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Daily news - 26th February 2025 |
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UK news
Policy paper: Crime and Policing Bill: Overarching factsheet
The bill includes a range of measures, including: Tougher action on drugs. Expanding police powers to drug test more suspects on arrest, helping direct more drug users into treatment and away from drugs. Additionally, the bill makes ‘cuckooing’ a specific offence, protecting the most vulnerable people whose homes are used by others to commit criminal activity, whilst also creating new offences of exposure and child abduction | Home Office and MoJ, UK
Amanda Pritchard quits as NHS England chief executive in shock move
Exclusive: Departure follows meetings with Wes Streeting and unusual criticism from two Commons committees | Guardian, UK
Bold new collaboration to tackle health inequalities launches in three local areas in Scotland
The Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland launches plans this week to bring about significant change to reduce health inequalities in three of Scotland’s local authority areas. Over the next two years, this partnership will help local areas and Community Planning Partners to strengthen their local plans to reduce health inequalities and improve wellbeing in their communities. It will support local partners to understand the actions which will have the greatest impact on health inequalities locally and help to overcome the barriers to implementing these | Public Health Scotland, UK
Hopes NHS lung cancer screening will save lives
Thousands of smokers and ex-smokers will be invited for free NHS lung cancer screening to help detect the disease early | BBC, UK
Alex Stevens: Drug Policy Constellations
TODAY Wed 26 Feb 2025 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Liberty Building, LS3 1DB. Calls are often made for evidence-based policy. Alex Stevens' research on drug policy suggests that there is no such thing. Rather, policies are based on clashing and overlapping moralities, converging material interests, the deployment of political and social forms of power, and moving affective narratives. In his 2024 book on Drug Policy Constellations, Stevens presented a theoretical approach and an empirical method for analysing these complex processes. In this talk he will present this policy constellations approach | University of Leeds, UK
Street Drugs Discussions: Deep dive into Mephedrone
Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:00 - 14:00 GMT. This webinar features a panel discussion discussing the rise and fall of Mephedrone in the UK | Drug Science, UK
SARN Early and Mid-Career Researcher Event
Tue, 11 Mar 2025 10:30 - 14:30 GMT. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, UK. The event will take place in-person and will provide PhD students, early career researchers, and mid-career researchers with an opportunity to present their work and discuss future projects, whilst networking with colleagues from their field | SARN, UK
Prisoner ran drug empire from behind bars
A prisoner who continued to run his drug empire from behind bars will have his jail sentence almost doubled for arranging to import £1m worth of cocaine from the Netherlands into the UK | BBC, UK
International news
Drug Consumption Rooms: Service Models and Evidence
Mar 4, 2025 01:00 PM London. Online. Join us for an insightful webinar on Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs), also known as supervised consumption sites, safe injection sites, and overdose prevention centres. This webinar will present our latest brief, which discusses various DCR service models and the evidence of their impact| HRI, UK
Thailand warns teenagers about deadly ‘zombie cigarettes’
Sedative etomidate can cause extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, low blood pressure, confusion, even fatal unconsciousness | Independent, UK
From the archive: One drug dealer, two corrupt cops and a risky FBI sting – podcast
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2017: Davon Mayer was a smalltime dealer in west Baltimore who made an illicit deal with local police. When they turned on him, he decided to get out – but escaping that life would not prove as easy as falling into it | Guardian, UK
Examining the overprescribing of benzodiazepines, z drugs and gabapentinoids in Ireland
Benzodiazepines, z-drugs, and gabapentinoids are prescribed to alleviate symptoms associated with various neurological and psychological conditions. Benzodiazepines belong to a class of drugs known for their sedative and anxiolytic properties. The overprescribing of benzodiazepines, z-drugs, and gabapentinoids is a critical issue that affects patient safety and has significant implications for public health. As identified in this report, prescribing patterns of benzodiazepines, z-drugs, and gabapentinoids are significantly influenced by wider societal issues, leading to substantial consequences in healthcare | Medical Council, Ireland
Festival drug harm reduction teams ‘well accepted’
At summer festivals in 2024, the HSE harm reduction service identified “mainly MDMA… ketamine and cocaine”. The MDMA was “often” at very high strength, according to meeting minutes of the early warning and emerging trends committee in August 2024. The committee heard there was “good engagement with volunteers and discussions on the ground”, which appeared to positively impact the behaviour of festival attendees | Medical Independent, Ireland
Latest European Web Survey on Drugs reveals drug use habits of over 66 000 Europeans
