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Daily news - 22nd March 2024 |
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UK news
Correspondence: Response to the ACMD's report on xylazine and related compounds
Government response to the report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on xylazine, medetomidine and detomidine | Home Office, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and The Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, UK
Correspondence: Response to the third addendum to the ACMD report on 2-benzyl benzimidazole and piperidine benzimidazolone opioids
Government response to the third addendum to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' report on 2-benzyl benzimidazole and piperidine benzimidazolone opioids | Home Office, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and The Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, UK
Nitazenes: the powerful synthetic opioids adding 'severe concern' to Wales’ drugs crisis
Nitazenes are synthetic opioids that can be 500 times stronger than morphine. They can be injected, inhaled or swallowed, in tablet form. Their incredible strength makes them extremely dangerous - and health officials are also seeing evidence of them being mixed in with other drugs. According to the National Crime Agency they have been linked to eight deaths in Wales, since June 2023 | ITV, UK
Nitazenes the 'main concern' for Norfolk drug support service
A new super-strength drug linked to scores of deaths in the UK has become a main concern for a support service. Change Grow Live, Norfolk's alcohol and drug "behaviour change service", has warned of the danger of a new type of synthetic opioid called nitazenes | BBC, UK
UK smoking ban for those born after 2009 starts journey into law
Rishi Sunak's plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes is starting its journey into law | BBC, UK
Research and analysis - Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families indicators 2024
'Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families' indicator data used to track progress in tackling disadvantages affecting families’ and children’s outcomes | DWP, UK
The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial
[Open access] The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England | Addiction, UK
Plymouth children hospitalised after using illegal vapes
Two children in the Plymouth area have been hospitalised as a result of using illegal vapes, Devon and Cornwall Police has said. The force said the liquid in some vapes could be replaced with Class B drugs, which posed a "significant risk" to people's health | BBC, UK
Sudden deaths at Welsh prison 'linked to zombie drug' as third inmate named
At least four of the six deaths are believed to be related to spice | Wales Online, UK
Dorset County Hospital offers CT scans to smokers
Current and past smokers are being offered lung checks in an NHS programme to catch cancer early. Over the last 14 months, 1,500 patients from Dorset have taken part in the scheme to tackle lung cancer | BBC, UK
Worcestershire's ex-offender drug treatment programme success doubles
The programme, delivered by the Safer Worcestershire Partnership, helps drug users who also have a history of criminal offences to maintain their progress after release from prison, a stage traditionally associated with high drop-off rates | Worcester News, UK
The Drive Project officially launches across the Thames Valley
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has secured funding for the implementation of the Drive Project – the Drive Partnership’s flagship perpetrator intervention for high-harm, high-risk, and serial perpetrators of domestic abuse – which is now live across the Thames Valley; with partner launch events taking place this week in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire | Cranstoun, UK
Electronic Cigarettes: Children
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) prevalence of the use of disposable vapes by people under the age of 18 and (b) impact of that use on their health | They work for you, UK
Millions of vapes could be dumped before UK ban as retailers ‘fail to recycle’
Nine out of 10 producers and sellers do not fulfil their legal duty to help consumers dispose of e-cigarettes, study shows | Guardian, UK
Gang jailed after one of the UK's largest heroin and cocaine seizures
The class A drugs were smuggled through the Channel Tunnel before being taken to a farm in North Wales that was used as a distribution centre | BBC, UK
City properties most at risk to drug gangs identified
A new database has been developed showing which properties are most likely to be used as illegal cannabis farms | BBC, UK
International news
Ex-Liverpool youth footballer Jamie Cassidy jailed for cocaine conspiracy
Jamie Cassidy was sentenced to 13 years and three months for his part in an international drug operation | Guardian, UK
We Can Cure Hepatitis C. So Why Aren’t We?
There are few diseases in the world that we have the chance to totally eliminate, but hepatitis C (HCV) is one of them. This blood-borne virus, often transmitted through the sharing of needles, disproportionately affects people who inject drugs. A staggering 39.4 percent of the global population of 11 million injecting drug users are living with HCV | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
“These things take courage, and they encourage each other”
When Bill White called for an overhaul of our treatment models (Recovery Management) and our treatment systems (Recovery Oriented Systems of Care), there was an emphasis on community organization and “hope-based interventions” to reduce stigma by making recovery more visible and voluntarily attract more people into treatment and recovery support | Recovery Review blog, USA