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Daily news - 28th May 2024 |
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UK news
News story: Licensed drug testing continues at music festivals this summer
Confiscated and surrendered drugs will be tested to identify toxic substances in circulation and help prevent drug-related overdoses | Home Office and The Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, UK
The Loop is set to resume festival testing in 2024!
The Loop will be delivering its pioneering ‘back of house’ drug testing during the festival period this year following the successful application and receipt of Home Office licences to proceed | The Loop, UK
Love Saves The Day’s clampdown on illegal drugs
"It felt really important to raise awareness around harm and reduction and also have that ability for some back-of-the house testing," said LSTD director Tom Paine | BBC, UK
Dangerous nitazene drugs linked to rise in deaths
The National Crime Agency has revealed that a dangerous new drug has been linked to almost 176 deaths in the UK - with 47 of these in Scotland | BBC, UK
Fourth person dies amid contaminated heroin probe
The force has said the current supply of heroin and crack cocaine in the area "may be contaminated with synthetic opioids" | BBC, UK
Trends in vaping and smoking following the rise of disposable e-cigarettes: a repeat cross-sectional study in England between 2016 and 2023
There has been a rapid rise in disposable (single-use) e-cigarette vaping among young adults in England since June 2021 (leading to a planned ban on these products). We examined how this has affected population trends in current (i) vaping, (ii) tobacco smoking, and (iii) inhaled nicotine use | Lancet, UK
Nicotine use rises among young adults in England but cigarette smoking continues to decline
Overall nicotine use has risen among adults in England since disposable vapes started becoming popular, due to a rapid increase in vaping among young adults coupled with a modest overall decline in smoking, finds a new study by UCL researchers | UCL, UK
Select committe - alcohol enquiry - video
Coverage of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee session on the impact of alcohol on health, from Monday 20 May | BBC, UK
Restricting the content of alcohol advertising and including text health warnings: A between-group online experiment with a non-probability adult sample in the United Kingdom
[Open access] Among a sample of adults in the UK, eliminating 'feel good' content from a mock vodka advert and replacing a typical 'drink responsibly' message with specific and multiple health warnings both reduced the attractiveness of the drink and weakened intentions to try it | Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will undertake a study on trends in alcohol use among young people | They work for you, UK
Smoking
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the British Medical Association, and (2) other health organisations, concerning the proposed generational ban on smoking | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help tackle teenage drug addiction | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Crime
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) other (i) dangerous and (ii) illicit acts caused by illegal drug cultivation | They work for you, UK
New Beginnings gardening donation for people in recovery
An NHS service which supports the recovery of people with an alcohol or drug addiction, has received a donation of gardening tools and seeds for its allotment area from two local Doncaster businesses | Aspire, UK
Grieving pint sessions tackle 'silent struggle'
Nine months after his mum's death, Ben began exploring the idea of creating a space for men to promote positive conversations about mental health, and together with a friend, created The Grieving Pint | BBC, UK
'How we stay responsible as boozy brunches boom'
A boom in the popularity of bottomless brunches is providing a welcome boost to the hospitality industry but must be handled responsibly, it has been warned | BBC, UK
Pour a proper pint, Trading Standards tells pubs
More than two thirds of pints of beer and glasses of wine being poured in pubs and bars in the UK contain less drink than they should, new research suggests | BBC, UK
Three charged over £1.35m cocaine bust
Three men have been charged after cocaine worth more than £1m was seized from a home in Glasgow | BBC, UK
International news
Effects of exercise interventions on negative emotions, cognitive performance and drug craving in methamphetamine addiction
Review of studies concludes that incorporating exercise in treatment for methamphetamine use disorders can reduce craving for methamphetamine as well as anxiety and depression, whilst improving some cognitive abilities | Frontiers in Psychiatry, UK
Kush: The synthetic drug ravaging the youth of an African country
Sierra Leone this year declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat | Independent, UK
HSE survey to track drug use trends
Yesterday HSE’s Drugs.ie launched a survey to find out more about drug use trends in Ireland. It’s also part of a wider European Web Survey on Drug trends across Europe. HSE’s Emerging Drug Trends Manager Nicki Killeen tells us more | HSE, Ireland
General Report of Activities 2023 – key achievements and governance: a year in review
