DS Daily - 10th November 2011

Newborn babies in peril of abuse or neglect by 'toxic trio' parents

One in four babies at risk of abuse by being born into homes beset by domestic violence, mental health or drug problems | Guardian, UK

Fears for 18,000 Scots babies at risk of abuse

More than 18,400 babies in Scotland are at high risk of suffering abuse because they are born into families that have problems with drugs, mental health or addiction, say researchers | The Herald, Scotland, UK

How big a role do the media really have in drugs debate?

The intricacy of this opinion-forming process, and the difficulty of analysing how it works, must be conceded before we attribute our problems to newspaper content alone | London Evening Standard, UK

At last, a gang strategy that acknowledges the presence of girls

Sexually exploited, coerced to hold firearms and drugs, and threatened to provide alibis, gang-affected girls have been abused and perpetrated crimes under the radar. Until now | Guardian, UK

Switch-ing on Portsmouth’s new substance misuse service for Young People

Switch, Cranstoun's new young person specialist substance misuse service in Portsmouth, was officially launched on 3rd November 2011. Videos of speeches | Cranstoun, UK

Adjunctive counselling during brief and extended buprenorphine-naloxone treatment

In this randomised clinical trial conducted in the US, researchers sought to evaluate the efficacy of brief and extended buprenorphine hydrochloride–naloxone hydrochloride treatment, with different counselling intensities, for patients dependent on prescription opioids | National electronic Library for Medicines, UK

What it takes to implement alcohol screening and brief intervention

Applying a systematic and comprehensive framework to map the strategies trialled in attempts to implement screening and counselling for risky drinking primary care patients gives some clues to what it has taken to achieve a high screening rate | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Do cognitive enhancing drugs work?

What are cognitive enhancing drugs, who uses them and do they work? Newsnight's Susan Watts has been finding out | BBC, UK

Drink-Drive Rehabilitation courses to be modernised

Proposals to modernise the Drink-Drive Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) were announced today by the Driving Standards Agency | Driving Standards Agency, UK

School alcohol project results in healthier and safer pupils

Delivered annually to 16,000 pupils in schools across Belfast and the South Eastern area, SHAHRP was evaluated against groups of pupils who did not receive the project | Public Health Agency, Belfast, UK

Challenging the Tobacco Industry

Is there a role for industry de-normalisation to promote reductions in youth smoking in the UK? Phases One and Two Final Report | Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Traveller drug programme

National research exploring the experiences of Travellers using drug services - Guideline 15MB PDF | Drugs.ie, Ireland

76% of people treated for alcohol are jobless

The effects of the recession are biting hard, with a massive jump in unemployment among people seeking treatment for alcohol | Irish Examiner

Substance abuse biggest concern among first nations

An overwhelming number of aboriginal people polled in a national survey reported alcohol and drug abuse to be the biggest problem facing their community - well ahead of concerns about lack of adequate housing and unemployment | Vancouver Sun, Canada

National drug control strategy

Data Supplement 2011 | ONDCP, USA

Mexico: Widespread Rights Abuses in ‘War on Drugs’

Mexico’s military and police have committed widespread human rights violations in efforts to combat organized crime, virtually none of which are being adequately investigated, Human Rights Watch said in a report: “Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s ‘War on Drugs,’” | Human Rights Watch

Bolivia's Morales insists no return for US drug agency

Bolivian President Evo Morales has said that US anti-drug agents are not welcome back in his country, despite an agreement to restore diplomatic ties | BBC, UK

Mental health and substance use explained

The five booklets – Anxiety and Substance Use, Mood and Substance Use, Personality and Substance Use, Psychosis and Substance Use, and Trauma and Substance Use – are part of a series on mental health and substance use funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing | NDARC, Australia