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Daily news - 30th May 2025 |
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UK news
Drug Education Forum Summer 2025
Thu, 19 Jun 2025 15:30 - 17:00 BST. With 2 weeks to go and tickets running low, there is still time to register for the Summer Drug Education Forum event. We’re looking forward to hearing our keynote speaker, ACMD Chair Prof Owen Bowden-Jones, presenting the findings and recommendations from the ACMD Prevention Report, which has just been published. As usual, the event will also feature three short spotlights, featuring Prof Chris Pudney from Bath University sharing research on the prevalence of Spice in vapes, Morgan Moore from Winning Scotland speaking about the implementation of the Icelandic prevention model in Scotland, and Aimee O’Neill who will outline funding and research opportunities through NIHR | DEF, UK
Could cannabis be decriminalised in the UK?
The controversial topic has made headlines again after Sadiq Khan backed calls for possession of small amounts of natural cannabis to be decriminalised after a new report made a ‘compelling’ case for it | Metro, UK
Cranstoun response to the London Drugs Commission
The independent London Drugs Commission has published its long-awaited report which focuses primarily on cannabis use in the capital, making 42 recommendations | DDN, UK
Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA): programme data
A summary of the activity of the Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA) programme since its launch in March 2022. Updated with the data for October to December 2024 | Home Office, UK
Prisons: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times were drugs were found in (a) men's and (b) women's prisons in each year between 2015 and 2024 | They work for you, UK
Nitrous oxide nuisance sees volunteer take action
A volunteer from Kent has taken action after noticing an increase in nitrous oxide cannisters being left scattered around the village he has lived in for over 40 years | BBC, UK
International news
France to ban smoking on beaches, parks and near schools
France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, health and family minister Catherine Vautrin has said | BBC, UK
Haribo recalls bags of sweets in Netherlands after cannabis found
Several people, including multiple members of one family, reported feeling unwell after eating from a 1kg pack of Haribo Happy Cola F!ZZ | BBC, UK
Repairing the “machinery”: Recommendations and expectations for the independent review of international drug policy commitments
In March 2025, amidst geopolitical tensions, protracted negotiations, and a chaotic voting session at the 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a ground-breaking document was adopted. A new resolution, submitted by Colombia and supported by a broad cross-regional coalition of Member States, agreed to create a “multidisciplinary panel of 19 independent experts” tasked with reviewing “the existing machinery for the international control of narcotic drugs” and providing recommendations to strengthen the system and its implementation | IDPC, UK
The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’ – podcast
The narrative of ancient tribes around the world regularly using ayahuasca and magic mushrooms in healing practices is a popular one. Is it true? | Guardian, UK
‘Avenue of Death’: the Rio motorway where stray bullets, botched raids and resilience collide
Brazil Avenue was meant to symbolise progress – today it tells the story of a city at war with itsel | Guardian, UK
Webinar: Growing up in Ireland: Substance use and childhood adversity - video
In 2022, the HRB in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) began work analysing a longitudinal study of substance use among young people. HRB Research Officer Dr Deirdre Mongan provides an overview of the study and its progress to date | HRB, Ireland
Dutch gov't drops plans to allow employers to test employees for drugs, alcohol at work
There will be no legislation for alcohol and drug testing in the workplace, State Secretary Jurgen Nobel (Social Affairs and Employment, VVD) wrote to parliament on Wednesday. These tests are currently only permitted for a few professions, such as pilots and engineers | NL Times, The Netherlands
Around 1 in 7 US adults who smoke may have some degree of disability, analysis suggests
Around one in seven US adults who currently smoke may have some degree of disability, suggests the first study of its kind published in the journal Tobacco Control | Medical Xpress, USA
Lack of gender lens in tobacco control research could stymie efforts to help smokers quit, researchers say
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, York University researchers with Global Strategy Lab (GSL) have published a paper that finds a lack of gender analysis in tobacco control research. The researchers say this means that we could be missing out on important strategies accounting for gendered behaviors that could help smokers quit | Medical Xpress, USA
EU Health Commissioner Under Fire for Spouting Vape Misinformation
Misinformation about tobacco harm reduction, though sadly rife, is especially damaging when it comes from the most senior health officials. That’s exactly what happened when European Commissioner of Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Varhelyi spoke about vapes at a recent meeting with members of the European Parliament (MEPs) | Filter Magazine, USA
Drug Checking Symposium, Montreal, February 24–25, 2025: Summary Report
Summarizes the keynotes, panels and breakout discussions held at the 2nd Drug Checking Symposium in February 2025, hosted by the National Drug Checking Working Group in Montreal and virtually. It features key insights and takeaways to stay abreast of the future of drug checking in Canada and provides details on a wide range of topics including technology, data sharing, burnout prevention, legal frameworks and cross-jurisdictional collaboration | CCSA, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
De-siloing substance misuse and self-harm research through integrated public health and emergency medicine
Acute and chronic problems related to alcohol, drugs, and self-harm are important public health challenges and are compounded by socioeconomic inequalities. People with substance use disorders or mental ill health, or both, are attended to by ambulance and emergency departments at higher rates than the general population and their outcomes are often poor, with mortality ranging from 5% to 15% within 1 year of receiving care. There is a need to better understand presentations to emergency departments and opportunities for intervention. In this Viewpoint, we discuss the need for a holistic understanding of emergency care interactions linked to alcohol, drugs, and self-harm, and the urgent need for integrated research | Lancet viewpoint, UK
Mood and smoking choices: exploring value-based decision-making through computer modelling
You're probably familiar with the idea that people who smoke are more likely to reach for a cigarette when they feel stressed or down. Some scientific research backs this up, suggesting that a bad mood can make tobacco more appealing. But what is really going on in our brains when our mood sways the decisions we make based on how rewarding or desirable something feels? Our recent study directly addressed this question by using computer modelling to examine how mood influences the brain's decision-making processes | SARG blog, UK