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Weekly news - 23rd February 2024

 

In date order, Monday to Friday

Use and harms of xylazine, medetomidine and detomidine

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was commissioned to give advice on the appropriate classification and scheduling of xylazine under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This followed an ACMD self-commissioned review of its harms. This report reviews the evidence of use and the harms of xylazine in the UK and considers whether it should be controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Evidence of Illicit use in the UK of the related compounds medetomidine and detomidine was also sought, as this has been reported in other countries. The report provides recommendations for the classification and scheduling of xylazine, following a thorough review of the evidence available | ACMD, UK

Drug Alert – Contaminated Vapes

We are aware of vape liquids & pens containing very strong synthetic cannabinoids ‘spice’ which are likely being sold as THC vapes. These are causing unintended effects in those who use them | Cranstoun, UK

Call to reinstate funding to support children bereaved by alcoholism

Campaigners and MPs are urging the government to reinstate funding for services to support children of alcoholics amid an increase in the number of parental deaths linked to alcohol addiction | CYPNow, UK

The synthetic opioids claiming lives in the UK - audio

Deaths from synthetic opioids such as nitazenes and fentanyl are low in the UK but there are fears the problem could escalate and that figures don't show the true picture of the situation. David Aaronovitch explores how dangerous these drugs are, why the opioid crisis is so bad in the US, where they come from and why a shortage of heroin in the UK could mean drug cartels switch to supplying these often fatal alternatives | BBC Sounds, UK

Nitazenes and xylazine: what’s behind the rise of dangerous synthetic drugs? – podcast

Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in the UK. And she hears from toxicology and addiction specialist Dr Joseph D’Orazio about a tranquilliser called xylazine that has been showing up in alarming volumes in the US illegal drug supply and is now starting to appear in toxicology reports in the UK | Guardian, UK

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Scottish Government developed a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment to analyse the costs and benefits of the continuation and uprating of Minimum Unit Price (MUP) on businesses | Scottish Government, UK

First jailing over intention to supply nitrous oxide in Essex

A man has been jailed for four months for possession and intention to supply nitrous oxide in the first prosecution since it became an offence | BBC, UK

Daniel Spargo-Mabbs: Drugs forum launched to mark overdose death

A drugs education forum is being launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of a boy who overdosed on MDMA. Daniel Spargo-Mabbs's mother Fiona has campaigned for better education since the 16-year-old's death in 2014 | BBC, UK

Codeine linctus (codeine oral solutions): reclassification to prescription-only medicine

Advice for healthcare professionals on the reclassification of codeine linctus to a prescription-only medicine (POM), following a public consultation | MHRA, UK

Codeine cough syrup abuse prompts ban on UK sales

Cough syrups containing codeine linctus will no longer be sold in chemists in the UK because of concerns people are becoming addicted to the medicine | BBC, UK

National naloxone programme Scotland: annual

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone (THN) kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme in Scotland | PHS, UK

More drug than drink-driving arrests by some forces

An increasing number of people are getting behind the wheel after using cannabis and cocaine, according to one of Britain's top police officers. [See also 5 Questions On The Drug-Driving "Epidemic" - audio] | BBC, UK

Raising the alarm on synthetic opioids – why the UK should not be complacent

This week Forward put out a national alert to our staff on synthetic opiates. We didn’t do this lightly. We know a national alert might cause alarm, but it was necessary | Forward Trust, UK

How much do Europeans know about the link between alcohol use and cancer? Results from an online survey in 14 countries

[Open access] In the EU, which has the highest drinking levels worldwide, cancer is the primary cause of alcohol-attributable deaths. Existing studies show gaps in public knowledge, but there is lack of systematic appraisal. The report presents original data from a cross-sectional survey conducted within the framework of an online experimental study in 14 European countries, which among other things assessed baseline knowledge of the alcohol-NCD link, particularly cancer | BMC Public Health, UK

Drug trends in young people: what does it suggest about their changing lifestyles?

Drug trends have changed significantly among young people in the UK over the last few years. However, if you were to judge young people’s relationships with drugs through the lens of recent news and government press releases you would assume that they are caught up in turmoil as they’ve always apparently been. Disposable vape bans, nitrous oxide crackdowns, and endless police busts would seem to indicate that substance abuse is rampant among young people. But what does the data suggest? | Volteface, UK