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Daily news - 4th March 2024 |
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UK news
LGA responds to ASH letter to Prime Minister
Councils are at the heart of efforts to create a new smokefree generation and it is important the Government introduce these measures at the earliest possible opportunity | LGA, UK
What is Scotland's relationship with alcohol in 2024?
As a nation we have a complex relationship with alcohol. We both love and loath it. But where is this complex relationship at in 2024? My team has been working hard on exploring the question, alive to the many difficult layers at play. On Monday, we launch a five-day series – Scotland and Alcohol – in response | Herald, UK
More Glasgow drug needle bins could be introduced as pilot hailed a success
Councillor Allan Casey, SNP, said the bin was "delivered" in December and "has been really successful." He said work is being carried out to evaluate the scheme and look at expansion | Glasgow Live, UK
The Sober Diaries: Nothing hits the spot
I'm two months into an alcohol-free year and nothing hits the spot. I've been searching for a replacement to a glass of wine and I'm slowly facing up to the reality that there isn't a like-for-like swap | BBC, UK
Prison Officers: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were charged under the (a) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and (b) Prisons Act 1952 for smuggling drugs into prison in each year since 2018 | They work for you, UK
Covid inquiry: 'No basis' to stop pubs selling alcohol
Ex-Public Health Wales communicable diseases director Dr Roland Salmon said it seemed to be "an overly enduring legacy of the chapel heritage". | BBC, UK
Woman jailed for smuggling cocaine into prison through a kiss
A woman who tried to smuggle drugs into a prison through a kiss has been jailed for just over three years | BBC, UK
Pair jailed over county lines drugs operation
The pair were involved in transporting drugs from the West Midlands to the Hull area, prosecutors said | BBC, UK
International news
Oregon undoes groundbreaking drug decriminalization law
Measure 110, an experiment approved in 2020, gets overhauled as state grapples with fentanyl crisis and growing public drug use | Guardian, UK
Participation in an indigenous Amazonian-led ayahuasca retreat associated with increases in nature relatedness – a pilot study
Indigenous Amazonian shamanic ayahuasca practice is embedded in a nature-based context and is employed as an ecological mediating agent and in collective environmental decision-making processes by some of the groups that use it. Phenomenologically, the ayahuasca experience is often rich in nature-based themes and content, and its usage has been associated with eliciting shifts in perspectives and attitudes towards nature | Drug Science, UK
A history of the European Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy (EPT) 1964–1974
The emergence of a so-called psychedelic renaissance has been proposed to characterize the revival of research into (psycho-)therapies using psychedelic drugs. In Europe, the most widespread approach employed in the 1960s and 1970s that involved the use of drugs like LSD and psilocybin as an adjunct to psychotherapy was named according to its main theoretical framework, that is, psychoanalysis as psycholytic therapy (psycholysis) | Drug Science, UK
Pharmacy needle exchange programme: review of performance indicators
Needle exchange services provide access to sterile injecting equipment, promote safe disposal of used equipment, and facilitate access to other health services. These services were first established in Ireland in 1989 in areas that experienced high levels of substance use. The HSE Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme was introduced in 2011 to extend coverage to other areas of the country. This study aims to provide an overview of the performance of the HSE Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme | HSE, Ireland
'Our system is broken': Reforming Ireland's approach to treating drug addiction
The State's current approach to dealing with drug addiction is "broken" and needs to be reformed, according to a leading academic. Dr Jo-Hanna Ivers, an associate professor for public health and primary care at Trinity College Dublin, was recently on the advisory council for the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which had its final meeting in October 2023 | Breaking News, Ireland
Online press conference: EU Drug Markets – Key insights for policy and practice (EMCDDA-Europol)
On 7 March, the EMCDDA and Europol will hold an online press conference to launch 'EU Drug Markets: Key insights for policy and practice', drawing on their latest joint analysis and findings on the topic. This report offers a strategic and top-level summary of the EU drug market, based on a robust understanding of the current drug landscape and emerging threats. It is targeted at decision-makers who develop and implement policies and actions in Europe, as well as at practitioners working in the drugs field and the general public | EMCDDA, Portugal
Farewell tribute to the EMCDDA Scientific Committee — three decades of upholding scientific excellence
[On March 1st], the 59th meeting of the EMCDDA Scientific Committee drew to a close and we said farewell and a heartfelt thank you to its members | EMCDDA, Portugal
Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021
The average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, including partially and fully alcohol-attributable conditions, increased approximately 29% from 137,927 during 2016–2017 to 178,307 during 2020–2021, and age-standardized death rates increased from approximately 38 to 48 per 100,000 population. During this time, deaths from excessive drinking among males increased approximately 27%, from 94,362 per year to 119,606, and among females increased approximately 35%, from 43,565 per year to 58,701 | CDC, USA
Pediatricians feel less prepared to care for teens' opioid use disorder
Primary care pediatricians feel less prepared to manage adolescents' opioid use disorder (OUD) compared with other substances, according to a research letter published online in JAMA Pediatrics | Medical Xpress, USA
CBD shown to ease anxiety without the risks that can come with THC
Cannabis products high in the nonintoxicating compound CBD can quell anxiety better than THC-dominant products -- and without the potential side effects, new University of Colorado Boulder research suggests | Science Daily, USA
Young people at the center of the toxic drug crisis
Vancouver may be considered by many as the "best place" to live, but many young people living in the city are facing unprecedented challenges that are making their futures more precarious than ever. Hundreds of youth who call Vancouver home are standing at the intersection of a housing affordability crisis and a toxic drug poisoning public health emergency | Medical Xpress, USA
Escalated drug-poisoning response actions
The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions is working urgently to expand access to mental-health and addictions care, including increasing early intervention and prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, complex-care housing, and more | BC.gov, Canada
Quantifying alcohol-attributable disability-adjusted life years to others than the drinker in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A modelling study based on administrative data
Quantifying the health burden of alcohol has largely focused upon harm to drinkers, which is an underestimate. There is a growing literature on alcohol‘s harm to others (HTO), but it lacks the systematic transfer of HTO into a comparative risk assessment framework. This study calculated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), interpersonal violence and traffic injury due to another‘s drinking | Addiction, Australia
Protonitazene sold as '3C-P'
A pink and white capsule sold as ‘3C-P’ in Melbourne contains the potent opioid protonitazene | Victoria Department of Health, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
People before profits: why we need a coherent health policy approach to tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food
In England, the harms from tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food have reached unacceptable levels. The damage caused by these products is serious and often grave. They are the leading risk factors for preventable death and disease such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and are key drivers of the stark health inequalities within our society. Alcohol alone is linked to more than 200 illnesses, including seven types of cancer. Deaths from alcohol are at an all-time high, having risen exponentially during the pandemic with a 27.4% increase between 2019 and 2021 | BMJ opinion, UK
Aaron’s Success Story with The Restart Scheme!
Meet Aaron, a recent Restart Scheme graduate who overcame many challenges on his way to success but has now landed a new job - and a new set of wheels! | Forward Trust, UK
Moral Hazard Has No Place in Addiction Treatment
[Free registration required] In 2016, Rachel Winograd began to see methadone patients who relapsed or left the treatment program where she worked start overdosing and dying at unprecedented rates. The culprit was illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is generally 50 times as strong as heroin — with some variants an astonishing 5,000 times as potent... | NYTimes opinion, USA
Better than well recovery, attraction, coercion, and the elephant in the room
Nicholas Kristof shares his experience attending a graduation ceremony for Women in Recovery, a program for court-involved women in Oklahoma | Recovery Review blog, USA