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Daily news - 19th May 2025 |
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UK news
'Ketamine addiction made my son a zombie'
A woman who said her son became "a zombie" through his addiction to ketamine is trying to raise awareness of the drug's dangers | BBC, UK
BDP Creative Communities Partners with Trinity
We’re excited to announce a new chapter for BDP Creative Communities: our partnership Trinity, that launched in April!| BDP, UK
Our Message, Our Voice | Stories of Sobriety and Connection - podcast
In this powerful episode of Empowered by Sobriety, I sit down with Mel, Andy, and Helen to talk about Our Message Our Voice - a moving short film that highlights four deeply personal journeys through alcohol addiction and recovery | Soberistas Podcast, UK
New vaping survey shows over 40% of 17 and 18-year-olds currently use e-cigarettes
A significant number of young people in Northern Ireland are vaping, after a new PHA study found that over 40% of year 14 school pupils currently use e-cigarettes | Belfast Telegraph, UK
Prisons 'winning battle' against drugs-to-order drones
Scottish prison bosses say a pilot scheme to combat the problem of drones being used to deliver drugs and weapons into jails is helping to dismantle organised crime networks | BBC, UK
Smoking: Children
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in England under the age of 18 who regularly used (1) a vape, (2) an e-cigarette, or (3) smoked tobacco, in each of the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 | They work for you, UK
Venezuela: Cocaine
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the role of Venezuela as a transit hub for cocaine shipments to Europe; and whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle such shipments | They work for you, UK
Drug smugglers caught with £37m of cocaine in inflatable boat are jailed
Both smugglers leapt overboard and unsuccessfully attempted to swim to shore to escape Border Force | Independent, UK
Dealer guilty of killing man who wanted cocaine
A drug dealer is waiting to be sentenced after being convicted of killing a customer when an early-hours cocaine sale went wrong | BBC, UK
Empty properties targeted in cannabis crackdown
The city council and Staffordshire Police said they would target privately rented homes, commercial buildings and council properties | BBC, UK
Slot machine firms target UK’s poorest areas and channel funds to billionaires
Politicians including Andy Burnham call for councils to be given powers to stop new sites opening | Guardian, UK
International news
Identifying alcohol use disorder with James MacKillop - podcast
In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr James MacKillop, a clinical psychologist and professor at McMaster University in Canada, and director for both the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and the Michael G DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. The interview covers his research report on the diagnostic validity of drinking behaviour for identifying alcohol use disorder (AUD) with findings from a representative sample of community adults and an inpatient clinical sample | SSA, UK
Young people aren’t drinking alcohol — instead, they’re sipping cans of THC
THC drinks are making a name for themselves in the US beverage industry. Amber Raiken speaks to three young people about why they prefer these drinks to an ice cold martini | Independent, UK
Trump tariffs could lead to surge of cheap Chinese vapes in UK, experts say
Researchers fear new models will circumvent forthcoming disposables ban as diverted imports also drive down prices | Guardian, UK
New clinical study shows promise in treating Parkinson’s with drug found in magic mushrooms
The psychedelic drug has shown promise in improving mood, cognition, and motor symptoms | Independent, UK
Mexican woman charged in US with supplying arms to ‘terrorist’ drug cartel
María Del Rosario Navarro, 39, accused of conspiring to provide material support to Jalisco New Generation cartel | Guardian, UK
‘Absolutely no evidence’: how NSW police backflipped on unlawful strip-search
Shortly before court hearing class action involving 3,000 people, force admitted to unlawfully strip-searching Raya Meredith and withdrew all its witnesses | Guardian, UK
HHC: The drug sold on Irish main streets that’s sending teens to hospital
Synthetic cannabis HHC is being sold in Irish shops despite expert warnings of addiction, psychosis, and teen hospitalisations | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Former football manager Andrew Noonan jailed for 13.5 years over €2.7 million heroin seizure
The court heard Noonan does not accept the verdict of the jury and denied any role in relation to the drugs | Journal, Ireland
High times for German cannabis firm amid medical boom
At an undisclosed site in Germany's Bavaria state, pharmaceutical CEO Philip Schetter opens a 75-centimeter (30-inch) thick steel door that secures his wares: vast amounts of cannabis | Medical Xpress, USA
Hybrid Virtual Group Model for Substance Use Disorder Therapy: A Scoping Review
[Open access] In the telehealth era, group therapy has moved towards a hybrid approach with members joining both in-person and virtually. Scant research suggests outcomes are equivalent to in-person groups and signpost important ingredients for effectiveness | Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, USA
Outpatient tapering of buprenorphine in opioid use disorder pregnancies may improve neonatal outcomes
[Open access] Among pregnant women maintained on buprenorphine, is it best for the baby to reduce the dose? This US study indicates the answer is yes, at least when mother voluntarily reduces and is carefully managed by medical staff, but the non-randomised design means results are suggestive only | Journal of Perinatology, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Stop weaponising stigma: blog from Karen Biggs, Chair of The Anti-Stigma Network
We have seen again this weekend a shocking example of stigmatising, offensive and counterproductive media reporting Zombie Drug HorrorI’m not encouraging you to read it, not least because the media outlet concerned shouldn’t be rewarded by high click rates for these offensive articles. But needless to say it contains derogatory language, dehumanising images and videos and othering of people | AntiStigma Network blog, UK
Is Fentanyl in All Drugs? New Study Challenges Common Myth
Incessant reporting on fentanyl and related deaths have created a reality where people using drugs in British Columbia (BC) fear that every bag of white powder could contain a deadly clump of fentanyl. But recent data suggests that, for people who don’t use opioids, the risk of drug contamination with fentanyl is around 2%, or even lower for certain substances | Talking Drugs, UK
More people are trying medicinal cannabis for chronic pain. But does it work?
Medicinal cannabis refers to legally prescribed cannabis products. These are either the plant itself, or naturally occurring ingredients extracted from the plant. These ingredients, such as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), are called cannabinoids. Some cannabinoids are also made in labs to act like the ones in the plant | Conversation, Australia
And finally...
Smoking shelter study after bird's nest discovery
Douglas Russell, senior curator for birds' eggs and nests at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in Tring, Hertfordshire, said scientists thought birds were choosing cigarette ends as materials to add to nests "because it decreases parasite load" as the nicotine "kills parasites" | BBC, UK