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Weekly news - 11th April 2025

In date order, Monday to Friday

Ketamine 'stealing futures of our city's children'

Councillors in the city agreed to draw up an action plan to raise better awareness of the extreme effects the drug can have. A letter will also be sent from the council to the Secretary of State for Health calling for ketamine to be reclassified a Class A drug | BBC, UK

DDN April 2025

Imagine this… that people without a home, struggling with addiction, and feeling disconnected are offered immediate and flexible work opportunities. And that this moves into tailored support plans for health and housing, leading to further progress towards stablility and self-sufficiency. Such an action plan might seem as far away as the moon for many people – but through exchanging ideas and joining forces, such initiatives are taking place in France, Spain and elsewhere (p6). So why not here?| DDN, UK

‘Knowing how it works for me’: a qualitative interview study of the use of personalised approaches to manage common challenges during Dry January

[Open access] Participation in temporary abstinence challenges such as Dry January is associated with benefits including enduring reductions in alcohol consumption. However, undertaking temporary abstinence requires people to negotiate certain challenges. Building on previous research, we examined how and why particular strategies were used to address challenges and how use developed following January. Given differences in reported outcomes, we also explored differences and similarities in strategy use between ‘official’ UK Dry January registrants and those attempting an ‘unofficial’ alcohol-free January | Addiction Research & Theory, UK

Tracking the world's major cocaine route to Europe - and why it's growing

"The Albanian mafia would call me and say: 'We want to send 500kg of drugs.' If you don't accept, they kill you." | BBC, UK

A wake-up call: our new research into alcohol harm across the drinking spectrum

Dr Richard Piper, Chief Executive of Alcohol Change UK, shares his thoughts on the recent report 'Alcohol Harm Across the Drinking Spectrum', which examined the drinking habits of more than 4,000 UK adults and the wide range of health harms associated with different levels of alcohol consumption | Alcohol Change UK, UK

Council to protect legally prescribed medical cannabis users for first time in Wales

Councillors overwhelmingly backed a motion to protect council tenants and employees who are legally prescribed cannabis for medical purposes | Wales Online, UK

Women should avoid all alcohol to reduce risk of breast cancer, charity says

World Cancer Research Fund goes further than UK and WHO advice on alcohol after review of evidence | Guardian, UK

Trends in alcohol-specific deaths in England, 2001–22: an observational study

[Open access] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries saw large increases in rates of alcohol-specific deaths, including England. This study aimed to examine whether there have been changes in the characteristics of those dying by specific cause of death, age, sex, and area-level deprivation | Lancet, UK

Drug alert – fake ketamine

Cranstoun are aware of multiple reports in recent days from people experiencing unusual and potentially dangerous effects after using what they thought was ketamine. There appear to be two batches in circulation in multiple parts of England, in a wide variety of different areas | DDN, UK