DS Daily - 15th December 2011

 

Responding to new psychoactive substances

This briefing paper describes some of the practical and legal obstacles facing Member States when responding to such new substances. It underlines the importance of national early-warning systems in detecting and identifying new substances as the first step towards assessing the risks of, and ultimately controlling, potentially dangerous new drugs. Download in English | EMCDDA

Designer drugs: Effect on brain chemistry 'like ecstasy'

Scientists have confirmed that two stimulant drugs banned in the UK appear similar to ecstasy in their immediate effects on the brain | BBC, UK

PQ - Drug Education

Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, is a member of the Labour Party front bench team with responsibility for children and families issues. She tabled the following question about drug education | Drug Education Forum, UK

Troubleshooters to be sent in to help problem families

David Cameron is to announce a £448m plan to identify and get help to the most troubled families in England | BBC, UK

Annual report of the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland for 2010

Obesity, poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption continue to be a cause of unacceptable levels of ill health which are inequitably distributed across society | Scottish Government, UK

Quality standard for service user experience in adult mental health

This quality standard outlines the level of service that people using NHS mental health services should expect to receive | NICE, UK

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Call to cut overcrowding burden on prisons

A report (Bromley Briefings) from the Prison Reform Trust shows that at the end of October, 82 of 130 prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded | Guardian, UK

Bromley Briefing

Our overcrowded jails increasingly act as an early port of call for the courts, expected to deter, to rehabilitate and to act as a dumping ground for all those failed by other services | Prison Reform Trust, UK

Alcohol misuse 'significantly higher' in armed forces

Calls for Ministry of Defence to look at why 13% of military have a drink problem compared to 6% in general population | Guardian, UK

Poor diet and alcohol blight nation's health

Scotland's chief medical officer has warned the country's obesity, poor diet and excessive drinking are continuing to cause unacceptable levels of ill health | The Herald, Scotland, UK

'Big society' project lacks clarity and leadership, say MPs

Civil service, charities and public confused by policy | Guardian, UK

Health Committee to continue its examination of alcohol marketing

The Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children will conclude its examination of the effects of alcohol marketing on young people with a number of meetings this week | Houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland

Cigarette and alcohol use at historic low among teens

But NIDA's 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey also shows continued high levels of abuse of alternate tobacco products, marijuana and prescription drugs | NIDA, USA

Clean Needles in New Jersey

The New Jersey State Assembly made a sensible, life-saving decision this month when it approved a bill that allows pharmacies to sell a limited number of syringes to individuals without prescriptions | IHT, USA

Prohibition in Real-Time

The House votes to criminalize dozens of new chemicals, putting politics before science | AlterNet

The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations

An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform | RAND, USA

People turned away from government funded specialist homelessness accommodation 2010-11

The data collected indicate that government-funded specialist homelessness agencies are operating to capacity and are unable to completely meet the demand for accommodation - Download | AIHW, Australia

HRC & Ministry of Health to halve NZ smoker rates by 2020

The HRC and the Ministry of Health have made a joint investment in an innovative programme of research which will tackle the issue of smoking and tobacco-related harm in New Zealand | Scoop, New Zealand

UN says Myanmar opium production rises again

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says opium production was up 5 percent in 2011 over 2010, from about 580 metric tons (640 tons) to about 610 metric tons (670 tons) | SF Gate, USA