Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 9th October 2024 |
 |
UK news
Analysis reveals families and communities impacted by drug-related deaths in Scotland
A review which analysed the circumstances of each person who experienced a drug related death in Scotland in 2019 and 2020 has been published by Public Health Scotland. Since 2018, Scotland has consecutively had the highest rate of drug related deaths in Europe | Public Health Scotland, UK
National drug related death database (Scotland)
Scotland has a cohort of people with problematic drug use who have multiple complex health and social care needs. Many people who had a DRD shared similar characteristics: they were male, aged over 35, socially deprived, lived alone and had a history of long term and / or injecting opioid use and near fatal overdose | Public Health Scotland, UK
Health experts join forces in plea to Government
In an open letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, over 45 health experts and organisations have urged the Government to increase funding for public health ahead of this month’s budget | Association of Directors of Public Health, UK
M-cat is back: Young people are back on the 'indie sleaze' club drug
M-cat, also known as “meow meow”, has found its way back onto the rosters of drug dealers and young clubbers alike | Evening Standard, UK
Celebrating 11 years of Roots: growing community, wellbeing, and recovery together
As we mark the 11th anniversary of SIG Penrose Roots, Service Manager, Samantha Smith, reflects on the incredible journey of this community-based project and the transformative impact it has had on the lives of so many. Here’s Samantha’s story in her own words | DDN, UK
South Yorkshire Hospitals' stop smoking programme helps thousands quit
Developed in partnership with NHS South Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research, the South Yorkshire QUIT Programme embeds treatment for tobacco addiction into the routine care offered to every patient who smokes and attends any hospital in South Yorkshire | Rotherham Advertiser, UK
Recovering addict uses experience for podcast
A recovering cocaine addict has described receiving hundreds of messages from people seeking help after her podcast was listened to 12 million times in three months | BBC, UK
Warnings issued over alcohol licence renewal scam
Shops and businesses selling alcohol are being targeted by scammers posing as council staff seeking to swindle them out of cash, officials have warned | BBC, UK
Crime boss to appeal jail term for £100m banana box cocaine plot
A gangster who orchestrated a plot to smuggle cocaine worth £100m from South America in boxes of bananas is to appeal his 20 year sentence | BBC, UK
Gang smuggled £2m cannabis in mattresses
Three men have been jailed for smuggling cannabis worth £2m from Canada into Britain hidden in mattresses | BBC, UK
International news
‘Fix u up’: former suburban Melbourne mayor traded favours for cocaine, corruption watchdog finds
Ibac report alleges Cameron Nation offered to influence car-parking complaint to Moonee Valley council in exchange for drugs | Guardian, UK
Spain Introduces Draft Royal Decree To Regulate Medical Cannabis
Spanish patients could soon have access to medical cannabis as regulators push forward with a new bill. However, its use is expected to be strictly limited to specific medical conditions, highlighting the cautious approach being taken | Forbes, USA
Using Swedish nature to market nicotine pouches to young women and non-smokers in the UK
White nicotine pouches that taste like strawberries, are good for your health and evoke a sense of freedom—are as free as only Swedes can be | Medical Xpress, USA
Life expectancy study shows it's never too late to stop smoking
Quitting smoking even as late as at 75 years of age can meaningfully increase a person's life expectancy, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The research measures the impact of smoking on life expectancy at 10-year intervals from 35–75 years of age to determine the potential benefits of smoking cessation | Medical Xpress, USA
Incidence of Hospitalizations Involving Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in a Primary Care Population
In this cohort study of more than 500 000 adult primary care patients, AWS was common during hospitalizations, especially in men aged 30 to 49 years (9%-11% of hospitalizations) and individuals with high-risk alcohol screening (23%-44% of hospitalizations). Alcohol withdrawal syndrome was generally as common or more common than complications of other chronic conditions (eg, diabetes, hypertension) during hospitalizations in patients younger than 60 years | JAMA Network Open, USA
Cannabis Compounds Show ‘Promising Potential As Anti-Cancer Agents’
Compounds in marijuana including THC and CBD show “promising potential as anticancer agents,” according to a recent review of scientific literature. The review by an international team of researchers found several ways that compounds in cannabis can affect cancer, including limiting the growth and spread of tumors and other benefits | Forbes, USA
Beyond Farming: Women farmers find alternatives to opium cultivation in Myanmar
“Women are the ones who do development, mostly, but this is not always recognized back in Myanmar. Normally, women are expected to stay at home and take care of the kitchen and the family. But here in Thailand, in the highlands, every woman has a role | UNODC, USA
The Cannabis Growing Policy Landscape: Lessons from ACT - video
Governments internationally are looking to change cannabis regulation in what some have termed a “legal green rush”. Following the removal of criminal penalties for cannabis use, possession, and cultivation in Canberra, DPMP undertook research with people who use and grow cannabis over two years. This seminar explored the changing landscape of cannabis regulation and the experiences of cannabis gardeners in Canberra following the reform. Drawing on multispecies, this seminar provided lessons for future cannabis regulation and insights for creating more inclusive, attentive, and participatory policy-making processes | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Italian Mafia: The Role of the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra in the Drug Trade
The dominant Mafia organisation in contemporary Italy is not the Neapolitan Camorra or the Sicilian “Cosa Nostra,” but the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta. This shift in power has occurred largely as a consequence of the state's aggressive campaign against the Sicilian Mafia and Camorra | Tony D Agostino, UK