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Weekly news - 17th November 2023

In date order, Monday to Friday

£267 million to boost local drug and alcohol treatment

Every local authority across England to be allocated additional funding to help combat drug and alcohol misuse. The funding, which will be rolled out in April 2024, will enable local authorities to: 1) recruit more specialised staff to work with people with drug and alcohol problems, 2)support more prison leavers into treatment and recovery services and 3) help reduce crime by increasing the number of people receiving structured drug and alcohol treatment, as well as improving the quality of treatment provided, which in turn helps make streets safer by getting people out of drug use addictions which is known to drive offending | Department of Health and Social Care and Neil O'Brien MP, UK

Major prevention inquiry turns to harms caused by alcohol, drugs, gambling and tobacco

MPs will consider harms, including addictive behaviours, in the next stage of their major inquiry into preventing ill-health. On the agenda, the effectiveness of regulation and messaging around harms caused by alcohol, drugs, gambling and smoking – factors that contribute to poor health | UK Parliament, UK

Warning a child could die due to illegal drugs in vapes

A head teacher is warning that illegal vaping could kill a child, after the collapse of a 12-year-old pupil who had used a vape containing spice - an illegal synthetic drug | BBC, UK

HSE Press release: Nitazenes detected in heroin samples related to Dublin Overdose cluster

It has been confirmed through analysis conducted by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) that a trace amount of a Nitazene type substance has been identified in a brown powder associated with a Dublin overdose. Ongoing analysis is being conducted on the sample to identify the exact composition of the substance. The HSE advises that there is EXTRA RISK at this time and strongly recommends people do not try new types of drugs or new batches being sold on the market | HSE, Ireland

Extra funding for drug and alcohol treatment: 2024 to 2025: Guidance

Information about drug strategy funding to local authorities to help them improve their drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems | OHID, UK

OHID and NHS England’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Workforce Transformation Programme (PDF)

In February 2019, Professor Dame Carol Black was commissioned by the then Home Secretary to undertake a two-part independent review of drugs, which should include an up-to-date analysis of the problems created by drugs in England and a set of recommended policy solutions. This second briefing is designed to update on programme progress and provide an overview of upcoming publications and projects | OHID, UK

Nearly 500 North East adults a year dying from cancers due to alcohol

Balance launches powerful new campaign supported by Cancer Research UK | Balance, UK

Nitrous Oxide: UK and Ireland DrugWatch Information Sheet

Updated Harm Reduction briefing and an updated briefing on Nitrous Oxide for Professionals | DrugWatch, UK

Drugs: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report of Session 2022–23

This report outlines in detail the Government response to the Home Affairs Select Committee report on Drugs that was published in August and which set out recommendations for actions on the topics of: The Legislative framework for drugs, The ten year drug stratgey, County lines, Health and Criminal Justice led Harm Reduction, and more. The Government’s response to each of the Committee’s recommendations is set out, including whether or not they are accepted | UK Parliament, UK

'Massive' increase in young Scots vaping, MSPs told

A "massive" increase in the number of young Scots vaping is being driven by products marketed directly at children, a Holyrood committee has heard | BBC, UK

How to regulate psychedelics

Psychedelic drugs have been an enduring source of fascination in science and popular culture. While attention in recent years has mostly focused on the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics, we look at how to shape policy and regulation for psychedelics outside the medical sphere | Transform, UK

New bill gives police more powers to take zero-tolerance approach to crime

The Criminal Justice Bill will give police additional powers to tackle knife crime, antisocial behaviour, theft and drugs... Officers will be given more powers to stamp out anti-social behaviour and crack down on drug-taking, with powers to test suspects for more drugs on arrest. There are also measures to help direct more drug users into treatment. [For more detailed information please see the Impact Assessment (PDF)] | Home Office, The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, and The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP, UK

Can drug consumption rooms reduce drug-related harm?

Even after the approval of a long-awaited pilot service allowing people to inject drugs under medical supervision, experts are still divided over the impact it will have on both drug users and communities | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK

Theories of practice can support understanding of health-related behaviours, but few studies use quantitative methods to understand time-trends in practices. This paper describes changes in the prevalence and performance of alcohol drinking practices in Great Britain between 2009 and 2019 | SSM Population Health, UK

Report highlights high rates of overdose and drug related deaths in young people in NI

A research report (PDF) has highlighted that young adults aged 25 – 34 account for the highest number of drug related deaths in Northern Ireland (NI), rising significantly in the past ten years from 13.4 (per 100,000 in 2011), to 27 (per 100,000 in 2021) | Queen's University Belfast, UK

Long-term painkiller use in under 25s may contribute to mental illness and substance misuse

The long-term use of painkillers from a young age may be linked to an increased risk of poor mental health later in life. This is according to research led by scientists at the University of Liverpool and St George’s, University of London which is published today in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe | University of Liverpool, UK

Filling in the gaps: a guide to supporting people experiencing co-occurring alcohol use and self-harm issues

Both drinking and self-harming are often coping mechanisms for mental distress, and both are often linked to trauma | Alcohol Change UK, UK

Moving through the phases of clinical trials in psilocybin research

The potential of psilocybin to treat a range of mental health conditions has gained increasing recognition. Central to the progress in this area is the partnership of King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust with life sciences company Compass Pathways | NIHR, UK

International burden of cancer deaths and years of life lost from cancer attributable to four major risk factors: a population-based study in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and United States

Our study examines the impact of alcohol consumption, excess body weight, human papillomavirus infection, and tobacco smoking on mortality from cancer and YLLs in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Disparities in the burden of YLLs between countries and between men and women largely reflect differences in risk factor exposure and cancer mortality in each population | Lancet, UK

New analysis highlights greater diversity of cannabis products, rising potency, and security risks posed by Europe's largest illicit drug market

Cannabis products are becoming increasingly potent and diverse, while collaboration between criminal groups is creating new security risks in Europe. These are among the conclusions of a new analysis — EU Drug Market: Cannabis — released today by the EMCDDA and Europol | EMCDDA, Portugal

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