The General Report of Activities is an annual publication providing a detailed progress report of the EMCDDA’s activities over a 12-month period. It catalogues the Centre’s achievements in each area of its annual work programme. The report is a useful information source for all those seeking comprehensive information on the Centre and its work | EMCDDA, Portugal
Drug Regulation as a Tool to Promote Human Rights, Health and Security in Europe | Arild Knutsen
In this interview, filmed at the 67th Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna this year, we asked Arild Knutsen, the head of the Association for Humane Drug Policy (FHN) about drug policy reform developments in Norway | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors
Researchers at the U of A found self-identified small business owners on TikTok are circumventing a number of local, state and federal laws that restrict the individual sale of tobacco products. Specifically, the researchers found that 45% of the videos highlighted the fact that they did not require identification to verify the purchaser’s age | EurekAlert, USA
Study suggests psychedelic drug-induced hyperconnectivity in the brain helps clarify altered subjective experiences
A recent study shows that the use of psilocybin, a compound found in the widely known "magic mushrooms," initiates a pattern of hyperconnectivity in the brain linked to the ego-modifying effects and feelings of oceanic boundlessness | Medical Xpress, USA
Europe Faces Potential Transformation of Its Drug Supply
In North America, fentanyl and other potent synthetic drugs in the supply have been associated with an unprecedented overdose crisis for over a decade. In Europe, this hasn’t happened—yet | Filter Magazine, USA
New York Psilocybin Legalization Bill Would Create Adult-Use Permits
ANew York lawmaker has put forward a proposal to legalize psilocybin mushrooms and make them available for adults. This would be another major step for a state that legalized cannabis just a few years ago, and a first on the East Coast. It suggests a model for psilocybin legalization quite different from that seen in other states. But there’s likely a long road ahead before it could become law | Filter Magazine, USA
Factors associated with experiencing stigma, discrimination, and negative health care treatment among people who inject drugs
[Open access] Stigma has negative consequences for the health of people who inject drugs and people living with hepatitis C virus (HCV). This study evaluated factors associated with stigma related to injecting drug use (IDU) or HCV and those associated with being treated negatively by health workers | IJDP, Australia
Magic mushroom and LSD deaths in Australia - audio
Researchers are hoping to combat the assumption that psychedelics might be 'safer' than other drugs. A new study has detailed the deaths of 43 people from either magic mushrooms or LSD between 2000 and 2023. While the vast majority of these deaths were as a result of behavioural responses to the drugs, one death was solely due to LSD toxicity | abc.net.au, Australia
What is GHB and why are so many Australians overdosing?
This March, a survey of drugs detected in Australian wastewater sparked familiar headlines: "meth up, alcohol down", "heroin's a big hit". The annual study by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) ignites fresh debate among commentators every year, but according to its own principal advisor on drugs, Shane Neilson, it's not a perfect picture of what's happening in the illicit market | abc.net.au, Australia
An Evaluation of the Kava Pilot Program - video
This webinar presented an overview of the findings from evaluating the kava pilot program. The program aims to provide greater access to kava in Australia, understand the social, cultural, economic, and health effects of increased availability, respect State and Territory regulations, and increase trade opportunities for Australia and Pacific Island countries | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Who’s counting the true cost of alcohol abuse?
Shaun Whitfield on alcohol abuse research funded by the temperance movement, and Woody Caan on drink producers lauding their contribution to the economy | Guardian letters, UK
The Colonial Legacy of Drug Control in Lebanon
How we think about, regulate, moralise or criminalise drugs is often not a response to domestic considerations, but a negotiation with global forces in an uneven international environment. Drug control in Lebanon is no exception to this rule. Its policies, since their inception, are the result of colonial and neo-colonial impositions and local resistance to these international impositions | Talking Drugs, UK
No one wants kids vaping. But is Labor criminalising adults who flout the crackdown?
With the proposed vape ban dividing MPs, the AMA chief has come to Canberra with a blunt message to ‘do the right thing’ | Guardian, UK
Magic mushrooms may one day treat anorexia, but not just yet
Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental health disorder where people fear weight gain. Those with the disorder have distorted body image and hold rigid beliefs their body is too big. They typically manage this through restricted eating, leading to the serious medical consequences of malnutrition | Conversation, Australia