Daily news - 18th February 2015 |
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UK news
Policy paper: Ketamine: rescheduling and patient group directions
'Ketamine: rescheduling and patient group directions' provides further advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to the Home Secretary | ACMD, UK
Global State of Harm Reduction 2014
Harm Reduction International is pleased to announce the launch of the fourth edition of the Global State of Harm Reduction. View the data with our interactive Global State of Harm Reduction e-tool | Harm Reduction International, UK
All schools should have to provide PSHE and SRE
The Education Committee says Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in schools should be given statutory status, in a report published on Tuesday 17 February | Parliament.uk, UK
Public sector costs rise after starting addiction treatment in England
For a government which has favoured such treatments as routes to independence and reduced welfare spending, the main findings of this attempt to decide whether the public purse would gain by sending more opiate addicts to residential rehabilitation were in the wrong direction | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Family Drug and Alcohol Courts to be extended in England
Courts which help parents deal with drug or alcohol addiction so they can keep their children are to be opened in more areas of England | BBC, UK
Smokers lose passion for e-cigarettes as sales stall
Is the elecronic cigarette craze tailing off as manufacturers struggle to develop better products? | Telegraph, UK
Punishment is not the way to tackle obesity
Those who abuse substances very frequently have a background of neglect and abuse in childhood. Why did he take away services from the most vulnerable parents, even though this has been demonstrated to reduce significantly the risk of their children developing addiction and criminal behaviour? | Guardian, UK
Jon Snow gets the inside dope on skunk
Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has told how he got stoned on skunk – strictly for professional purposes of course – and ended up more terrified than he had ever been reporting from a war zone. Blog post - How I got stoned on skunk | Guardian, UK
Matthew Parris joins Jon Snow and Jennie Bond in TV 'skunk test'
Former Tory MP and columnist says he ‘felt stoned and stupid’ when filming Channel 4’s Drugs Live | Guardian, UK
esearchers from King's College London say there should be greater public awareness of the effects of using the stronger form of the drug | Sky News, UK
HMP Oakwood bullying and use of force highlighted in report
A prison where "drugs were easier to get than soap" continues to have problems with bullying, the use of force by staff and self harm, according to a new report | BBC, UK
E-cigarettes to be banned from Scotland hospital grounds
Patients and visitors will be banned from using electronic cigarettes in hospital grounds across Scotland within weeks | BBC, UK
Scottish Conservatives says football clubs want end to booze ban
The Scottish Conservatives have said an overwhelming majority of football clubs in Scotland want an end to the alcohol ban at matches | BBC, UK
Southport charity to pilot new drug awareness project at Hugh Baird College
Lifeline Sefton will tackle such problems as legal highs, increased drug purity and alcohol misuse | Southport Visitor, UK
International news
Australian police accused of having 'blood on their hands' for handing over drug smugglers to be executed in Indonesia
Australian authorities allegedly shared intelligence with Indonesian police | Independent, UK
Ex-Australian PMs make appeal over Bali Nine drug pair
All of Australia's living former prime ministers have made a united plea for Indonesia to spare the lives of two Australian men on death row | BBC, UK
Medical clinics promote ketamine injections as treatment for depression
Medical clinics are marketing experimental ketamine injections directly to the public as a treatment for severe depression | Age, Australia
As Bali nine duo wait on death row, US states look to bring back firing squad executions
With the Bali nine duo preparing to face death by firing squad in Indonesia in a matter of days, a shortage of lethal injection drugs has seen a push to bring back the firing squad in two American states gather pace | Age, Australia
Meth city
WA is in the grip of a methamphetamine epidemic. This series investigates the addiction, the family trauma, the crimes and the health consequences | West Australian, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Education Select Committee calls for PHSE to be made statutory
DrugScope welcomes the Education Select Committee’s recommendation to make Personal Health Social and Economic education a statutory part of the national curriculum | DrugScope Blog, UK
Life lessons: PSHE and SRE in schools
We welcome the publication of the Commons Education Select Committee report about the status of PSHE and SRE in schools | Mentor-ADEPIS, UK
I'm not anti-drugs, but smoking skunk made me completely lose my mind
I don’t hate marijuana for what happened to me, but more people should be aware that it isn't always benign and cheerful | Independent, UK
The Deadly Problem of Counterfeit Drugs
While there are many illustrations of the utter failure that is drug prohibition, counterfeit drugs produced and circulated "underground" are proving to be one very deadly example | Talking Drugs Blog, UK
Using anabolic steroids harms your health and social image
Performance enhancing or doping substances such as anabolic steroids and erythropoietin, a hormone that enhances the production of red blood cells and increases oxygen consumption in the body, are no longer confined to the realm of competitive sports and increasingly now used by the mainstream | Conversation, UK
Should you be worried about your student son or daughter's drinking?
Drinking alcohol is often seen as part and parcel of the university experience – but in some cases a party lifestyle may mask more serious alcohol abuse | Guardian, UK
Sydney has shown us the way on drugs with safe injecting facility
Last weekend the Sunday Herald Sun ran a major article headlined “Inner city zombie town” that said “a new push to set up a legal heroin shooting gallery in one of Melbourne’s most drug-affected suburbs dubbed ‘zombie town’ has angered traders and residents” | Herald Sun, Australia