Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 25th June 2024 |
 |
UK news
Philip Morris backed organisation is targeting UK smoking cessation services
Smoking cessation teams in the UK have been warned against taking funding from a tobacco industry backed organisation that has been boycotted by the World Health Organization, The BMJ has found | BMJ, UK
Slow-release ketamine tablets help prevent depression relapses, UK trial finds
71% of patients found to experience a relapse compared with 43% who received the pills twice a week | Guardian, UK
Prescribed Medicinal Cannabis for the Treatment of Chronic Pain Comorbid with Depression: Real World Evidence from Project Twenty21
Chronic pain is one of the most common conditions for which people seek treatment with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) and there is mounting real world evidence that CBMPs are safe and effective in treating pain ... This study aimed to investigate whether patients with chronic pain with and without co-morbid depression experience the same improvement in pain and quality of life outcomes after three months of medical cannabis treatment. | Integrative and Complementary Medicine, UK
Wimbledon organisers confirm alcohol stance after French Open booze ban
Roland Garros banned spectators from drinking in the stands after the grand slam was plagued by poor behaviour | Independent, UK
Pub closures up 51% in first 3 months of 2024
The number of pubs closing has shot up during the first three months of 2024 to 80 per month – up by a staggering 51% from the first quarter of 2023 | Morning Advertiser, UK
Film plan for food bank founded by ex-drug addict
The story of how a single mum recovering from drug addiction started a food bank in her garden shed could become a documentary | BBC, UK
Inside a Met Police 'cuckooing' cannabis raid
In the early hours of a chilly morning, a team of Metropolitan Police officers prepares to raid an apartment in London where cannabis is being supplied and officers fear vulnerable people are being exploited | BBC, UK
Cocaine dealing farmer's wife on run for a year
A cocaine kingpin and farmer's wife has been ordered to pay back £26,000 despite having been on the run for almost a year | BBC, UK
Drug charges pushed ex-football manager to edge
The case against Matt Clarke, who stood down as manager of Redditch United after the charges were brought in February, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Friday | BBC, UK
International news
Time for change: advancing new drug policies that uphold human rights
To mark “World Drugs Day” on 26 June as activists worldwide are joining together under the #SupportDontPunish campaign, Amnesty International is launching this new policy paper to contribute to the advancement of drug policies that better uphold human rights | Amnesty International, UK
Wine, beer or spirits? Europeans can’t kick their traditional drinking habits
Researchers identify six clusters of alcohol patterns with countries sticking to same drinks and behaviours over years | Guardian, UK [See Open access paper ]
Pain in people seeking and receiving opioid agonist treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence and correlates
[Open access] People with opioid use disorder (OUD) commonly experience pain including chronic pain. Despite the high prevalence, few studies have systematically examined the prevalence and correlates of pain among people seeking or receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) for OUD. This review aimed to determine the prevalence of pain in this population and estimate the association between chronic pain and other demographic and clinical characteristics | Addiction, UK
Victoria’s pill testing service to become permanent after 18-month trial
‘We’re doing this because all the evidence says it works,’ premier Jacinta Allan says | Guardian, UK
Medicinal vapes to be sold over the counter at pharmacies after Labor and Greens reach deal
Government’s original proposal would have made vapes a prescription-only product but Greens raised concerns about criminalising users and cost of seeing a GP | Guardian, UK
Pharmacists say they were not consulted on ‘rushed’ Labor-Greens vape deal
Federal health minister counters that Pharmacy Guild did not make submission to regulation inquiry and selling vapes still a decision for individual stores | Guardian, UK
With the Liberals non-committal, Labor was driven into the arms of ‘anti-prohibition’ Greens on vaping
July deadline meant Labor was eager to reach agreement, despite some advocates warning against watering down the crackdown | Guardian, UK
More than 13,000 treated for drug and alcohol addiction last year, report finds
The number of people who are receiving treatment in Ireland for a cocaine addiction rose last year, according to authorities | Irish Independent, Ireland
Prevalence and correlates of daily-level reasons not to drink among young adults who use alcohol
[Open access] This study examined reasons not to drink in young adults in relation to demographics, alcohol use patterns, timing (weekend vs. weekday), and typical drinking motives | ACER, USA
Research suggests parenting styles affect whether a child uses drinking to cope with stress
Every parent wants their kid to have a healthy relationship with alcohol. But how do you help them get there? Is it by letting them drink while they're young in hopes of making alcohol less alluring? Or by taking a strict no-drinking approach when they're underage? | Medical Xpress, USA
Certain early drinking experiences in teens and young adults may predict more rapid development of alcohol use disorder
Teens and young adults who experience social problems related to alcohol may be at risk of relatively rapid development of alcohol use disorder (AUD), a new study suggests | Medical Xpress, USA
Impact of Cannabis Act: Increase in cannabis disorders among pregnant women in Quebec
In a recent study published in Addiction, researchers investigated the impact of the Cannabis Act (CAC) and the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic on substance-related disorders among pregnant women in Quebec | News Medical, USA
The Tobacco Control Act Turns 15: Have We Made Progress at All?
When I was 22, I watched my grandpa wheeled out of his home in a body bag. Aged 53, I sat in the dark with my mom as she breathed her last breath. My family tree is filled with people who died too soon from cancer, heart disease and other ailments linked to combustible tobacco use. All of them smoked, and all were unable or unwilling to quit | Filter Magazine, USA
ADF supports pill testing trial announced for Victoria as part of suite of measures to reduce drug harms
In a first for Victoria, the trial will take place this coming summer, giving festival-goers the opportunity to test potentially dangerous substances before taking them | ADF, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
5 things to not miss at Cannabis Europa 2024
Cannabis Europa 2024 comes to London tomorrow! Volteface will be in attendance – we’re looking forward to seeing plenty of familiar faces and tuning into what will undoubtedly be a fantastic agenda | Volteface, UK
No more recreational vaping for Australians. From October, vapes will be sold over the counter at pharmacies
The Australian Senate is set to pass a bill that will see the end of all vape sales – regardless of nicotine content – from general retailers. From July 1, non-nicotine vapes will no longer be permitted for sale outside of pharmacies | Conversation, Australia