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Daily news - 2nd July 2024

UK news

DDN July/August 2024 - out now

‘The staff that work with you don’t always see the end… I wanted to show them what recovery looks like," Hendrik’s message is an important one (p18) when things feel tough at work – and adds to the celebratory feel of Turning Point’s 60 years of changing lives. On this note, it’s 40 years since Adfam set out to give families a voice in their own right (p6) and it hasn’t been easy to survive patchy funding, the pandemic, and the logistics of managing greater and more varied demands. But they have, and are stronger and more ambitious than ever. Plus, with festival season upon us we’re taking a look at practice from across Europe to find the best initiatives to go beyond simply drug checking (p10) | DDN, UK

UK universities urged to end drugs zero tolerance and focus on harm reduction

UK universities are being urged to ditch a zero-tolerance approach to drug use and focus instead on public health and harm reduction, with drug testing and non-judgmental support for students seeking help. The warning came as new research found students are less likely to use drugs than those of the same age group in the general population. Of the minority that do, more than two out of five would like to reduce their use | Guardian, UK

University first to train all nurses to use anti-drug overdose kits

All nurses at the University of Bradford will now receive training on how to use naloxone; a life saving medication which can reverse overdoses caused by opiates | University of Bradford, UK

Schoolgirl died 'after taking cocaine and ecstasy'

A Londonderry schoolgirl died after taking drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine and synthetic amphetamine, a coroner has found. Caitlin McLaughlin, 16, collapsed at the end of last year’s Belsonic music festival in Belfast's Ormeau Park | BBC, UK

Police work to identify source of 'contaminated' drug

A man died on Friday and seven other people were taken to Stockton's North Tees hospital after taking zopiclone, a medication used to treat insomnia. Cleveland Police said further testing was required as officers continue inquiries into a "potentially contaminated" batch of the drug | BBC, UK

Campaign launched to support families of alcoholics

A new "self-compassion" campaign has been launched to support people caring for a loved one with alcohol addiction issues | BBC, UK

Restoring furniture 'saved me' from drugs hell

A heroin and crack cocaine addict who is approaching a decade of abstinence is now on a mission to give other addicts hope | BBC, UK

Psychoactive Trials Group

The Psychoactive Trials Group at the Centre for Affective Disorders is undertaking controlled clinical trials with psychedelics and related compounds such as psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT and MDMA. We are studying psychedelic therapies for different conditions including treatment-resistant depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. These trials are led by Dr James Rucker and Professor Allan Young | KCL, UK

Medical Cannabis Project

We are looking for volunteers to talk to us about their experiences of taking non-prescribed cannabis for medical reasons. We would like to ask you about your experiences and the issues that arise for people who need medical cannabis. You would be asked to share your story of obtaining and taking medical cannabis without prescription (or of caring for someone who does) | LJMU, UK

Nitazenes: what are they, where are they, and how should we respond?

8th July 2024, 12:30pm - 1:30pm , Online. Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids, sometimes hundreds of times more potent than heroin, increasingly adulterating unregulated drug supplies. There have been at least 180 deaths in the UK where nitazenes were detected on post-mortem toxicology examinations. This webinar will provide background information on nitazenes, where they’re being detected, and the international context which may be driving their proliferation. We will discuss key questions for local authorities and other agencies to consider when contingency planning for the ongoing proliferation of nitazenes and associated harms | FPH, UK

Metabolizing Drugs: Living better with drugs

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 18:00 - 20:30 BST. KCL, London. Thinking through pharmacology—a science of drugged relations and dynamics within bodies—offers a conceptual path through the thicket of the metabolic turn in Science and Technology Studies. Metabolism implies social and historical context—its transformative biochemical processes and practices take shape within bodies. Incorporating metabolism into our thinking with drugs, we are led to multiply the directions of drug policy | The Centre for Critical Global Change, UK

Police officer dismissed over cocaine use

A police officer has been dismissed after being found to be in possession of cocaine and supplying a member of the public with police information | BBC, UK

International news

2,100 deaths in 10 years: how fentanyl is devastating Los Angeles’ unhoused community

A Guardian analysis of autopsy records reveals record-high overdoses in 2023. Harm reduction advocates are fighting to save lives on the streets | Guardian, UK

Opioid-laced cocaine 100 times more potent than heroin sparks Victorian health warning

Drugs sold in Melbourne found to contain protonitazene, which has resulted in ‘serious harm’ | Guardian, UK

Health minister ‘deadly serious’ about enforcing new laws as vapes ban kicks in – video

