Home | Archive | Weekly | ReportsWeekly news - 26th August 2022 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Magic mushrooms: Drug reform campaigners in new push to reclassify the psychedelic to treat mental illness
Drug-reform campaigners will launch a new drive this weekend to get magic mushrooms reclassified so that they can be used to help millions of people with mental and physical health problems in the UK | i news, UK
Smoking: Can Wales reach smoke-free status by 2030?
The first steps are in place, with the aim by the Welsh government to reduce smoking rates in adults to 5% or less by 2030 | BBC, UK
Medium- and longer-term cardiovascular effects of e-cigarettes in adults making a stop-smoking attempt: a randomized controlled trial
E-cigarettes are popular for smoking cessation but there is little evidence on their cardiovascular health effect. Our objective was to compare the medium- and longer-term cardiovascular effects in smokers attempting to quit smoking using e-cigarettes with or without nicotine or prescription nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) | BMC Public Health, UK
Great Yarmouth e-cigarette trial sees two fifths of smokers quit
A free e-cigarette voucher released by a council to help people in a town stop smoking managed to get more than 100 to quit within a month, according to researchers | BBC, UK
HSE to trial drug testing pilot at Electric Picnic festival
An anonymous drug testing trial will take place at the Electric Picnic music festival in the Republic of Ireland | BBC, UK
Kent lab finds illegal substances in 'majority' of CBD products
Tests on more than 60 CBD products found the majority contained illegal substances, a council has found | BBC, UK
'It's saved my life' - Folkestone mum-of-three tackles stigma around medical cannabis
A mother from Folkestone says using medical cannabis to treat her endometriosis has saved her life, and believes it could save others | ITV, UK
Tory peer could be refused entry to US after cannabis revelation in the Times
Daniel Finkelstein may fall foul of legal anomaly despite using drug in state where it was allowed, says lawyer | Guardian, UK
International Overdose Awareness Day 2022
In recognition of the International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) campaign, celebrated every year on 31 August, Release staff have come together to honour the memory of all those that we have lost to drug overdoses, and that do not have the conditions to seek the help they require | Release, UK
Warning over supersize laughing gas cannisters in UK - video
Laughing gas cannisters, one of the most widely used recreational drugs by young people in the UK, are rising in popularity and getting bigger. The small silver cannisters, also known as nos or nitrous oxide, holding around 8g (0.28oz) of the substance, are being swapped to a supersize versions, around 80 times bigger. Experts say that supersize ones are riskier because they can lead to people using higher quantities. Currently in the UK, being in possession of a larger cannister isn’t illegal or against the law. A government commissioned review is assessing whether further action is needed | BBC, UK
ASH brief for local authorities on youth vaping
The ASH briefing for local authorities on youth vaping is designed for public health officials and trading standards officers, but also contains useful information for councillors, schools, parents and retailers | ASH, UK
Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce Final Report - Evidence Paper
Since the Taskforce was established in 2019 we have reviewed and discussed a huge amount of evidence in developing our recommendations and reports prior to our final report Changing Lives. Much of this has been covered in our previously published reports and except where necessary we have not gone over the same ground in preparing this paper which covers the evidence used to specifically support the recommendations and action points made in Changing Lives | Scottish Drug Deaths Tasforce, UK
Magic mushrooms’ psilocybin may help heavy drinkers cut back
Positive results in first ‘rigorous’ trial investigating compound’s effect on alcohol use | Guardian, UK
The Great British Benzo’s Boom
On 26th July 2021, police officers found the body of a 40-year old man, named Richard Beare, inside a flat in Penzance, Cornwall. He had fallen unconscious in bed, with heroin and a handful of pills nearby. There were fatal levels of benzodiazepines and heroin in his body, toxicology reports later confirmed | Volteface, UK
Only 1 in 2 over-55s aware alcohol increases cancer risk
Leading cancer prevention and survival charity highlights low awareness of the links between alcohol and cancer in new poll | WCRF, UK