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Daily news - 21st March 2025 |
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UK news
Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce
The government has invested an additional £532 million between 2022 and 2025 to improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The new capability framework will support the development of a multidisciplinary workforce with the consistent capability to deliver high-quality treatment and recovery services. It aims to enable safer and more effective practice by describing the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for 15 core roles in the adult and children and young people’s drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce. Commissioners and service providers should use this capability framework to ensure that their workforce has the required skills, knowledge and behaviours to enable services to deliver the rounded care and treatment required by their population | NHS.UK, UK
Just Existing? - Opiate addiction in prison
Half of opiate-addicted prisoners don’t get their prescription or access treatment after release. Even fewer reach a second or third. Last year, drug-related deaths rose to a record high of 5,448 – a reflection of chaotic lives marked by addiction, crime, and repeated prison sentences. This tells us what is happening, not why. So, our report published today, Just Existing?, and the accompanying infographic are unapologetically the independent lived experience of nearly 300 opiate-addicted prisoners, in their own words. At best, these accounts reflect the truth; at worst, they are perceptions. Either way, this is their reality | Lived Expert, UK
Surge in repeat lung condition hospital visits
The number of people needing emergency care at least five times a year for breathing issues has risen in the North East and North Cumbria | BBC, UK
Lincoln mum's ketamine warning after daughter's death
The mother of a young woman who died following a ketamine addiction has warned others that the drug "destroys everything around you". | ITV, UK
'Addiction swallowed up 15 years of my life'
When her relationship broke down at the age of 27, Tanya started drinking. It began a downward spiral of drug and alcohol addiction that took 15 years for her to escape | BBC, UK
NHS Futures COMHAD webinar - [Micrososft Teams link]
Tuesday 25 March, 10am-11.30am. You’re invited to NHS Futures Co-occurring Mental Health Alcohol and Drugs (COMHAD) webinar. Find out more about the launch of a shared collaborative platform, with guest speaker Dame Carol Black and Pete Burkinshaw, and others. There’ll be an opportunity for you to ask questions and interact in the Q&A | Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK
The Dark History of London’s Drug World - podcast
Travel back to post-WW1 London, when sex, drugs and music was exploding in Soho... causing a national moral panic. The drugs of choice? Cocaine and morphine. Still used by doctors for questionable medicinal reasons (cough syrup anyone?!) but now also taken in nightclubs and opium dens by socialites around Soho. This week, Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Professor Toby Seddon to talk about the history of drugs, the people who were selling and taking them, and how the government attempted to crack down | Betwixt the sheets, UK
Cocaine being dropped at sea for UK drug gangs to collect
South American drug gangs are dropping cocaine in the sea around the UK to be picked up by smaller boats and brought to shore, Border Force has warned | BBC, UK
International news
Harm Reduction in Europe: Histories, Choices and Hopes
[Open access articles] This special series aims to start a multi-stakeholder and multi-perspective dialogue on the evolution and prospective future of harm reduction in Europe. Our main goal with this thematic issue is to provide a comprehensive and insightful look into the journey of harm reduction across the diverse regions of Europe, examining the changes, challenges, and innovations along the way. We are looking for both primary research articles and thoughtful commentaries that tackle harm reduction from a time-based perspective, digging into its past, understanding its present, and imagining its future | Harm Reduction Journal, UK
Medication experiences in the treatment of opioid use disorders: Insights from Reddit
Better understanding the challenges faced by patients on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including methadone and buprenorphine, is critical to increasing their use/retention. Social media platforms such as Reddit offer a space for patients to share their experiences with medications. We aimed to identify and characterize challenges faced by patients taking MOUD through analysis of discussions from the r/Methadone and r/suboxone subreddits | Addiction, UK
Federal authorities arrest alleged LA street gang leader Eugene ‘Big U’ Henley Jr
Investigators say he ran ‘mafia-like’ enterprise and is charged with crimes including drug trafficking | Guardian, Uk
WHO say they did not mean to 'single out Ireland' in St Patrick's Day post about alcohol issues
In the post shared to social media, WHO Europe said that St patrick’s Day was an ‘opportunity to reflect on the role of alcohol in our lives’ | Journal, Ireland