It is now illegal to sell vapes other than for therapeutic reasons and fines of up to $2.2m and jail time of up to seven years may apply to those who flout the government’s new laws. Mark Butler, the minister for health and aged care, has stressed to business owners that selling vapes outside a pharmacy setting is banned and the government is ‘deadly serious’ about enforcing the laws | Guardian, UK

Shock, out of stock and secret supplies: what we found when we tried to buy vapes in Australia

The federal government has banned tobacconists, vape shops, and convenience stores from selling vapes. But are they sticking to the rules? | Guardian, UK

'Appetite' in Ireland for finding alternative responses to drug possession - report

Ireland is “at the precipice” of “transforming how its justice system responds to drug use in a more effective and humane way” | Journal, Ireland

Minister of State Colm Burke launches report on Drug Use and Current Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions in Ireland

The report identified and mapped nine current alternatives in Ireland to coercive sanctions for people who are found in possession of controlled drugs for personal use. These initiatives include the Garda Adult Caution Scheme, Diversionary measures, the Dublin Drug Treatment Courts and the Law Engagement and Assisted Recovery (LEAR) Programme | Gov.ie, Ireland

'Buy-in' of gardaí 'crucial' in expanding drug diversion programmes, report says

Efforts need to be taken at a high level to “secure the buy-in” of gardaí to expand existing diversion projects at arrest stage for people caught in possession of drugs, according to a Department of Health report | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Get ready for the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA)!

We are busy behind the scenes preparing the new EUDA website.
Expected launch time: 9:00 WEST (Lisbon) | 10.00 CEST (Brussels), 2 July 2024. Refresh this page from the above time and your browser will automatically redirect you to the new EUDA website. (If nothing changes immediately, please wait a few minutes and try again.) | EMCDDA, Portugal

EMCDDA-Europol Launch: EU Drug Markets – new psychoactive substances - video

This webinar provides an overview of the EU market on New psychoactive substances (NPS), from production and trafficking, to distribution and use of these substances. The speakers will discuss the continued adaptation of the NPS market and increasing integration with the market for established controlled drugs, drawing conclusions from a number of data sources, including the European Union Early Warning System on NPS. Key issues will be defined and recommendations for action at EU and Member State level will be provided | EMCDDA, Portugal

Offering treatment rather than punishment as part of a pre-arrest diversion program

Treatment can be critical in reducing addiction-related crimes and overdoses. In the US, however, some do not receive treatment until interfacing with the legal system. This study examined the feasibility of a pre-arrest diversion program designed to refer people to treatment in lieu of arrest and prosecution | Recovery Research Institute, USA

Does reduced craving explain why opioid use disorder medications are helpful?

The relationship between opioid use disorder medication treatment, opioid craving, and illicit opioid use is not entirely understood. This study investigated the extent to which craving explained the effects of buprenorphine and methadone treatment on opioid use | Recovery Research Institute, USA

Georgia Enacts New Fentanyl Penalties, Naloxone Access (Sort of) in Schools

More than 100 new laws took effect in Georgia on July 1. Though only some sections of punitive cash bail legislation were enacted, after a judge temporarily blocked the full version, many other new laws pertaining to harm reduction have now been enacted | Filter Magazine, USA

[Open access] Evidence suggests that adults with a history of child maltreatment (CM) engage in substance misuse driven by ‘coping motives’: maladaptive beliefs that substances help them cope with negative emotions. However, the specificity of this risk pathway is under-researched in younger and non-Western cohorts | Child Abuse & Neglect, USA

Cocaine adulterated with protonitazene

There have been recent serious harms in Melbourne associated with a white powder sold as cocaine that contained protonitazene. The product appears to produce strong adverse effects such as loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and life-threatening hypoxia (insufficient oxygen for normal functioning) | Victoria DoH, Australia

International Overdose Awareness Day 2024

International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) – held on August 31 every year – is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of family and friends left behind. Our theme for 2024 is “Together we can”, highlighting the power of our community when we all stand together | Penington Institute, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

How the next government can curb the crisis in alcohol harm

In this blog, AHA chair Professor Sir Ian Gilmore explains what an incoming government could do to work towards a future free of alcohol harm | AHA blog, UK

Understanding The Moral Panic About Safer Supply

Drug policy and harm reduction in Canada are facing an onslaught of reactionary backlashes, misinformation, and racist and classist scapegoating. This clear moral panic on safer supply includes attempts to roll back limited gains around drug decriminalisation, supervised consumption sites, and prescribed safer supply programmes | Talking Drugs, UK

The ends do not justify the means when it comes to Australia's vaping policy

Smoking remains a leading cause of health inequalities and policy needs to reduce this gradient. Australia's current policy is not achieving its objective. Making e-cigarettes harder to access is keeping them from those who need them and feeds into a system which maintains inequalities | Addiction commentary, UK

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