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Weekly news - 7th March 2025 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Brits more than doubled ketamine intake in 2024 with 25 tonnes consumed
New figures from the Home Office show almost 25tonnes of the drug, also known as K or Special K, was used in 2024 – up from 10.6tonnes the year before | Metro, UK
Homeless Britons say cost of addiction is forcing them into modern slavery – so why are they not being recognised as victims?
Patrick is 32 years old and has been homeless on and off in Edinburgh since growing up in care. He speaks with a rasping quality due to the ravages of sleeping outdoors in cruel Scottish winters. Until recently, he was one of thousands of people in the UK trapped in exploitation, often referred to as modern slavery | Conversation, UK
Alcohol fuels more than half of city centre crimes
Councillors will be told that 1,005 violent crimes were recorded in the area between April 2023 and March 2024 | BBC, UK
DDN March 2025
We’re in it together to improve mental health. The idea that we may have become desensitised to mental health suffering – even if it’s because we’re overstretched and under intense pressure – is unpalatable (cover story, page 6). So what do we do with this knowledge that patients/clients are being stripped of dignity and hope of recovery, bounced from one crisis to the next – and being made homeless, criminalised, isolated, dehumanised? | DDN, UK
Alcohol-specific and Alcohol-related deaths: What does it all mean?
Drinking alcohol is a leading cause of premature and preventable deaths. Two main measures are used to estimate the number of deaths caused by alcohol consumption: alcohol-specific deaths and alcohol-related deaths | IAS, UK
Nine people ill after 'taking drugs' police say
A number of people fell ill after taking a substance "believed to be heroin", police said. The Metropolitan Police said it was so far aware of nine cases in the Camden area of north London | BBC, UK
NHS Scotland warning after contaminated heroin leading to 'sudden collapses'
Health professionals have said that the 'sudden collapse' overdoses have occurred immediately upon injection come amid similar cases across Scotland | Daily Record, UK
A qualitative study of benzodiazepine/z-drug and opioid co-use patterns and overdose risk
[Open access] Co-use of benzodiazepines and/or ‘z-drugs’ along with opioids is linked to the rise in drug related deaths (DRD) in the UK. Understanding patterns of co-use could inform harm reduction strategies for reducing DRDs. This study explored how people co-use, including dosages, timings, methods of administration, use of other substances and desired effects sought | Harm Reduction Journal, UK
High Returns: The economic benefits of UK cannabis legalisation
This report evaluates the economic impacts of legalising and regulating cannabis for adult non-medical use in the UK from a Treasury perspective of income and spending. The report focuses on government revenues (corporation and income tax, VAT, National Insurance, licensing fees, and, in the scenario of a state monopoly model, profits), savings across the criminal justice system (CJS) from reduced costs on enforcement, and the costs of administering a regulatory model | Transform, UK
Safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow used more than 1,000 times since opening
The Thistle - based in Glasgow's east end - allows users to consume drugs under supervision in a clean and hygienic environment | Sky News, 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 | PHS, UK
Estimated numbers of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy in Scotland
In the 12-month period ending 30 September 2024 (the end of 2024/25 Q2), Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) was prescribed to an estimated minimum of 29,126 people in Scotland. In the 12 months to the end of the previous financial year quarter (2024/25 Q1) an estimated minimum of 29,476 people were prescribed OST | PHS, UK
Drug and alcohol campaign roadshow to hit Glasgow and Edinburgh
A campaign to end the stigma surrounding deaths due to drugs and alcohol will take a roadshow to train stations in Glasgow and Edinburgh in April. See Beyond – See the Lives – Scotland, led by the University of Stirling, received national attention and widespread media coverage following its launch in May 2023. During the second phase of the campaign, researchers are running a series of roadshows in Scotland to further raise awareness among the public | University of Stirling, UK
Alcohol availability at Scottish Football Insights from the ‘Football and Alcohol Scoping Study (FASST)’ project (PDF)
This briefing is based on research funded by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and carried out by Dr Richard Purves and Mr. Jack Martin, Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling. This research was commissioned by the SFA and SPFL to explore the issues which would need to be considered in a pilot trialling the general sale of alcohol at Scottish football grounds | University of Stirling, UK
Glasgow drugs facility 'keen' to add inhalation room
The Scottish government says it will work with Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership to "explore" ways for the new room to work, after health experts involved with the Thistle said they were "keen" on the idea | BBC, UK
Problem drug use in Scotland follow-up: Glasgow’s Safer Drug Consumption Facility - Committees - UK Parliament
Transcript of the meeting with witnesses from the field, held on Wednesday 12 February 2025 | UK Parliament, UK
Pregabalin named most in NI drug-related deaths
Pregabalin was the drug which was most mentioned in drug-related deaths across Northern Ireland in 2023, according to official statistics. It was mentioned in 67 of 169 drug-related deaths | BBC, UK
More than 30 ill after taking fake heroin - Met
At least 33 people have been unwell after they took a substance they thought was heroin, the Met Police has said, adding that 17 have needed hospital care | BBC, UK
Boys treated in hospital after smoking illegal vape
Two schoolboys have been treated in hospital after inhaling an illegal vape laced with an unknown substance at a Midlothian school | BBC, UK
‘Why don’t we just build it in a square hole?’: developing a multi-component drug outreach service for young people aged 16–25 in England
[Open access] In England, the rise in young people/adults’ drug use coincides with a decline in specialist outreach and support services. Current substance use provision particularly neglects young adults. This paper traces the origins of the multi-component ‘1625 Outreach’ model and how it was developed and refined by utilizing community engagement and co-production approaches | DEPP, UK