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Daily news - 7th May 2024

UK news

Deadly opioid found in heroin linked to two deaths

Devon and Cornwall Police declared a major incident on 26 April after two men died and 10 others were admitted to hospital from what officers said was an "unusual batch" of heroin. Tests carried out on the substances found they contained nitazenes, a banned synthetic opioid, the force said | BBC, UK

Evaluation of the 2021–2026 National Mission on Drug Deaths

This document presents the evaluation framework for the PHS evaluation of the Scottish Government's National Mission on Drug Deaths. It sets out the main evaluation questions and explains how PHS will approach the evaluation | Public Health Scotland, UK

Exploring the opinions and potential impact of unflavoured e-liquid on smoking cessation among people who smoke and smoking relapse among people who previously smoked and now use e-cigarettes: findings from a UK-based mixed methods study

[Open access] Although electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) appear to be effective in helping people who smoke to stop smoking, concerns about use of e-cigarettes among young people have led to restrictions on non-tobacco flavoured e-liquids in some countries and some US states. These restrictions could reduce the appeal of these products to non-smoking youth but could have negative consequences for people who smoke or use e-cigarettes | Harm Reduction Journal, UK

SDF releases resources for wound and injecting advice

SDF has released a What Workers Need To Know – Wound Advice booklet, a Wound Advice poster and launched its revised e-learning course ‘How are your sites?’ to help people working in services support people who inject drugs identify and manage injecting wounds and infections | SDF, UK

Hepatitis C Impact Report 2023 (PDF)

Throughout the past year services have continued to go from strength to strength and supported more people than ever before in accessing testing and treatment for hepatitis C | Change Grow Live, UK

Be free of Hep C - video

Seamus from The Hepatitis C Trust shared his inspiring story, encouraging people to get tested and seek treatment for #HepatitisC. Their mission is to eradicate #HepC from the UK by 2030! | Humankind, UK

Roller skating and knitting helped achieve sober year

Jill Nelson, of Derbyshire, was drinking a litre and a half of vodka a week but "didn't think it was a problem" | BBC, UK

Drugs: Misuse

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that synthetic drug users receive the correct care | They work for you, UK

Drugs: Devon

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking the help reduce the number of drug offences in (a) East Devon constituency and (b) Devon | They work for you, UK

Deputy warns illegal medicine trade is a 'problem'

The vice-president of the Health and Social Care Committee (HSC) has warned Guernsey has a problem with prescription drugs being passed on illegally | BBC, UK

Eight suitcases of cannabis found at Manchester Airport

Eight suitcases containing 278 packages of cannabis have been discovered by Border Force officers at an airport | BBC, UK

Cocaine worth £40m 'found in pub car park'

Four men have been arrested after half a tonne of cocaine with a street value of £40m was found in a village pub's car park, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said | BBC, UK

Online gamblers who lose £500 or more a month to face extra checks

New measures will eventually also ban some features on online games, regulator for Great Britain says | Guardian, UK

International news

The effectiveness of a standardized tobacco cessation program on psychophysiological parameters in patients with addiction undergoing long-term rehabilitation: a quasi-experimental pilot study

[Open access] The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent a standardized tobacco cessation program leads to improvements regarding psychological/physical parameters in patients with addiction undergoing therapy and whether there is a reduction in tobacco consumption | BMC Medicine, UK

Psychosocial and medication interventions to stop or reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy

[Open access] From the prestigious Cochrane collaboration, a synthesis of studies found no relevant evidence on drug-based treatments but some indication that brief psychosocial interventions can prompt more pregnant women to stop drinking | Cochcrane Library, UK

Malta’s shift from strict laws to legalising cannabis – and what it shows the UK

The fiercely Catholic island nation has reversed its no-tolerance policy in what campaigners say could be an example for Britain | i news, UK

Spain-Argentina row over drug-use accusation

A huge diplomatic row has erupted after Spain's transport minister suggested Argentina's president had used drugs | BBC, UK

Experts condemn US tobacco firm’s sponsorship of doctor training as ‘grotesque’

Philip Morris International has supported non-smoking programmes around the world ‘to advance its own interests’, say health professionals | Guardian, UK

‘A complete 180’: how a trial treatment in Sydney for heroin addiction is changing lives

Exclusive: Robbie Mason wanted to give up but just didn’t know how. Then he and his partner joined Australia’s first hydromorphone trial | Guardian, UK

Delay in getting Drug Use Committee off the ground as members not yet nominated by all parties

The committee will consider the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use and respond to its recommendations | Journal, Ireland

Teenage discos ‘need tighter regulations’ in interest of child welfare, says alcohol action group

Commercial venues operating teenage discos should be obliged to provide staffing levels to a certain adult/child ratio to improve the safeguarding of young people, a campaign group has said | Irish Independent, Ireland

Information page on the EMCDDA's new mandate (EUDA)

The EMCDDA will become the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) on 2 July 2024. On this page, you can learn more about what this change means for the agency and its work as well as practical information to ensure a smooth transition | EMCDDA, Portugal

