

Hartlepool Borough Council is holding sessions in injecting naloxone, which can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose | BBC, UK

Leading drug and alcohol rehab centre hosts Recovery Gathering

The event, which is free to attend, is organised and hosted by Abbeycare Scotland, which runs a residential drug and alcohol addiction recovery clinic in Erskine | Renfrewshire News, UK

'Bad batch' drug fears after four taken to hospital

Investigations by police have found the individuals may have taken a bad batch of Spice, mamba or similar, but none of the four are thought to be in a life-threatening condition | BBC, UK

Vapes redesigned to avoid UK crackdown could lead to more waste, say critics

Reusable varieties unlikely to dent environmental impact of e-cigarette waste, even as they curb battery waste | Guardian, UK

111. OCD and Psychedelics with Rose Cartwright - podcast

In this episode, Prof Nutt meets with Rose Cartwright as she discusses the impact of psychedelics on her Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She reflects on some of the common misconceptions around OCD as well as the impact diagnosis and traditional treatment had on her life. Throughout the episode, she reflects on her own psychedelic experiences, mistakes made along the way and the steps she would have taken differently going into this with the knowledge she has today | Drug Science, UK

UK Recovery Walk Festival 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

'I stole to order', £300-a-day former shoplifter tells BBC

Ross, who has 15 convictions for shoplifting but has never been to prison, estimated he stole £300 worth of goods every day from shops around Leeds which he would then sell on to fund his crack cocaine and heroin addiction | BBC, UK

International news

Vapes with suspected cannabis worth €3K seized

More than €3,000 (£2,500) worth of vaping products containing suspected cannabis have been seized by Gardai (Irish police) after searches in County Donegal | BBC, UK

Call for papers on psychedelic-assisted treatment for substance use disorders

RCT registers point to an increasing pace of clinical science for psychedelic-assisted treatments and an opportune moment for Addiction to issue an open call for submissions to a special issue | Addiction, UK

Harm to children from others' drinking: A survey of caregivers in Australia

This study aimed to identify the prevalence and types of harm to children from others' drinking in Australia, as indicated by caregivers, and examine socio-demographic characteristics of caregivers who indicated a child was affected by others' drinking | Addiction, UK

New Study | European Harm Reduction Services Adapt and Advance Amid COVID-19 Challenges

A new study published in the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy by Rafaela Rigoni and Tuukka Tammi details the significant transformations in harm reduction services across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper, titled “Closing doors, opening windows – Adaptations and opportunities for harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe“, dives into the adaptive measures and policy advances made in the face of disruptions caused by many restrictions | C-EHRN, The Netherlands

[Open access] Review of randomised trials concludes that assigning substance-dependent patients to simple and feasible exercise regimens “significantly contributes to the positive management of drug cravings”; aerobic exercises were more effective than resistance exercises | Addictive Behaviors, USA

Harm reduction education and tools access may help women prevent opioid overdose

Women with opioid use disorder and who are also involved with the criminal legal system face unique challenges and stigmas that may keep them from seeking substance use treatment and harm reduction tools that could prevent overdose deaths, according to new research led by a team from Penn State | Medical Xpress, USA

How exercise influences addiction recovery: Q&A with neuroscientist

A University at Buffalo neuroscientist whose focus is the brain's reward system and its role in addiction is helping to illuminate how exercise can aid the brain in addiction recovery. Over the past year, this research has revealed that because exercise acts on the same areas of the brain that addiction does, it has the potential to become an important treatment tool for people with substance use disorder | Medical Xpress, USA

Treating depression with psilocybin or escitalopram found to result in different hierarchical brain reconfigurations

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders, affecting an estimated 300 million people worldwide. While there are currently numerous pharmacological treatments for depression, how different treatments impact the brains of the patients they are administered to is not yet fully understood | Medical Xpress, USA

Testing the combination of bupropion and extended-release naltrexone for methamphetamine use disorder

Despite dozens of clinical trials costing many millions of dollars there are no FDA-approved medications for stimulant use disorders, such as cocaine or methamphetamine. This study investigated whether the combination of bupropion – which has shown promise in reducing stimulant use – and extended-release naltrexone – FDA-approved for both alcohol and opioid use disorder – improves outcomes for people with methamphetamine use disorder | Recovery Research Institute, USA

People in treatment may prefer medically accurate, person-first language, but it’s always good to ask

Language is important to avoid perpetuating stigma, but the language preferences among people suffering from substance use disorders themselves are unclear. This study characterized the terms people in treatment prefer to describe themselves and their substance use | Recovery Research Institute, USA

The “sneaky vape”: the affordances of time and space in the rituals of vaping versus smoking in NSW, Australia

Amidst national debates about the rapid uptake of vaping in Australia, we conducted in 2023 a qualitative study of young people’s perspectives on vaping and its relationship to combustible cigarette use | DEPP, Australia

“The compounds for females are really commonly faked!”: Women's challenges in anabolic steroid acquisition and the place of drug checking interventions

[Open access] Women who use drugs, particularly those using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), encounter heightened social risks influenced by the legal status of AAS, varying regionally. In jurisdictions where AAS are legal, medical guidance and prescription are common, while in illegal regions, there are challenges associated with acquisition and safer usage. Therefore, we aimed to explore the experiences of women who use AAS in Australia, where these substances are criminalised, with a focus on the challenges they encounter in acquiring and using these drugs | DAR, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Can ‘justified disapproval’ be separated from addiction stigma? An empirical focus is required

Stigma is largely recognized as a harmful practice of social devaluation and discrimination, yet some scholars still advance arguments that stigma also serves an important disincentivizing force toward addictive behaviors... We review evidence in the domains of social norms, stigma, addiction and behavioral sciences as a starting point for an empirically focused evaluation of the possibility of ‘justified disapproval’ as a legitimate positive force | Addiction Research & Theory, UK

How minimum unit pricing changed social drinking: the change started when it was first announced!

Minimum unit pricing (MUP) is a policy action intended to reduce harmful consumption of alcohol by putting in place a floor on the price sellers can charge. Scotland was the first country to announce its intention to adopt MUP (in 2012) which enacted in 2018 despite industry opposition. The introduction of the policy has been shown to substantially alter alcohol consumption in Scotland and is being actively considered by other devolved nations in the UK as a means of addressing the public health problems presented by alcohol | IAS blog, UK

Critical DEA cannabis hearing delayed due to 43,500 public comments

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has officially announced a public hearing on 2 December 2024 to discuss the proposed rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance. This hearing, while significant, delays any final decision until after the November 2024 presidential election, raising questions about the future of federal cannabis policy and the stances of key political figures, notably Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump | Volteface, UK

Ukraine’s Medical Cannabis Laws Need to Reflect the Realities of War

Ukraine’s recent legalisation of medical cannabis represents a significant step forward in the nation’s evolving drug policy. However, this progress is marred by a critical omission: the exclusion of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis treatment | Volteface, UK

I did MDMA therapy before it was legal. For me it was transformative – but I have some concerns

I didn’t think I would ever break the law to try alternative medicine. But as Australia finds itself at the forefront of the therapy, I’m in a unique position | Guardian, UK

Drinking alcohol before conceiving a child could accelerate their aging – new research in mice

The conditions within a person’s home, family and community affect their ability to stay healthy. Scientists studying these social determinants of health are trying to understand whether nature or nurture has a stronger effect on a person’s ability to fight disease | Conversation, USA

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