DS Daily - 21st July 2010 |
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Understanding illicit drug markets, supplyreduction efforts, and drug-related crime in the European Union
This document will be of interest to policymakers from the European Commission, as well as other governmental bodies which are concerned with measuring the effectiveness of their drug supply-reduction strategies [RAND]
Experts turn against war on drugs
Advocates of drug law reform had reason to celebrate today after public statements by senior figures in the medical and legal community suggested the argument was turning in their favour [Politics.co.uk]
Case for treatment
I support Iain Duncan Smith and the Centre for Social Justice in urging that the National Treatment Agency be replaced by an Addiction Recovery Board - Deirdre Boyd, Addiction Recovery Foundation [Letters - Guardian, UK]
Price of cocaine rockets as smuggling routes are closed
Officials at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said the availability and purity of the drug have been hit by a crackdown on smuggling routes through West Africa [Independent, UK]
Are your children exposed to drugs?
Research compiled by the Cambridgeshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) found 37 per cent of Year 10 pupils had been offered cannabis, 16 per cent the ecstasy ‘enhancer’ known as ‘poppers’ and 12 per cent offered cocaine [Cambridge News, UK]
Minister praises Edinburgh drug rehab centre
Fergus Ewing was on his second visit to the Leap programme, a government-funded pilot to help users kick their drug addictions [BBC, UK]
HIV in people who use drugs
Series tackling the myths surrounding HIV and people who use drugs, and subjects as diverse as women and drugs to the effect of amphetamines, alcohol, and human rights on the epidemic [The Lancet]
Drug use and opioid substitution treatment for prisoners
The findings from this overview indicate why treatment efforts for drug users in prison are often poorer than those available for drug users in the non-prison community and demonstrate how the implementation of OST programmes benefits not only prisoners but also prison staff and the community at large [Harm Reduction Journal]
Ecstasy tested for trauma therapy
It is too soon to state that MDMA can be used to treat trauma victims [NHS Choices, UK]
The big O2: Oxygen is proving a revolutionary therapy for addicts
At Castle Craig, Hyperbaric oxygen treatment or HBOT is used to treat addicts whose bodies have been subject to tissue damage from years of alcohol or drug misuse [Scotland on Sunday, UK]
First step to sustainable care and support system
The first step towards creating a sustainable care and support system for all adults, that puts individuals and their families at its heart, was unveiled today by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley [Department of Health, UK]
Charity Commission annual report
Thames Reach and Blenheim CDP are a great example of two charities taking a pragmatic approach to their work and seeing what can be gained from a collaborative approach [Charity Commission, UK]
AIP Latest Event Presentations
BME Workshop Peterborough 6th July 2010 [Alcohol Learning Centre, UK]
Doubts over binge drink pricing
An investigation for BBC Wales' Week In Week Out programme has raised questions about whether making booze more expensive would actually work [BBC, UK]
Real price of Scotland’s off-trade alcohol revealed by study
Two reports (available online at 9.30 am on 21 July) published by NHS Health Scotland show the extent of cheap alcohol sales in Scotland [NHS Health Scotland, UK]
Scotland’s shame: 100 extra pints per person
Scots drink the equivalent of 100 pints of beer a year more than those in other UK nations and the gap is widening, according to new research [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
Alcohol sold in off-sales at 'pocket money prices'
A report by NHS Health Scotland found that in so-called "off-sales" - alcohol bought in shops, supermarkets and off-licences - 16 per cent of alcohol was sold at less than 30p per unit. In addition, more than half (51 per cent) was sold below 40p per unit and 77 per cent below 50p [The Scotsman, UK]
Scots 'drink a quarter more alcohol' than other Brits
Scottish adults buy a quarter more alcohol than the rest of Britain, according to an NHS study [BBC, UK]
Revealed: More than half of young adults are 'extreme binge drinkers'
More than 50 per cent of young adults are 'extreme binge drinkers' with many women viewing it as normal to down more than two bottles of wine on a night out [Daily Mail, UK]
Drinking during pregnancy more dangerous for older women
The study will add to concern about the harmful effects of binge drinking on babies [Daily Mail, UK]
Government must tackle cut-price alcohol sales
The public health lobby has consistently argued for reduced per-capita consumption of alcohol, while the drinks industry spends millions each year in marketing and advertising trying to achieve the opposite effects [Irish Times]
Alcohol a factor in 33% of Irish road deaths, study finds
One in three deaths on Irish roads are alcohol related compared to an average of one in four throughout the European Union [Irish Examiner]
Russia Defends UN Drug Tsar Appointment
The Foreign Ministry on Monday defended the appointment of a Russian diplomat as the United Nations' top drug fighter and dismissed critics as participants of an anti-Russian conspiracy [Moscow Times, Russia]
Eastern European street kids facing 'HIV epidemic'
Growing numbers of vulnerable children across Eastern Europe and Central Asia are at risk of dying from AIDS, with widespread drug use and the sex trade contributing to an "underground HIV epidemic," UNICEF warned on Monday [CNN, USA]
New Consular Procedures Relating to Drug & Alcohol Use
Alcohol-related arrests or convictions may cause an applicant to be inadmissible to the U.S. [Reeves & Associates, USA]
Report Says U.S. Fails to Assess Drug Aid to Mexico
The State Department, which is overseeing the so-called Merida Initiative to combat drugs in the region, had failed to set specific targets to determine whether the money was having the desired effect of disrupting organized crime groups and reforming law enforcement agencies [New York Times, USA]
'Legal highs': the lowdown on a law enforcer's nightmare
Internet sellers of illicit substances and so-called "legal highs" are undercutting street drug dealers by mailing their wares direct to homes, circumventing drug controls. Australian Customs and Border protection is battling to stay abreast of the online trade [SMH, Australia]
Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in adults and adolescents
Recommendations for a public health approach (2010 revision) PDF [WHO]