Daily news - 30th June 2014


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PHE responds to health inequalities facing gay, bisexual and MSM

PHE has today set out the challenge and vision for the health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) | PHE, UK

Glastonbury Festival 2014: Reveller dies in hospital after taking ketamine

A man has died after taking ketamine at Glastonbury Festival. The music fan was taken into hospital after taking the drug and police said he was in a critical condition on Thursday evening | Independent, UK

A puff of logic: correlation is not necessarily causation

That cannabis and schizophrenia are linked is widely accepted. Several studies suggest the drug can set off short-term psychotic episodes in those already suffering from the condition | Economist, UK

‘Diazepam’ drugs haul pair jailed

Two pals will be jailed after being caught with a huge haul of 6,000 illegal tablets | Greenock Telegraph, UK

First ever arrest for khat, Britain's newest illegal drug

A 20 year old man was arrested for possession of khat, Britain's latest illegal drug in the Channel Tunnel | Folkestone Herald, UK

English councils facing £5.8bn shortfall, LGA warns

The Local Government Association (LGA) has predicted a widening funding gap as the cost of elderly care takes up a growing share of council budgets | BBC, UK

Flash Eurobarometer 401 Young People and Drugs

European Commission Survey on European young people's opinions on drugs | European Commission, EU

Decriminalising drugs leaves the crooks with the cash. Legalise drugs instead

“I’m gonna smoke’a de ganja until I go blind,” sang Bob Marley. “You know I smoke’a de ganja all a de time.” Jamaicans who share his devotion to cannabis have long risked arrest. But this month the government said it intended to decriminalise possession of small amounts of the drug | Economist, UK

Oregonians Will Decide Whether to Legalize Marijuana This Year

Today the supporters of an Oregon initiative aimed at legalizing marijuana for recreational use submitted signatures from 145,710 voters—"more than enough," according to the campaign, to qualify the measure for the ballot this November | Reason.com | USA

GW Pharmaceuticals Closes U.S. Public Offering; Cannabis-Based Medicines Progress

Yesterday, Salisbury, UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals plc announced the closing of its public offering of 1.7 million American Depositary Shares on the NASDAQ Global Market. When taken together with the full exercise of options for another 255,000 ADSs by the underwriters at $86.83/ADS, the offering totaled $169.8 million | Forbes, USA

Fire and Earth Erowid: drug geeks at work

Next year will mark 20 years of Erowid.org providing deep, broad and comprehensive information about psychoactive substances, legal and illegal | Public Address: a community of blogs, New Zealand

West Africa needs to wake up to threat from drugs trade

West Africa has become a major drugs route but a new approach can stop it being scarred by the carnage elsewhere | Guardian, UK

Myanmar and Thailand burn $400m of seized drugs

Myanmar and Thailand incinerated some $400 million-worth of narcotics on Thursday to mark World Drugs Day, but the UN warned opium production was on the rise in the region | The News, Myanmar

Prince Harry meets recovering addicts in Sao Paulo's 'crackland'

Prince Harry has met recovering crack addicts in a notorious area of Sao Paulo where the authorities have begun a controversial plan to get them off drugs | Independent, UK

More than 80 vigilantes arrested in Mexico for battling drug cartels

More than 80 suspected vigilantes have been arrested in Mexico for battling drug cartels | Independent, UK

And finally...

Pablo Escobar’s hippos: A growing problem

A herd of hippopotamuses once owned by the late Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar has been taking over the countryside near his former ranch - and no-one quite knows what to do with them | BBC, UK