New survey results released by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) reveal the current drug use habits of over 66 000 Europeans. Adults from 31 countries responded to the European Web Survey and Drugs, which ran in 30 languages between May and July 2024. More than 100 partners took part in the initiative, including the Reitox network of national focal points, universities and civil society organisations. The responses showed cannabis to be the most consumed substance overall, while polysubstance use is increasingly widespread | EUDA, Portugal
CDC Reports Nearly 24% Decline in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths
New provisional data from CDC's National Vital Statistics System predict a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year. This is the most recent national data available and shows a continued steep decline in overdose deaths. Provisional data shows about 87,000 drug overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024, down from around 114,000 the previous year | CDC, USA
Opioid cash grab: As federal funding dries up, states turn to settlement money
At a recent Nevada legislative committee hearing, lawmakers faced off with members of the governor's administration over how to fill gaping holes in the state's upcoming budget. At issue: whether opioid settlement money — paid by health care companies that were sued for fueling the opioid crisis and meant to help states abate addiction — should be funneled to two counties for a safety-net program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which is aimed at helping low-income children and families | News Medical, USA
The dangers of drinking games in teens: Can online alcohol interventions help?
Adolescents who use alcohol commonly participate in so called “drinking games,” which substantially increase risk for negative consequences, as dangerous amounts of alcohol can be consumed. Given the link between drinking game participation and high-risk drinking behaviors, developing more specific interventions is key. This study tested whether an electronically delivered personalized feedback intervention could reduce both participation in drinking games and drinking game-related alcohol use | Recovery Research Institute, USA
A campaign to address risks of non-medical use of prescription opioids improved young adults’ knowledge and attitudes
Young adults have the highest rates of non-medical prescription drug use, including opioid painkillers. Public health messaging designed to educate young adults on the potential harms could be a useful public health strategy to reduce risky use and opioid use disorder. This study tested whether a mass media intervention designed specifically for young adults could change knowledge and attitudes about non-medical use of prescription opioids | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Can psilocybin—the key ingredient in magic mushrooms—be the key to treating head injuries?
Mild repetitive head injuries do more than just cause short-term issues with cognition, behavior and motor skills. They also lead to an increased risk of dementia, Parkinson's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and cost billions of dollars in health care | Medical Xpress, USA
Cracking the Case: UNODC strengthens investigation capacity of crimes involving synthetic drugs
An overdose on a park bench. A clandestine lab hidden in a storage unit. A drug deal in a train station. A suspicious cargo shipment. What do they all have in common? They are crime scenes linked to synthetic drugs—each presenting unique challenges for investigators | UNODC, USA
“It’s Very Real”—Harm Reduction Research Facing DOGE Funding Cuts
As Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) take a chainsaw to federal agencies and funding, critical research—including that related to overdose, harm reduction and other drug issues—is among the targets | Filter Magazine, USA
Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia
Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use is a major cause of preventable disease, illness and death in Australia. This report consolidates recent information on the availability and consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Australia, and related impacts, harms and treatment | AIHW, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Lobbying, transparency and trust: power imbalances and the failure to implement Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
In the Prevention Pillar of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, the European Commission made a series of commitments to promote better health for all, including proposals for new legislation on food and alcohol labelling. However, the implementation of these commitments has been paralysed. In this Viewpoint, we argue that this paralysis stems, in part at least, from insufficient incorporation of the principles of transparency and openness, which promote the accountability of policy actors through citizens' participation in the legislative process | Lancet viewpoint, UK
A hazy legal landscape means people can get high on hemp products, even where pot is prohibited
In Texas, where I live, marijuana has long been illegal. Yet on a busy street in my Houston neighborhood, at least five stores within a half-mile of each other sell cannabis products that promise a strong high | Conversation, USA
And finally...
Alcohol ingestion by animals is surprisingly widespread – and we’re starting to understand its impact
Humans may not be the only animals that ingest alcohol, research is suggesting. Studies on animals are showing they may be eating natural ethanol for its medicinal or nutritional properties | Conversation, UK