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Daily news - 21st October 2024 |
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UK news
NIHR and OLS fund innovative research to help tackle drug deaths
NIHR has awarded funding to four innovative new projects focused on reducing harm from illegal drugs. The projects are being funded through the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme, led by the Office for Life Science (OLS). The new research into improved opioid substitution approaches, novel psychotherapy approaches, artificial intelligence and wearable technology could help to save thousands of lives by improving treatment and reducing harms and the risk of drug-related deaths | NIHR, UK
Scientology-linked UK rehab centre falls foul of charity regulator
Charity Commission finds ‘range of shortfalls’ at Narconon facility after Observer investigation | Guardian, UK
Innovative trial will use psilocybin to target relapse in opioid addiction
Imperial researchers will explore the potential for psilocybin therapy in drug recovery as part of a landmark trial | Imperial College London, UK
Stop smoking intervention in emergency departments helps people quit - video
Researchers explored whether an opportunistic stop smoking intervention (advice, a vape starter pack and a referral to stop smoking services), was effective for people attending the emergency department (A&E). Participants describe their experiences with the stop smoking intervention | NIHR, UK
Review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission: full report
Final findings and recommendations of the review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission | DHSC, UK
Life inside Europe's drugs death capital: 'Dying would be better than my £1,000 a month heroin addiction'
Sky News spends three days on the streets of Glasgow as the continent's drugs deaths epicentre prepares to open a "safer drug consumption room" allowing addicts to take illegal narcotics under medical supervision | Sky News, UK
Dr Rob Calder to become CEO in the New Year
The Society for the Study of Addiction is delighted to announce that Dr Rob Calder will become the charity’s Chief Executive Officer from 1 January 2025 | SSA, UK
Taking Action on Addiction parliamentary reception
On Wednesday 23rd October, the Taking Action on Addiction campaign is hosting a breakfast reception for MPs at 9am in the Terrace Pavillion, House of Commons | DDN, UK
How should we dispose of disposable vapes?
As the number of adults estimated to vape continues to rise - from four-and-a-half million in 2022 to more than five million in 2023 in Great Britain, external - there are concerns about the negative impact of throwing away single-use or disposable vapes | BBC, UK
Lisa Nandy announces plan to restore charities to ‘centre of national life’
Culture secretary says civil society groups should ‘tell government when we’re getting it wrong’ | Guardian, UK
Ex-detective caught stealing £400k of seized cocaine after dropping drugs outside daughter’s school
Officers say the case of Andrew Talbot is one of the most shocking cases of corruption they have uncovered | Independent, UK
Drug dealer with £1.5m property empire convicted
A man who the Met Police said built up a £1.5m property empire has pleaded guilty to supplying drugs and money laundering | BBC, UK
International news
Etizolam and Irish drug poisoning deaths
While the majority of drug poisoning deaths across Europe involve opioids, benzodiazepines are implicated in many deaths and are frequently present in deaths involving opioids. Benzodiazepines have been associated with morbidity and implicated in drug poisoning deaths since the 1980s, both in Ireland (Health Research Board, 2023a) and in Scotland (National Records of Scotland 2023) | Cambridge University Press, UK
Mexico navy seizes more than eight tonnes of illicit cargo in record drugs bust
Six boats among impounded assets worth at least $100m off country’s south-west coast, navy says, after arresting 23 people | Guardian, UK
Risking death to smuggle alcohol past Somali Islamists
Alcohol smuggler Guled Diriye is exhausted. He has just returned from his trip transporting contraband from the Ethiopian border | BBC, UK
BBC OS Conversations: Living alongside Mexico's drug gangs - audio
When she was sworn in as Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to tackle the country’s drug gangs. In the past couple of months, local civilian groups have reported hundreds of deaths and disappearances due to them. Hosts Mark Lowen and Krupa Padhy hear from those who just want to go about their lives and jobs in safety, but are being caught in the crossfire and sometimes even targeted | BBC, UK
Drones with 'flaming packages' being used to burn through prison nets and deliver drugs
The drones are flown from nearby roads and fields with the burning package carried beneath the remote-controlled craft | Journal, Ireland
Colombia: Potential cocaine production increased by 53 per cent in 2023, according to new UNODC survey
Cultivation of coca bush in Colombia increased by 10 per cent in 2023 to 253,000 hectares, while potential cocaine production reached 2,664 metric tons, according to a new survey released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This represents a potential 53 per cent increase in cocaine production over 2022 and marks the 10th consecutive year (since 2023) that estimates of potential cocaine production have risen in the country | UNODC, Austria
Early Maternal Prenatal Cannabis Use and Child Developmental Delays
In this cohort study of 119 976 mother-child dyads, maternal cannabis use during early pregnancy was not associated with child early developmental delays in children aged 5.5 years or younger | JAMA Network Open, USA
Buprenorphine/Naloxone vs Methadone for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
In this population-based retrospective cohort study that included 30 891 individuals initiating treatment for the first time during the study period, the risk of treatment discontinuation was higher among recipients of buprenorphine/naloxone compared with methadone (88.8% vs 81.5% within 24 months; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.58) | JAMA Network Open, USA
A review on abuse-deterrent formulations: formulation technology and regulatory stands in approval process
[Open access] Changing a medication so that it is more difficult to use for non-medical purposes can dramatically curb its misuse, but such developments are held back by the need for “intensive testing for evidence of abuse-deterrent features and the cost of drug development” | Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Smoking, drinking & drug use among school children
Last week, NHS England published its latest survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15), focusing on smoking, drinking and drug use. It covers a range of topics including prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing. Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2023 is based on an online survey for the first time. The move online also meant that completion of the survey could be managed through teacher-led sessions, rather than being conducted by external interviewers | Russell Webster, UK
Australia Legalised MDMA and Psilocybin – Where Are the Patients?
Over a year ago, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) made the surprise decision to legalise MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapy for certain mental health conditions in February 2023. While the move was welcomed by some but not by others, real patient access has remained very low | Talking Drugs, UK