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Daily news - 10th January 2024

UK news

NPIS reports significant increase in nitrous oxide-related activities

The latest annual report from the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) shows a marked increase in activity related to nitrous oxide and ketamine | UKHSA, UK

Open call for evidence: ACMD internet-facilitated drug markets review

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs call for evidence, collecting written evidence to better understand internet-facilitated drug markets (IFDMs). This call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 26 January 2024 | Home Office and Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Why are so many young people quitting weed?

The number of 16- to 24-year-olds who use cannabis has halved since the 90s. But what’s driving the change? | Dazed Digital, UK

Liam Byrne: ‘I’d say about a quarter to a third of MPs are the children of alcoholics’

In his new book, the Labour MP, who left a note to his Treasury successor in 2010 saying that there was ‘no money’, likens modern Britain to the last days of Rome. He talks about trauma, Starmer and creating a fairer society | Guardian, UK

Man who battled addiction thanks Runcorn rehab centre as drug-related deaths hit record high

An alcohol and drug rehab centre in Runcorn says the government is 'nowhere near on track' to preventing 1,000 drug deaths by the end of this year | ITV, UK

Dunstable GP surgery criticised over woman's opioid death

A coroner has criticised a doctors' surgery over the death of a woman who had been prescribed opioid drugs for about 14 years | BBC, UK

William Helstrip: Pocklington man died after taking drugs bought on the dark web

On Monday, Hull Coroners Court heard the drugs he bought online contained traces of the highly potent opioid N-pyrrolidino-etonitazene (NPE) | BBC, UK

ONS may stop publishing mortality data on homeless people

Charities say move is ‘deeply concerning’, while Office for National Statistics claims data was not accurate enough | Guardian, UK

DULF Solidarity Demo

Tuesday, January 16 · 3 - 5pm GMT. One Strand, Trafalgar Sq London WC2N 5EJ. The Vancouver Police arrested Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum, the co-founders of the Canadian Drug User Liberation Front (DULF), on Wednesday 25 October, for allegedly trafficking cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine | Release, UK

Boy, 14, in drug-drive arrest after car stolen

Police said the 14-year-old boy tested positive for cannabis and was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, drug-driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving without a licence and driving without insurance | BBC, UK

International news

Global Drug Survey 2024 - now open

This year GDS is focusing on the impacts of drug prices, trends in illicit tobacco use, use of performance and image enhancing drugs (e.g., steroids), perceptions of tobacco endgame policies, nitrous oxide use, and experiences of drug use in nightlife and festival settings. [See more info here] | GDS, UK et al

[Open access] Epidemiological data are crucial to monitoring progress towards the 2030 Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) elimination targets. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of chronic HCV infection (cHCV) in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) countries in 2019 | Lancet Regional Health, UK

Study reveals alarming presence of thirdhand smoke in homes

Secondhand smoking has been recognised as a health hazard with links to cancer. Now researchers are focusing on thirdhand smoke, where harmful tobacco residues linger on surfaces such as furniture, walls and floors | Open Access Government, UK

Ecuador prisoners take guards hostage after drug lord's escape

Ecuador's security forces are trying to re-establish order in at least six jails where riots broke out on Monday | BBC, UK

EU Policy. MEPs healthy drinking resolution irks WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) claims scientifically proven link between alcohol and cancer downplayed by MEPs in recent resolution, and is not prepared to let the matter go | Euronews, Belgium

UK Medical Cannabis Access Beset With Social and Systemic Barriers

While a number of countries have been taking recent steps toward legalizing cannabis, the United Kingdom lags behind. Unlike in Canada and various parts of the United States, nonmedical use remains illegal. Medical cannabis has been legal since 2018. Yet British patients face numerous barriers to access and use, as a recent paper illustrated | Filter Magazine, USA

[Open access] Patients face well documented problems accessing methadone from opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the U.S., yet addressing these barriers has proven difficult due in part to the sheer number of actors governing treatment, including state authorities. Changes in federal methadone regulations during COVID-19 offer an opportunity to study the timing and extent of U.S. state opioid treatment authority (SOTA) adoption of policies expanding take home dosing for methadone treatment since March 2020 | IJDP, USA

Hepatitis linked to alcohol increasingly drives emergency department visits, especially among younger adults: Study

Hepatitis linked to alcohol, the most severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, is increasingly prevalent, severe, and likely to involve emergency departments, according to a new analysis. The findings reflect increased drinking and alcohol-linked liver disease in the general population | Medical Xpress, USA

To Cut Back on Drinking, Try Damp January

[Seems to be open access] Experts say that making an effort to drink less can benefit your health and help you build good habits around alcohol | NYTimes, USA

SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day!

SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day (SPD) takes place on Monday, January 29, 2024. Join us for the largest annual national gathering dedicated to advancing the prevention of substance use and misuse. We'll celebrate the 20th anniversary of SPD, explore current innovations, reflect on past accomplishments, and chart a course for the future of prevention | SAMHSA, USA

Thailand to ban recreationnal use of cannabis

Thailand’s Public Health Minister has signed proposed legislation that emphasizes the medical use of cannabis and prohibits recreational use | Thailand Business News, Thailand

UQ leads the world’s largest drug survey

Researchers from The University of Queensland have launched the world’s biggest drug survey, to gain insight into drug use around the globe. The Global Drug Survey was founded by Professor Adam Winstock from University College London and has been running annually since 2012 | University of Queensland, Australia

‘Send in the dogs’: Police to target music festival after mass overdose

Victoria Police will use sniffer dogs and boost their presence at a hip-hop festival this week in response to a mass overdose at a recent electronic music event, as the state government shut down renewed calls for pill testing | Age, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

We need to look beyond economics on smoking, drinking and obesity

The tension between supporting big business and tackling the harm it causes bedevils public health policy | New Statesman, UK

Nitazenes: lethal and on UK streets

Any headline containing the phrase “super-strength street drugs” is attention-grabbing, and not in a good way. In recent months, such news stories have all seemed to be about the same group of substances: nitazenes | DSM Foundation blog, UK

UK Harm Reduction: The Origins of Release

As drug policy concerns become progressively more salient and relevant to a much larger and increasingly global population, interested people will invariably come across Release’s work. Some may even question, who are Release to speak on these issues? As a historian of drugs, I feel compelled to answer this question with reference to Release’s origins in the 1960s counterculture as well as the charity’s enduring centrality to the historic and ongoing effort to defend the civil rights of people who use drugs in the UK, and increasingly abroad | Talking Drugs, UK

Nitrous oxide: The label ‘potentially addictive’ may do more harm than good

"Although more evidence is needed to characterize the addictive potential of nitrous oxide, the provision of evidence-based guidance to users and healthcare professionals does not require it. For most people, the greatest impact on reducing harm will be through smart education and evidence-based regulation, not reclassification in DSM" | Addiction commentary, UK

Nitrous Oxide Effects Are Reversible With Early Treatment

Nitrous oxide is readily accessible to those who want to use it recreationally for the high it can provide. With just a few clicks, it can easily be bought online. But despite its availability, using the drug—commonly referred to as “whippets” (or “whippits”), “laughing gas,” or “hippie crack”—can have sobering consequences, including permanent, full, or partial paralysis | Science Blog, USA

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