DS Daily - 11th April 2012

 

Providing Drug and Alcohol treatment services through Payment by Results

Invitation for Drug and Alcohol treatment providers. Download draft agenda - download invitation The event will be held at Coin Street neighbourhood centre, 108 Stamford Street, South Bank, London | Department of Health, Home Office, via DrugScope, UK

Payment-by-results systems in local government – briefing

A briefing paper considered the potential benefits for local authorities of using payment-by-results systems, the risks involved, and how to mitigate risks - Download briefing (Audit Commission) | Social Policy Digest, UK

Cannabis worth £9m is seized in north west in police operation

Cannabis with an estimated street value of £9m has been seized across the North West of England in a month-long operation targetting cultivation sites | BBC, UK

Rural areas being increasingly used by drug dealers

Some of the biggest drugs hauls in our area have been discovered in rural locations | ITV, UK

Therapeutic sentencing for drug-related offenders

Entries in the new Effectiveness Bank bulletin show probation officers can be trained in risk-need-responsivity principles with consequent crime reductions, examine the evidence for drug courts, and show how to make them more effective | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Curbs planned on motorists who abuse prescription drugs

The curbs will also apply to drivers who take so-called “legal high” drugs, such as methoxetamine - popularly known as “mexxy” - and possibly over the counter remedies | Telegraph, UK

Khat Addiction and the Social Side Effects for Women

Is Khat really bad news or just another political football being kicked around our embattled minority communities? | Huffington Post, UK

Warning over online 'smart drugs' that can kill

An increase in the use of 'smart drugs' to boost intelligence, lose weight, improve mood and increase fitness has prompted experts to warn they often contain harmful banned substances that can cause serious side effects | Telegraph, UK

Alcohol Harm Reduction

Gerry Stimson outlines some of the social and cultural issues around alcohol consumption and compares the UK to other cultures | You Tube

Councils demand cash to fight binge drinking

Taxpayers will be left out of pocket if most of the funds go to the police, say town hall chiefs | Independent, UK

Gentlemen, you were conceived on a night like tonight

Budweiser advert banned for linking alcohol with sexual prowess | Daily Mail, UK

Homelessness charities demand missing £5m from Boris Johnson

Charities fear London mayor has diverted £5.3m of government funds pledged to rough sleepers to other unspecified purposes | Guardian, UK

Mental health treatment gets street smart

Charlie Alcock, psychologist and charity founder, says gangs should not be dismantled but adapted to do social good | Guardian, UK

Next cut is the deepest: a spending review preview

Whitehall is limbering up for the next spending review, due to be published before the end of 2013. It will shape a large part of the political debate at the coming general election, since it will set out government spending plans for the first half of the next parliament | IPPR, UK

Tim Bingham speaks with Patt Denning Ph.D

Patt Denning Ph.D is Director of Clinical Services & Training at Harm Reduction Therapy Center | INEF, Ireland

Aging Addicts Find Rufuge in Dutch Care Facility

An experimental home in the Netherlands provides them a safe place to live -- and do drugs. Many will likely stay there for the rest of their lives | Spiegel, Germany

Alcohol in the European Union

WHO releases updated report on data and policy for EU | Alcohol Policy UK

Cannabis-growing plan for Catalan town fails to reach vote threshold

Proposal by mayor of Rasquera to become centre of marijuana production gets only 56% backing; however, he does not resign | Guardian, UK

Working Together to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse

The good news is that Federal, State, and local health and safety authorities are working together in unprecedented ways to address this crisis | ONDCP, USA

L.A. moves the needle

The city's early action in AIDS/HIV prevention by providing a needle exchange program proved to be prescient. Now is no time to back off | LA Times, USA

Military Addresses Alcohol Use with Online Screening Tool

The anonymous online alcohol screening tool, provided by Military Pathways, is visited by many users during Alcohol Awareness Month in April and on National Alcohol Screening Day | DOD, USA

Guidelines for Debate

The aim of the series is to influence the formulation, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies through guidelines that foster the debate of ideas from a progressive approach - Espolea in Mexico | Youth Rise, UK

New drug gang wars blow Colombian city's revival apart

Hard-won peace process clears path for bloody challenge to Medellín's top cartel | Guardian, UK

Drug users say they're sick of being treated as criminals

Sydney's Kings Cross is estimated to be home to more than 1,000 drug users at any one time, and some of them have told The World Today they don't want to be targeted by police | ABC News, Australia

Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry

Summary of report with reference to AOD | VAADA, Australia

WRAD director says state needs to step up funding for treatment

The boss of a Warrnambool-based drug and alcohol agency says the state government’s upcoming budget must address shortfalls in treatment | Standard, Australia

Afghans store opium as hedge against uncertain future: U.N.

Opium is emerging as a new gold standard in Afghanistan, where traders and farmers are hoarding the drug as a source of ready cash t o hedge against the risk of a power vacuum when foreign troops leave, the country's U.N. drugs tsar said | Reuters