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Weekly news - 31st March 2023

In date order, Monday to Friday

Keir Starmer unveils mission to halve serious violent crime and raise confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels

There’s a family in my constituency – every night cannabis smoke creeps in from the street outside into their children’s bedroom – aged four and six. That’s not low level – it’s ruining their lives | Labour Party, UK

Vapes seized after medical incidents at Bolton high school

Police have seized 2,800 suspected illegal vapes across Bolton after three "medical incidents" at a local high school were linked to similar devices | BBC, UK

Patients given aripiprazole ‘should be told of gambling addiction risks’

Patients who are prescribed a common antipsychotic used to treat depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis and schizophrenia need to be told there is a risk they could develop a gambling addiction, an expert has warned | Guardian, UK

Government response: ACMD nitrous oxide review

Letter from Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire to the ACMD. Dear Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, I wish to thank the ACMD for its extensive, thoughtful, and helpful report. I particularly appreciate the flexibility which you have shown through the rapid work to finalise the report in light of concern about the prevalence of use of nitrous oxide... | Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, UK

Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use

A ban on laughing gas will not stop people using it and will drive it into criminal hands, say experts | BBC, UK

Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas overdose left woman unable to walk

A 25-year-old said taking too much laughing gas left her unable to walk and put her in hospital for six weeks | BBC, UK

Strip search of children in England and Wales – analysis by the Children’s Commissioner for England (PDF)

In this report, we are publishing never-previously-published data on strip searches conducted under stop and search powers by police forces in England and Wales between 2018 and mid-2022 | Children's Commissioner, UK

Global reviews of injecting drug use highlight inadequate coverage of interventions for people who use drugs

Evidence of an increase in injecting drug use (IDU) at a global level highlights the need for improved coverage of interventions to prevent and manage drug-related harms among people who inject drugs (PWID), according to two new reviews led by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney | NDARC, Australia

Number of people attending safe needle and syringe programmes falls by 27 per cent

The number of people who regularly attended needle and syringe programmes (NSP) in Wales in order to access safe equipment to inject drugs, reduced by more than a quarter in 2021-22, compared to 2019-20. The figures, revealed in Public Health Wales’ annual report of NSP activity, show a substantial change both in the numbers of individuals attending the service regularly, and also the profile of service users, following the lifting of restrictions during the pandemic | Public Health Wales, UK

Elena Whitham MSP - New Scottish Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy

Elena Whitham (née McLeod, born 9 July 1974) is a Scottish politician serving as Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy since March 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley since 2021 | Wikipedia, UK

Community Groups Supporting Family Recovery to Benefit from New Funding

The Scottish Government is announcing increased investment in the Family Recovery Initiative Fund (FRIF), which offers grants to community-based groups and organisations supporting families affected by alcohol and drugs. This further investment of £70,000 will grow the Fund to £100,000 for 2023/24 | SFAD, UK

No half measures: Do proposed restrictions on alcohol marketing go too far?

Back in 2017 a reader of The Psychologist sent a letter to the magazine’s editor that was published under the heading ‘Alcohol Problem’. Why, the reader – a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist – wanted to know, did a voucher for Naked Wines drop out of the latest issue of the magazine when there are “important ethical implications in advertising alcohol” as well as “clear and adverse medical, financial, psychological and judicial outcomes” involved in drinking it | Holyrood, UK