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Daily news - 11th October 2024

UK news

Guidance on recovery support services and lived experience initiatives updated

OHID and the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) have updated their joint guidance on recovery support services and lived experience initiatives. Updates include adding content on new publications such as research, amending information on legislation that has come into force since the original publication, adding information about other legislation and updating data. This guidance supports alcohol and drug treatment and recovery partnerships to understand the evidence for, value of and ways to develop lived experience initiatives and recovery support services. These initiatives and services help individuals and their families sustain recovery long term. The guidance was written in collaboration with Dr Ed Day, National Recovery Champion and the CLERO | OHID, UK

Delay in opening of UK's first drugs consumption room

The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility on Hunter Street, Glasgow, was due to open on 21 October but has been pushed back while checks are carried out on the building | BBC, UK

[Open access] This study aimed to estimate time trends in alcohol expenditure among risky drinkers in England over the past decade, to understand whether these trends are driven by changes in prices paid or volumes purchased, and to explore differences between population subgroups | IJDP, UK

Treatments for stimulant use disorder – a rapid review for policy makers and practitioners (PDF)

Stimulant use, in particular cocaine, is an increasing concern in Scotland and there is a need for better understanding of the treatment options. This report gives an overview of evidence from systematic reviews of the safety and efficacy of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for stimulant use disorder. We also note active areas of research with emerging evidence not included in systematic reviews | DRNS, UK

National Mission evaluation - survey

PHS has launched a survey aimed at individuals with experience of using drugs. The survey will run until the end of December 2024. The feedback survey is part of the National Mission evaluation. The survey will help improve our understanding of what it is like for individuals with experience of using drugs in Scotland to try getting the support they need. The survey also asks people whether they feel that their experience of trying to access support has improved or worsened over the last two years | Public Health Scotland, UK

Patrols offer hospital smokers advice on quitting

People smoking outside Nottingham’s hospitals have started receiving advice from dedicated officers | BBC, UK

Community is key

Martin Blakebrough looks back on 30 years of supporting people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues - and forward to what the sector should focus on next | DDN, UK

Youth worker recognised for drugs education

A youth worker at a Kent charity has been recognised for his "outstanding" outreach and school work | BBC, UK

'I was homeless - now I show tourists my city's hidden side' - video

Sonny used to be homeless - now he leads groups of tourists around the Edinburgh streets he once slept rough on. He works with Invisible Cities, external, a social enterprise which trains people affected by homelessness to be walking guides of their own city. On his tour, Sonny tells of his past struggle with homelessness and addiction and his journey towards securing housing and employment | BBC, UK

Sunderland's Connolly tells of his alcohol addiction

Sunderland and Republic of Ireland striker Aaron Connolly has opened up on an addiction to alcohol that has blighted his professional career | BBC, UK

Cheers as hospitality trade gets its alcohol duty freeze [Guernsey]

The local hospitality industry has been granted a freeze on alcohol duty that its member association asked for earlier this summer | Guernsey Press, UK

British soldiers sold nearly £100,000 of cocaine to comrades, court told

Four army personnel admit conspiracy to supply drugs at Wiltshire camp where one also ran payday loan scheme | Guardian, UK

Station Starbucks applies for alcohol licence

The American coffee chain is seeking permission to sell drinks between 06:00 and 23:00 BST | BBC, UK

Violent prison full of drugs and rats - inspection

The "most violent" men's prison in England and Wales, which also has "catastrophic levels" of drugs and a rat infestation, is in urgent need of improvement, an inspection has found | BBC, UK

International news

The Global State of Harm Reduction 2024

Oct 29, 2024 01:00 PM in London. The Global State of Harm Reduction is the only report to provide an independent analysis of the state of harm reduction in the world. It is a coordinated effort across practitioners, academics, advocates and activists to map global data and responses to drug use, HIV and viral hepatitis. It has become the go-to source on global harm reduction developments for researchers and advocates in the harm reduction sector and beyond. Join us for the online launch of the Global State of Harm Reduction 2024 to hear about the latest developments in harm reduction around the world | HRI, UK

A psilocybin haven: the use of comparison to legitimate transgression at a psychedelic retreat

[Open access] Currently, there are great hopes for psychedelic substances in treating psychiatric conditions and improving well-being. These substances are illegal in many countries, and we lack knowledge of how conflicting discourses shape psychedelic use in naturalistic settings. This study explores how psilocybin use is made meaningful by participants and staff at a retreat including psychedelic ceremonies aimed at personal growth | DEPP, UK

Students who feel more university connection may be more likely to binge-drink

Students who feel a sense of belonging at their university are more likely to binge-drink than those who do not feel the same connection, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State, the University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Oregon | Medical Xpress, USA

Can Sure Shot Reduce The Effects Of Alcohol? Clinical Studies Look Promising

Can an over-the-counter product help you avoid the dreaded effects of a night out on the town, or is it just another supplement making big promises? That’s the question facing Sure Shot, a product based on clinical trials which have shown a reduction in the effects of alcohol consumption. With so many supplements on consumer shelves, however, is Sure Shot full of marketing hype or has the brand cracked the code to make social drinking less punishing the next morning? | Forbes, USA

Strategies to Deimplement Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care

In this cluster randomized clinical trial including 8978 patients, clinics receiving clinic- and prescriber-level implementation strategies reduced their patients’ mean morphine equivalent daily dose by 2.4 units more than clinics receiving a less intensive health system–level strategy, representing a modest (6%) but statistically significant difference. Providing clinic- and prescriber-level deimplementation strategies may help health systems take positive steps toward reducing reliance on opioid medications for chronic pain management in primary care settings | JAMA Network Open, USA

Heroin use has spread as prices plummet

South Africa’s central position in a drug smuggling route between West Asia and Europe plays a role | GroundUp, South Africa

Blogs, comment and opinion

World Mental Health Day 2024: a look at work

Everyone deserves a workplace where they thrive. When we don’t find that place, it’s society’s loss, too | Forward Trust blog, UK

Minimum pricing, maximum annoyance

Last week saw the minimum price of alcohol in Scotland rise from 50p per unit to 65p per unit. Thanks to inflation, 65p today is the same as 50p in 2017, but it won’t feel like that to shoppers who have seen their incomes fall in real terms | The Critic, UK

We shouldn’t lock up young offenders with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Here are the alternatives

Barely a month goes by without news of children and adolescents who are imprisoned and being mistreated in youth detention. A new parliamentary inquiry is shining a light on this mistreatment. It’s investigating if youth detention facilities are complying with children’s human rights conventions, and the need for minimum standards of care | Conversation, Australia

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