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Daily news - 26th July 2024 |
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UK news
Drink-driving deaths at highest for 13 years
The number of fatalities in drink-drive collisions has reached its highest level for more than a decade, newly released figures show. [See item below] | BBC, UK
Reported road casualties in Great Britain involving illegal alcohol levels: 2022
Estimates for 2022 show that between 290 and 320 people were killed in collisions in Great Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 300 deaths. The central estimate of fatalities for 2022 is the highest level since 2009, and an increase compared to the previous year | DoT, UK
Hospitals 'full to the brim' as number of alcohol admissions skyrockets
Hospitals across Liverpool are “full to the brim” as the city faces a soaring increase of alcohol-related admissions in the last 12 months. As with large swathes of the country, the NHS in our region is under increasing pressure with converging factors making it difficult to get people out of hospital | Liverpool Echo, UK
One in six vapes confiscated at English schools spiked with ‘zombie drug’
Warning of risk of serious harm as synthetic drug spice found in vapes in 28 of 38 schools tested | Guardian, UK
Underage vape sale test operation 'was not approved'
Swindon Borough Council failed to to get appropriate sign off for a surveillance operation to monitor shops selling tobacco and vapes to children, using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 | BBC, UK
Families Forum -LIFE-Q: Researching lifestyle behaviours of spouses and partners of military personnel and veterans
Online, 10am, Tuesday 30 July 2024. Military life can be demanding, and the pressures it can put on family life are well-known. Funded by the Forces in Mind Trust, researchers at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research have been asking spouses and partners of military personnel and veterans about their lifestyles – alcohol use, eating, exercise, smoking/vaping, and socialising. We’ll be hearing from Dr Laura Palmer from the research team about what they found out and what it might mean | Adfam and Alcohol Change UK, UK
Recovery Street Film Festival 2024
Entries for the 2024 film festival will are open until the 31st August 2024 at 11:59pm. The judges will be looking for the most original and imaginative approaches to telling stories of recovery, and films should show a link to our theme of the year, ‘Belonging’. Films could be short dramatic plays, using actors, drawn or stop-frame animation, documentary style pieces, personal stories etc. The message that we want the films to convey is one of positivity and hope | Phoenix Futures, UK
Digga D to face further cannabis supply hearing
A leading UK drill star is to face a hearing before a judge to decide if he was supplying cannabis on a "commercial scale" | BBC, UK
Thousands of illegal vapes and cigarettes seized
Following a string of complaints, officers said they found 2,280 illicit cigarettes hidden under a floor in one of the raided stores | BBC, UK
International news
Inside Canada's booze battle over canned cocktails
Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a video online with a message for his Canadian province. It seemed like a typical innocuous political advertisement - Mr Ford sporting a casual black polo shirt and a blue apron, standing at a barbecue grilling burgers, cans of beer at hand | BBC, UK
Leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas
One of the world's most powerful drug lords, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, has been arrested by US federal agents in El Paso, Texas | BBC, UK
James Kilroy jury can 'consider' cannabis-induced psychosis
A jury may consider whether cannabis-induced psychosis is a mental disorder that could result in a man who killed his wife being found not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity | RTe, Ireland
World Hepatitis Day 2024
Each year, 28 July is observed as World Hepatitis Day. It provides a platform for advocacy, education and engagement with governments, health professionals and the public to drive awareness and action to eliminate viral hepatitis. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing fight against all types of hepatitis, and to encourage stronger commitment at local, national and international levels to combat the growing threat of the disease | WHO, Switzerland
Swaps : Chemsex in European cities
In every metropolis, in every region of Europe, chemsex is present. It only involves a minority, but it’s more deeply rooted than it was five years ago (Swaps no 92-93). Responses differ from one country to another, from one NGO, community or state experience to another. This is the purpose of the survey that Swaps conducted in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Paris and Zurich | VIH.org, France
We bought everything needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl. All it took was $3,600 and a web browser
At the tap of a buyer’s smartphone, Chinese chemical sellers will air-ship fentanyl ingredients door-to-door to North America. Reuters purchased enough to make 3 million pills. Such deals are astonishingly easy – and reveal how drug traffickers are eluding efforts to halt the deadly trade behind the fentanyl crisis | Reuters, USA
Prescription Opioid Use Disorder Among Adults Reporting Prescription Opioid Use With or Without Misuse in the United States
[Open access] We examined prescription related opioid use disorder (POUD) prevalence, individual symptoms, severity, characteristics, and treatment by prescription opioid misuse status among adults with prescription opioid use | Psychiatrist.com, USA
“It’s a no brainer”: Black Americans’ attitudes towards extended-release naltrexone for opioid use disorder
A better understanding of Black individuals’ perceptions of extended-release naltrexone for opioid use disorder can inform culturally-sensitive strategies that improve uptake for this medication and medications more generally. The present study used in-depth interviews to gauge beliefs and attitudes of extended-release naltrexone among a sample of Black individuals who use opioids | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Does proactive outreach and family involvement improve extended-release naltrexone outcomes?
Medication treatments for alcohol and opioid use disorders can help individuals achieve and maintain recovery, but many have difficulty staying on these medications. This study tested whether adding assertive patient outreach and family involvement to standard extended-release naltrexone treatment improved medication adherence | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Too Many Pharmacies Still Failing to Facilitate Harm Reduction
Pharmacies can have an important role in the prevention of overdose and other drug-related harms. Yet they’re frequently doing far less than they should in providing essential tools like naloxone and sterile syringes. A new study, published in the Harm Reduction Journal, shines light on this frustrating reality | Filter Magazine, USA
Student Group in Renewed Bid to Block DEA Psychedelics Ban
On July 23, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) representatives filed a prehearing statement to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. It’s part of an effort to block the agency’s latest bid to classify two psychedelic substances as Schedule I drugs, the most highly restricted category | Filter Magazine, USA
Cannabis Regulation in Australia: Putting community safety first
Penington Institute's new discussion paper reveals the urgent need for cannabis policy reform in Australia | Penington Institute, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Ageing disgracefully with Jude Byrne: A special section recognising her life and work
While most special sections in Drug and Alcohol Review are focused on a particular research topic, this collection is devoted posthumously to a person and her interests; Jude Byrne. Unique in her ability to lead work across advocacy, policy and research, Jude used her intelligence and living experience as a person who used drugs to influence policy and practice across the alcohol and other drug, blood-borne virus and community sectors | DAR editorial, Australia