EUDA webinar: Low-threshold employment programmes — can they be social reintegration gateways? - video
Young people in socially vulnerable situations, including those involved with substance use, often face significant challenges in securing employment. Barriers to enrolling in long-term vocational training and securing fixed job contracts are common. However, there are initiatives that offer flexible work schedules and the potential for quick results. These initiatives aim to engage with hard-to-reach populations, build trust, provide care, and facilitate opportunities for same-day employment and some level of economic independence. This conversational webinar aimed to explore these initiatives, with the assistance of intervention providers, and to discuss their feasibility, acceptability and evaluation outcomes | EUDA, Portugal
Trump Administration Extends Opioid Emergency as Overdoses Decline
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it would extend the emergency declaration linked to the opioid overdose crisis that was originally set to expire on March 21, indicating the administration’s continued approach to treating the opioid crisis as a national emergency | AJMC, USA
E-cigarettes linked to lower cardiac risks compared to tobacco cigarettes in people with HIV
Electronic cigarette use may pose lower cardiovascular risks in people living with HIV compared to tobacco cigarette use, new UCLA-led research shows | Medical Xpress, USA
An Outbreak of Synthetic Cannabinoid-Adulterated Tianeptine Products in New Jersey – Case Series
Tianeptine, an atypical antidepressant not approved in the United States, is readily purchased from unregulated markets such as the internet and gas stations. We became aware of a cluster of 34 patients in New Jersey who became ill following ingestion of the tianeptine containing-product Neptune’s Fix, the rate of which (4.6 cases per month) far exceeded the background rate for this substance of 0.5 cases per year | J Medical Toxicol, USA
Xylazine detected in US–Mexico border drug supply, study finds
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Prevencasa free clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, have confirmed the presence of xylazine in the illicit drug supply at the U.S.–Mexico border. While xylazine remains less common in the Western U.S., border cities serve as key trafficking hubs and may have higher rates of emerging substances | Medical Xpress, USA
New cannabis formula to help epilepsy, multiple sclerosis sufferers
Scientists at the University of South Australia have come up with an innovative solution to improve the effectiveness of cannabidiol in treating epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases | Medical Xpress, USA
Spotlight on disapproval and stigma towards addictive behaviours - video
This seminar on how whether ‘social disapproval’ can be separated from stigma, and the important implications of framing and language took place on 13 March 2025, featuring Dr James Morris and Chris Gough, on behalf of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health | UNSW, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill: What could it mean for cannabis use in the UK?
Hannah Walsh, Matilda Nottage, Katherine Sawyer, and Chloe Burke – founding members of the Cannabis and Nicotine co-use Special Interest Group (CaN-SIG) – explore the implications of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill for people who use both tobacco and cannabis | SSA Blog, UK
Why nicotine pouches may not be the best choice to help you to stop smoking
If you are trying to stop smoking, you may have heard of nicotine patches or gum to help reduce cravings. But how about nicotine pouches? Small, tobacco-free sachets containing a powder made up of nicotine, flavourings and other additives, nicotine patches are placed between the upper lip and gum to release a nicotine buzz without the damage to lungs | Conversation, UK
CBD and smoking cessation: How cannabinoids may support a nicotine-free future
Nicotine dependence is one of the hardest addictions to break, affecting both the dopaminergic reward system and the habitual, physical aspect of smoking. While traditional nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) exist, CBD has gained attention as a non-addictive alternative that interacts with key receptors in the brain linked to craving regulation, stress response, and overall well-being \ London Loves Buisness, UK
A Historic Vote at the CND: Colombia Challenges the Global Drug Control System
In the final hours of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) on March 14, we were on the edge of our seats, anxiously waiting. After a tense week of negotiations, Colombia was on the verge of a historic breakthrough—securing the approval of an unprecedented resolution in a space where consensus is the norm, and any attempt at change faces a wall of resistance. The outcome was uncertain, and the decision would be made in a matter of minutes | Talking Drugs, UK
The tobacco lobby claims vaping is displacing youth smoking – a close look at the evidence tells another story
E-cigarette companies, including giants such as British American Tobacco, have actively lobbied governments in New Zealand and Australia to weaken existing vape regulations while preventing the introduction of stricter ones.