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Daily news - 14th May 2025 |
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UK news
People with substance use and mental health disorders suffering harm and premature death after being excluded from care, warns RCPsych
A new report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists warns that people who have a co-occurring substance use disorder and another mental health disorder (CoSUM) are being failed by a system that is not designed or equipped to meet their complex needs | RCPsych, UK
Injecting equipment provision in Scotland
This annual release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on injecting equipment provision (IEP). This includes the number of outlets, attendances and the types of injecting equipment distributed to people who used controlled drugs (including Novel Psychoactive Substances and Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs) in Scotland in 2025 | PHS, UK
'Streets are a dumping ground due to drug consumption room'
The UK's first drug consumption room opened in Glasgow in January - locals say their neighbourhood is a 'war zone' | STV News, UK
CHOICE? | A Short Film About Addiction, Stigma, and Recovery - DERBYSHIRE - video
CHOICE? is a powerful, haunting short film that challenges the damaging stigma faced by people living with addiction. Inspired by the real-life experience of Rhubarb Farm’s Recovery Lead, Ben Sofield, this film takes viewers deep inside the isolating, chaotic world of alcohol dependence—where shame, fear, and silence too often prevent people from seeking help | The Recovery Space, UK
Sir Bradley Wiggins says he is ‘lucky to be here’ after cocaine addiction
The 45-year-old said there was a time he feared being found dead by his children | Independent, UK
Pub bans under 25s from drinking on weekend nights
The post on Facebook, which has been met with a mixed response, said the change was due to "a lack of respect for the pub and its patrons" and that "the minority have spoilt it" for everyone else| BBC, UK
A tribute to Hannah Deacon Supermum, Supercampaigner, Super-Beautiful Person
The whole Drug Science Team is shocked and incredibly saddened by the news of Hannah Deacon’s passing on May 6th, 2025, after ‘a short and brutal illness’ | Drug Science, UK
The Forward Trust’s Northern Reunion 2025: ‘The Heart of Recovery’
Join us for a day of celebration in Hull on Saturday 24 May | Forward Trust, UK
Taxation: Tobacco
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to combat the pricing strategies of (1) under-shifting, and (2) over-shifting, by the tobacco industry to protect the public health aims of tobacco taxation | They work for you, UK
The Border Force battle against drugs at sea
With an increase in maritime drugs seizures, the BBC has been given rare access to one of the Border Force's patrol boats | BBC, UK
Police 'close' part of town over drug concerns
Police said they had "closed" parts of a town for almost three months following concerns about drug use and criminal damage | BBC, UK
Man, 70, arrested as police seize £3.2m of cannabis
A man has been arrested after cannabis plants worth about £3.2m were discovered in a warehouse in Fife | BBC, UK
International news
Sustained‐release naltrexone for opioid dependence
Injections and implants of naltrexone block the effects of opiate-type drugs for a month or six months, offering advantages over daily pills of the same drug. But surprisingly, “When compared to placebo, sustained-release naltrexone may have little to no impact on in-treatment illicit opioid use, treatment acceptability and serious adverse events, with very uncertain effects on retention in treatment | Cochrane Library, UK
The Human Cost of Policy Shifts The Fallout of United States’ Foreign Aid Cuts on Harm Reduction Programming and People who Use Drugs (PDF)
The impact of the United States foreign aid cuts on the health and well-being of people who use drugs has been massive and monumental. Not unlike the impacts felt across health, development, and humanitarian sectors around the world, the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. foreign aid has resulted in significant disruption to core harm reduction services, HIV/Hepatitis C (HCV) programming, and commodity supplies for people who use drugs globally. None of the U.S. administration’s rescinded programme terminations, or U.S. waivers, have applied to harm reduction programming or to HIV/ HCV services for people who use drugs. To date, no alternative solutions have been put in place to ensure the continuity of and equitable access to rights-based harm reduction services and HIV/ HCV prevention, treatment, and care for people who use drugs | INPUD, UK