Don’t Blame Decriminalisation for the Failure of a Hundred Years of Prohibition

The recent backlash against the decriminalisation of drug use is a worrying sign of decision-makers’ short-sightedness. We, as a society, need to reconnect with marginalised people and not re-criminalise them | Drug Reporter, Hungary

Assessing fragility of statistically significant findings from randomized controlled trials assessing pharmacological therapies for opioid use disorders: a systematic review

[Open access] On average from among typically over 80 patients, it would take just eight (sometimes just one or two) to register different outcomes to overturn the conclusions of trials of drug-based treatments of heroin or other opioid-dependent patients | Trials, USA

4 Major Implications of Cannabis Moving to Schedule III

After 50 years of being on the most restrictive schedule alongside drugs like heroin and PCP, the DEA will move to reschedule marijuana in Schedule III, where the plant’s medical benefits will finally be recognized by the federal government. This monumental shift in federal drug policy was made possible because of the patients, physicians, activists, entrepreneurs, scientists, and policymakers who have worked for decades to create regulated medical cannabis markets and establish the necessary scientific evidence | Vicente, USA

[Open access] This case study presents information on a non-Hispanic 27-year-old African American woman with fibromyalgia and schizoaffective disorder who was using cannabis as a treatment for her pain. She was put on the low glutamate diet to treat her fibromyalgia, which significantly reduced her pain and other symptoms after one month, allowing her to discontinue the use of the cannabis. This discontinuation in turn drastically reduced her psychiatric symptoms | Psychiatry Research Case Reports, USA

Cytisinicline for Vaping Cessation in Adults Using Nicotine E-Cigarettes

In a multisite randomized clinical trial that included 160 adults who vaped nicotine e-cigarettes but did not smoke cigarettes, a 12-week course of cytisinicline with behavioral support was more effective than placebo with behavioral support and was very well tolerated, producing significantly more continuous abstinence from e-cigarette use than placebo during the last 4 weeks of drug treatment (31.8% vs 15.1%) | JAMA Network Open, USA

Q&A: Pandemic policies linked to overdose spike

Drug overdose rates skyrocketed in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 92,000 people died due to overdose in 2020. Public health experts worried early in the pandemic that lockdowns and other measures to control the spread of the virus could lead to more overdoses | Medical Xpress, USA

Parents' watchful eye may keep young teens from trying alcohol, drugs: Study

Teenagers are less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs when their parents keep tabs on their activities—but not necessarily because kids are more likely to be punished for substance use, suggests a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs | Medical Xpress, USA

Insomnia medication shows promise in treatment for alcohol use disorder

Researchers are recommending full-scale human trials after an insomnia drug helped a man withdraw from his 16 drinks-a-day addiction | Medical Xpress, USA

Youth Experiencing Parental Death Due to Drug Poisoning and Firearm Violence in the US, 1999-2020

In this cross-sectional study of the US population using publicly available data between 1999 and 2020, an estimated 1.19 million US youth had a parent die by drug poisoning or firearms. In 2020, drugs and firearms caused 23% of all parental deaths compared with 12% in 1999, and Black youth experienced a disproportionate burden, mainly due to firearm deaths of fathers | JAMA Network Open, USA

Children are dying of fentanyl by the dozens in Missouri. A panel is calling for changes

Fentanyl deaths among Missouri babies, toddlers and teens spiked as child welfare officials struggled to adequately investigate the cases, a state panel found in a newly released report | Medical Xpress, USA

Will Study Linking Vapes With Heart Failure Survive Scrutiny?

It’s been a busy few weeks for health scares around vaping, with media distortion of a cancer-adjacent study and an unjustified claim about seizures from the World Health Organization. New research suggesting that vaping could lead to heart failure has also triggered headlines in the United States and United Kingdom | Filter Magazine, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Can private health insurance cover the cost of medical cannabis consultations?

Since the legalisation of cannabis medicines in the UK in 2018, the costs of medication have been steadily reducing for patients. However, medication costs are not the only expense that patients need to bear in mind. The consultation with a specialist clinician remains a regular and often significant cost for the patient to pay. Are there currently ways of getting private health insurance cover for medical cannabis in the UK? | Volteface, UK

EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: Efficacy of psilocybin for treating symptoms of depression: systematic review and meta-analysis

This notice alerts readers to an error with this paper by Athina-Marina Metaxa and Mike Clarke (BMJ 2024;385:e078084. doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-078084, published 01 May 2024). The journal and the authors are investigating the problem. The study analysed data from randomised trials of psilocybin for the treatment of depression in adults. A methodological concern has been raised about an error in the calculation of standardised mean differences. This is likely to have overestimated the benefits of psilocybin | BMJ, UK

Exploitation, brutality and misery: how the opium trade shaped the modern world

In the final pages of Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories, Amitav Ghosh volunteers a startling confession. Though he had spent many years working on the book and had “accumulated an enormous amount of material”, he decided he could not go on with it, as he was overwhelmed by the “despicable meanness” of the subject matter. Accordingly, he cancelled the contracts he had signed and returned the advances to his publishers | Conversation, Australia

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