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Daily news - 3rd January 2024 |
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UK news
Wales drug use rooms could save addicts' lives - claim
Wales should follow Scotland's drug room trials to combat rising deaths, according to the chairman of the Senedd's cross-party addiction group | BBC, UK
Big business: The private sector market for image and performance enhancing drug harm reduction in the UK
[Open access] This article draws on three mutually independent ethnographic studies to explore the private sector market for image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) harm reduction in the UK, specifically examining (1) steroid accessory supplements; (2) blood testing services; and (3) bloodletting services | IJDP, UK
Cumbrians cutting out alcohol could save the NHS £2 million
Almost £2 million was spent treating 13,000 people in A&E with alcohol-related injuries and illnesses between 2018 and 2021, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust have revealed | ITV, UK
‘I can’t believe it works’: How horses are helping drug addicts to stay clean
With addiction problems spiralling in the UK, experts are turning to novel methods to help people turn their lives around | i news, UK
Dry January 2024: Two different types of ‘drinker’ offer perspectives on being alcohol-free for over a year
With the new year comes resolutions, resets and renewed aspirations of better, ‘cleaner’ living. One popular challenge is ‘Dry January’ | Belfast Telegraph, UK
Sharp increase in new vape shops in the UK
More than 230 independent specialist outlets opened in 2023, according to new figures. The rise comes amid government plans for new restrictions on vaping amid concerns about the impact on children and the environment | Sky News, UK
Volunteer with us
From supporting our outreach teams with StreetLink referrals, to teaching art classes or providing psychotherapy, our volunteers are vital in helping people in their recovery from homelessness | St Mungo's, UK
Volunteer For Us
Our volunteers bring a wide range of skills, experience and commitment to our work. Some have had personal experience of mental health or substance use issues and some bring professional or vocational expertise. If you would like to help us with our work with children and young people and be a part of Amy’s legacy then we would love to hear from you | Amy Winehouse Foundation, UK
Thousands of illegal vapes uncovered in raids
More than 500,000 illegal vapes have been seized across England in a crackdown by trading standards teams | BBC, UK
Gainsborough cannabis 'grows' found at three neighbouring houses
Four men have been arrested after cannabis plants were discovered at three neighbouring properties in a Lincolnshire town centre | BBC, UK
International news
Inside the ‘zombie’ drug epidemic sweeping West Africa
[Possible paywall] Experts say kush, a synthetic, cannabinoid-like drug is as dangerous as heroin and cocaine – and it's killing around a dozen users a week | Telegraph, UK
American beer drinking falls to lowest level in 24 years
Beer Marketers' Insights (BMI), which tracks beverage sales across the US, said that beer shipments had fallen by 5 per cent in the first nine months of 2023 and were on track to finish the year below 200 million | Independent, UK
HSE emerging drug trend monitoring. Year 2 results from the Syringe Analysis Programme 2022. The identification of injecting trends in the Dublin and Midland Region through the application of syringe analysis methodology
In the second phase of the Syringe Analysis Programme, the HSE in partnership with Merchants Quay Ireland collected 165 used syringes from the Dublin and Midland regions during September and October 2022. The residual drugs were extracted from these syringes and the data used to compare drug trends from the two regions. The Syringe Analysis Programme is the first of its kind in Ireland, whereby community services and a laboratory collaborate to conduct analysis. This enables the HSE to identify temporal and geographical trends annually as part of their emerging drug trend monitoring | HSE, Ireland
Naloxone will be more widely available after helping save lives in recent overdose cases
The availability of the medication was vital in saving lives during recent overdose clusters in Dublin and Cork | Journal, Ireland
The year in opioid settlements: 5 things you need to know
This year, about $1.5 billion has landed in state and local government coffers from court settlements made with more than a dozen companies that manufactured, sold, or distributed prescription painkillers and were sued for their role in fueling the opioid crisis | Medical Xpress, USA
Dry January strategies and benefits you might not have considered
Taking a break from drinking alcohol even for just one month can lead to surprising and significant improvements in both physical and mental health, according to Jennifer Steiner, an assistant professor at Florida State University | Medical Xpress, USA
“Fentanyl Poisoning” Narrative Imposes a Hierarchy of Grief
In November, the Kansas City Star reported: “To those in our area who have lost their children to fentanyl, the deaths aren’t overdoses. They feel their sons and daughters were poisoned.” | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
What can we learn from the opioid and spice epidemics?
If there is a lesson to be learnt from the opioid and spice epidemics, it is that substance abuse isn’t solely about drugs and the underlying legal and political framework. Instead, it starts and ends with the socioeconomic climate and vulnerable populations affected most by it | Volteface, UK
Don’t quit booze – just drink differently: 15 ways to change your life without trying all that hard
The most important thing with alcohol is to get into a situation where you are happy with your drinking. I used to be a very heavy drinker: 60-90 units a week. I can’t tell you how life-changing cutting down has been. To me, life is in colour without drinking, whereas before it was very grey and drab | Guardian, UK
What we talk about when we talk about giving up
We give things up when we believe we can change; we give up when we believe we can’t | Guardian, UK
Matthew Perry’s Death Underscores The Significance Of Buprenorphine
As an addiction medicine physician, I have cared for scores of patients with various substance use disorders: alcohol, cocaine, opioid, tobacco, cannabis use disorder and many others. Several articles about Matthew Perry’s death have focused on ketamine, and justifiably so as it was the ultimate cause of the actor’s death (drowning also contributed). But what I think is just as important to point out is what was NOT found in Perry’s system: opioids such as heroin, oxycodone and the highly potent, synthetic fentanyl | Forbes, USA