Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Weekly news - 15th September 2023 |
 |
In date order, Monday to Friday
New recovery support services and lived experience initiatives guidance
OHID has published new Recovery support services and lived experience initiatives guidance. This guidance supports alcohol and drug treatment and recovery partnerships to understand the evidence for, value of and ways to develop lived experience initiatives and recovery support services. These initiatives and services help individuals and their families sustain recovery long term. It has been written in collaboration with Dr Ed Day, National Recovery Champion and the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) | OHID, UK
Marked fall in GP prescribing of opioids, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs
There has been an ongoing fall in the use of opioids, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in recent years, the NHS Business Services Authority said. A million fewer patients are prescribed a potentially addictive medicine in primary care compared with seven years ago, new NHS figures show. Figures from 2022/23 show 7.1 million patients prescribed a dependency forming medicine compared with 8.1 million in 2015/16 – a 12% drop | Pulse Today, UK
184,000 in UK to get preventable cancer diagnosis this year, study finds
Exclusive: Calls for crackdown on smoking, drinking and poor diet as study reveals £78bn cancer cost | Guardian, UK
Number of young Londoners smoking halves in decade amid rise in vaping
New figures reveal wide differences in smoking rates across London boroughs | Evening Standard, UK
Council formally support decriminalisation of drug use
The city is understood to be the first major UK local authority to announce it is in favour of a change | STV, UK
Statement on pilot safer drug consumption facility
The Lord Advocate has responded to a request for a focused statement of prosecution policy in relation to a pilot safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow: "On the basis of the information I have been provided, I would be prepared to publish a prosecution policy that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility..." | Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, UK
No prosecution plan for drug consumption rooms
Scotland's chief law officer has said it would not be in the public interest to prosecute users of drug consumption rooms for simple possession offences | BBC, UK
Ministers set to ban single-use vapes in UK over child addiction fears
Ministers are reportedly poised to ban single-use vapes, after a series of calls from councils, leading paediatricians and public waste campaigners to make selling the disposable devices illegal on health and environmental grounds | Guardian, UK
Police issue warning over dangerous heroin batch
Police have issued a warning over a “potentially dangerous” batch of heroin in East Sussex. A number of people have suffered medical episodes believed to be linked to the Class A drug, Sussex Police said | BBC, UK
Aid for the war on drugs
This report follows development aid being spent on narcotics control around the world. It calls on governments and donors to divest from punitive and prohibitionist drug control regimes which undermine their other health and human rights commitments, and invest in programmes which prioritise community, health and justice | HRI, UK
Nitrous oxide: MPs approve bill to ban laughing gas possession
MPs passed the bill by 404 votes to 36, and it will now go to the House of Lords, where opposition is unexpected | BBC, UK
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: April to June 2023
There were 600 suspected drug deaths during the first six months of 2023. This was 7% (38) higher than during the same period of 2022. After following a downward trend since early 2021, the rolling 12-month total number of suspected drug deaths has increased slightly in recent quarters | Scottish Government, UK
National naloxone programme Scotland - Quarterly monitoring bulletin
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland. Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community outlets, kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) | Public Health Scotland, UK
Ban on single-use vapes in UK may ‘flood market with illegal products’
Ministers said to be planning to legislate against the devices because of concerns about children’s health | Guardian, UK
Patients feel misled by pledge of cannabis on NHS
A high-profile government climbdown which legalised a type of cannabis medicine on the NHS five years ago misled patients, campaigners say | BBC, UK
With You Announces Appointment of New CEO
With You is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Phillips as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Simon will join With You from Macmillan Cancer Support, where most recently he has been Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for strategy and performance alongside cancer support operations | With You, UK
UK government will not block Scots drug room pilot
The UK government will not block plans for a drug consumption room pilot in Scotland, the Scottish secretary has confirmed. Alister Jack said Westminster would not intervene, but that there were no plans to devolve drugs laws to Holyrood | BBC, UK
England's only antidepressant withdrawal helpline to close
England's only NHS helpline for coming off antidepressants is to close, after the health service withdrew funding.In March, NHS England said local health services should support people struggling to come off these drugs. But the closure of the Bristol Tranquilliser Project will leave no nationwide services, its head says | BBC, UK
Cannabis: Prescription Pot Luck? - video
Since it was legalised five years ago hardly any patients in the UK have been prescribed medical cannabis. Used to treat a number of medical conditions, the Government has been accused of misleading the public over its availability on the NHS. Campaigners say an exception has been made for a few patients but others are being forcing to fund it themselves, go without or turn to the black market | BBC, UK
National Drugs Mission Funds Report 2021-2023
We are pleased to share the National Drugs Mission Funds Report and Executive Summary highlighting progress made by the groups funded under the Scottish Government’s National Drugs Mission funds. These funds support organisations which work with people affected by drug use across Scotland. In 2021, the Scottish Government contracted Corra Foundation to administer five funds aimed at stopping drug-related deaths in Scotland. Since then, over 200 projects have been granted funding and have commenced their work. These reports share the progress and impact made by funded organisations | Corra Foundation, UK