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Daily news - 12th June 2024

UK news

Suspected Drug Deaths in Scotland: January to March 2024

There were 320 suspected drug deaths between January and March 2024. This was 8% (23) higher than the previous quarter and 7% (22) higher than during the same period of 2023. Following a downward trend from early 2021 to late 2022, the rolling 12-month total of suspected drug deaths has risen over the last year | Scottish Government, UK

[Open access] Discontinuation of medications such as methadone and buprenorphine amongst patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is an international phenomenon. Recent developments in OAT medication include depot-injections of buprenorphine. Circumstances underlying discontinuation of these new formulations of medication are not fully understood from a qualitative perspective | IJDP, UK

Labour will ban under-16s from buying energy drinks such as Prime and Monster

Keir Starmer will stop highly caffeinated energy drinks being sold to under-16s in shops and online because of the impact on kids' health and concentration in classrooms | Mirror, UK

Via and Brio Leisure launch new Swap to Stop scheme in Cheshire West and Chester

Via is partnering with Brio Leisure to provide Swap to Stop for people who attend Via’s drug and alcohol support service in Cheshire West and Chester, New Beginnings. This new partnership aims to tackle smoking among those in drug and alcohol treatment across the county, by empowering people to quit smoking and lead healthier lives through the national government vaping scheme, Swap to Stop | Via, UK

Off-licence fined for stocking illegal vapes

North Yorkshire Council trading standards officers found 160 of the vapes, with a retail value of £1,600, on display during an inspection of the shop in Skipton | BBC, UK

International news

How big is Europe’s cocaine problem – and what is the human cost?

Over the past 10 years, Europe has developed a serious cocaine problem. The drug, originating in the jungles of South America, is being transported, sold and consumed across the European continent in record amounts | Guardian, UK

‘We’re seeing firearms, arson, attacks on homes’: the families in the eye of Ireland’s cocaine storm

With use in the country soaring among both young and older people, it’s not just the drug that is devastating lives but the violence and abuse that surround it | Guardian, UK

Beaten and tortured: the north African children paying a bloody price for Europe’s insatiable appetite for cocaine

For serious drug gangs, thousands of children coming from Morocco and Algeria offer an unlimited pool of cheap, disposable street sellers | Guardian, UK

Tobacco, alcohol, processed foods and fossil fuels ‘kill 2.7m a year in Europe’

World Health Organization report calls on governments to impose tougher regulation of health-harming products | Guardian, UK

Hunter Biden latest: US president's son found guilty in gun and drug use case

Hunter Biden, the son of US president Joe Biden, has been found guilty in a federal case over the purchase of a gun while allegedly using crack cocaine | Sky News, UK

Ireland is the worst EU country for drug deaths, suffering four times the average fatality rate

The European Drug Report 2024 shows that Ireland had 322 drug-induced deaths in 2020 — 97 deaths per million people, compared to the EU average of 22.5 | Irish Examiner, Ireland

European Drug Report 2024: Trends and Developments

The European Drug Report 2024: Trends and Developments presents the EMCDDA’s latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe. Focusing on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply, the report provides a comprehensive set of national data across these themes, as well as on specialist drug treatment and key harm reduction interventions | EMCDDA, Portugal

Potent synthetic substances, new drug mixtures and changing patterns of use pose growing threat in Europe: European Drug Report 2024 Highlights

Potent synthetic substances, new drug mixtures and changing patterns of use pose a growing threat in Europe. These are among the issues raised today by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) as it launches its European Drug Report 2024: Trends and Developments | EMCDDA, Portugal

FDA, Justice Department crack down on sale of illegal e-cigarettes by forming new task force

Federal health officials are partnering with the US Department of Justice to fight the illegal sale and distribution of e-cigarettes. The US Food and Drug Administration and Justice Department announced Monday that they are creating a task force to target the issue. The task force will include people from the US Marshals Service, US Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies to identify and target illegal sales and distribution of e-cigarettes | CNN, USA

Unregulated sales of a toxic and hallucinogenic mushroom endanger public health, says study

Americans' interest in a potentially harmful "magic mushroom" is soaring, with Google searches skyrocketing 114% from 2022 to 2023, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California. In a paper published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the scientists suggest that the growing market for Amanita muscaria may be sparked in part by emerging clinical research supporting the safety and efficacy of psilocybin as a treatment for depression | Medical Xpress, USA

Randomized trial of the leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI) strategy in substance use treatment clinics

[Open access] US study in 60 substance use clinics trialled going beyond "train and hope" approaches for spreading high quality counselling based on motivational interviewing by addressing leadership and organisational factors that affect training's impacts. Benefits were limited but promising | JSAT, USA

White House Meth Plan Still Includes Harm Reduction, Just Not for Meth

Once the federal government designated methamphetamine an “emerging drug threat” in March 2022, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) became legally obligated to do something about it. That May, it released the Plan to Address Methamphetamine Supply, Use and Consequences, followed by an update in April 2023 and now the most recent in June 2024 | Filter Magazine, USA

Washington medical cannabis users get break from the nation's highest pot taxes

Thanks to a new state law, Washingtonians with a medical cannabis card can get a break from the nation's highest tax on the drug | Medical Xpress, USA

Governments spending less on harm reduction and prevention of illicit drugs

Australian governments spend more on law enforcement in illicit drug policy than treatment, prevention and harm reduction, according to a report by the University of New South Wales (UNSW). State and federal governments spent about $5.45 billion in the 2021/2022 financial year on illicit drug countermeasures. Less than 2% of that was put towards harm reduction measures such as needle syringe programs and supervised injecting facilities | abc.net.au, Australia

Time to refresh tobacco packaging and update warnings

New on-pack warning labels are needed on tobacco packaging to motivate and support smoking cessation, a study from University of Otago researchers has found. The researchers asked 27 people who used roll-your-own tobacco and came from Dunedin and Wellington how they responded to the large graphic warnings on tobacco packs | University of Otago, New Zealand

Blogs, comment and opinion

Cannabis use disorder associated with increased risk of both psychotic and nonpsychotic unipolar depression and bipolar disorder

As we witness greater access to more potent, and potentially more harmful cannabis products, it has never been more important to understand the health risks associated with use | Mental Elf blog, UK

How to thrive in a rapidly changing europe?

As European cannabis undertakes its most significant evolution, how do businesses thrive, and avoid the many potential pitfalls? | Volteface, UK

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