‘I marvel I have any brain cells left’: artist Patrick Dougher on drugs, drink and blowing his big break with Sade
Dougher spent 20 years drinking, smoking and sniffing anything he could get hold of. At his lowest, he spent a month sleeping on a park bench. How did he bounce back? | Guardian, UK
COSS MARTE: From Convict to Cannabis CEO in New York
Watch Drugreporter’s new video about Coss Marte, a former convict who, thanks to New York State’s Social Equity Program, now runs three cannabis retail shops and a gym where he employs other formerly incarcerated individuals | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Fentanyl Test Strip Use and Overdose Risk Reduction Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs
Is fentanyl test strip (FTS) use associated with engaging in overdose risk reduction behaviors among people who use drugs (PWUD)? In this multisite cohort study of 732 PWUD, participants who reported baseline FTS use were significantly more likely to report more overdose risk reduction behaviors more frequently compared with participants who reported not using FTS at baseline | JAMA Network Open, USA
Nearly 19 million children live under same roof as parent with substance use disorder
In 2023, nearly 19 million children in the United States were estimated to be living in a household with at least one parent or primary caregiver with a substance-use disorder (SUD), according to a research letter published online May 12 in JAMA Pediatrics | Medical Xpress, USA
Centering peers in design and training for a peer-delivered contingency management program for self-identified harm reduction and treatment goals
Novel strategies are needed to engage people who use stimulants into the continuum of addiction care. Contingency management (CM) is the most effective intervention for stimulant use disorder and may engage non-treatment-seeking populations, especially when delivered by peer recovery support specialists (peers). We describe development and training for a novel peer-delivered CM program for stimulant use harm reduction and treatment engagement | Harm Reduction Research Network, USA
Smoking Cessation Pill May Help Youth Quit Vaping
Study results suggest that smoking cessation drug varenicline could help combat e-cigarette use among young people | Cancer Health, USA
Psychedelics may induce right-brain dominance, researcher proposes
The secret to psychedelic drugs' links to greater empathy and insight may lie in their ability to coax the right hemisphere of the brain into a position of dominance over the left, according to a proposed new theory | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Government’s serious approach to synthetic opioids is welcome, but it can do more to provide national leadership
Our Director, Will Haydock, responds to last week’s report from the Government outlining evidence and insights for Combating Drugs Partnerships, intending to help strengthen their preparedness for the synthetic opioid threat | Collective Voice blog, UK
Medetomidine: what you need to know about the animal sedative turning up in opioid deaths
The opioid crisis, increasingly driven by synthetic opioids, continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually in the US alone. Similar crises have arisen all over the western world. The crisis has become more complex as powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl, nitazenes and oxycodone are now being “cut” (mixed) with other drugs that slow brain activity, including animal tranquillisers | Conversation, UK
Reducing smoking in pregnancy in England—a public health success story
In recent years rates of smoking in pregnancy in England have declined, from 11.7% of pregnant women in 2014/15, to 5.9% in quarter 3 2024/25, according to the latest smoking at the time of delivery (SATOD) figures. This is remarkable progress and suggests that a target set in the 2017 Tobacco Control Plan for England—to reduce rates of smoking to less than 6% of pregnant women and other pregnant people by 2022—has finally been met. The last few years have seen an acceleration in declines that has not been mirrored in smoking rates in the general adult population | BMJ opinion, UK
The Power of Connection in Learning: Reflections from Forward’s Leadership Programme
In celebration of Learning at Work Week 2025, Claire Pulman, Forward’s HR Learning and Development Lead, reflects on this year’s theme, ‘Get Connected’, highlighting the power of connection in driving personal and professional growth. From championing cross-functional learning in her Leadership Programme to exploring innovative training formats, Claire shares how fostering a culture of continuous, collaborative learning is transforming individuals and strengthening organisational resilience at Forward | Forward Trust blog, UK