Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 17th January 2025 |
 |
UK news
Updated harms assessment of ketamine: commissioning letter
Letter from Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention to Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, Chair, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) inviting the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, and advice on reducing harms, in response to emerging evidence, and in particular whether it should be moved to Class A | Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, UK
Review of the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales: contribution analysis
This evaluation aimed to assess the contribution (if any) that the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol (MPA) in Wales has made to any alcohol related behavioural, consumption, and retail outcomes | Welsh Government, UK
Guidance: Residential drug and alcohol treatment: self-assessment toolkit
A toolkit to help local areas carry out a self-assessment to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission | OHID, UK
Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2024
This publication provides an overview of drug seizures made by the police (including the British Transport Police) and Border Force in the year ending 31 March 2024 in England and Wales. The data relates to all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) and the Psychoactive Substance Act 2016 (PSA). Please see the user guide for further information on this release, including the imputation methods used for missing data | Home Office, UK
New figures show cost of smoking to society in England dwarfs tobacco tax revenue
Today, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has published new estimates showing that smoking costs society in England £43.7 billion a year – far more than the £6.8 billion raised through tobacco taxes | ASH, UK
Drug and alcohol services could face funding cuts
At a meeting on Tuesday, East Sussex County Council's lead member for adult social care, Carl Maynard, will be asked to approve proposals to begin the process of recommissioning the county's drugs and alcohol treatment service with a reduced budget | BBC, UK
Vape shop receives '40 requests' for illegal items
The owners of a vape shop said they put a warning sign in their window after receiving more than 40 requests in two weeks for illegal products | BBC, UK
How UK border force are detecting synthetic opioid drug s - video
The UK border force seized illegal drugs worth £3 billion last year – the highest number of seizures on record. They say more cocaine was taken off the streets than ever before – while over 20 dangerous substances have been banned. Dogs are being trained to detect synthetic opioids – while exclusive police body-cam footage shared with this programme shows officers administering the life saving drug naloxone for the first time | Channel 4, UK
International news
Is fake alcohol a global threat? - audio
Drinks with toxic ingredients have been linked to deaths and poisonings around the world. How harmful is illicit alcohol for consumers? | BBC, UK
121. What is Naturalistic Research? with Dr Matthew X. Lowe - podcast
Dr Matthew X. Lowe PhD is Director of Research for Realm of Caring and Executive Director for Unlimited Sciences, a not-for-profit, observational research organisation with a focus on cannabis and psychedelic use by underrepresented population groups and a toll-free info line providing evidence-based support for anyone using psychedelics | Drug Science, UK
Minister of State Colm Burke highlights significant uptake of new supervised injecting facility services
The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke, has highlighted the clear demand for services in the country’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF) in its first three weeks of operation. Since its opening on 22 December 2024 up to 15 January 2025, there have been more than 300 visits by a total of 108 people to the Merchants Quay Ireland facility at Riverbank House in Dublin City Centre | Department of Health, Ireland
Examination of patients presenting to the emergency department as “apparently drunk”
Alcohol, a significant public health concern, contributes to a substantial burden on emergency services. Identifying avoidable causes of Emergency Department (ED) presentations may reduce hospital overcrowding and benefit public health | Irish Journal of Medical Sciences, Ireland
Research highlights prevention efforts in fentanyl overdoses
The overwhelming majority of those in New York City who obtained a naloxone kit to counteract opioid overdose had a high need for the drug, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
DSM Foundation welcomes government move to try and deal with issues being posed by xylazine and nitazenes
Drugs education charity the DSM Foundation has welcomed the Government’s announcement of steps to combat the threat posed by synthetic drugs such as nitazenes (strong laboratory-manufactured opioids) and xylazine (a veterinary sedative) | DSM Foundation, UK
Why we need EmPATH – a novel psychiatric emergency response to Scotland’s mental health and substance use crises
Scotland has the highest number of drug deaths in Europe and is ranked as having the worst health inequalities in central and Western Europe (Public Health Scotland, 2024). We see this at the human level on a daily basis in our emergency departments (EDs), where presentations of crisis are rising and the true numbers may be underestimated. To improve the care for patients, new models of care need to be considered but we also need to develop the research evidence | DRNS blog, UK
Centering social and racial justice in UK cannabis reforms
In this blog, we share some new videos produced as part of our Blaksox - Transform allyship about a growing UK cannabis legalisation movement which centers on promoting social and racial justice | Transform blog, UK
And finally...
Drug-addicted rats have taken over a Houston police evidence room after eating seized narcotics
Police in Texas have hatched a plan to stop the rodents getting their fix | Independent, UK