Daily news - 18th June 2015 |
UK news
How safe is your drug use?
New interactive website which provides guidelines for safer drug use | Global Drug Survey, UK
New youth justice strategy announced
Scotland’s new strategy to prevent children and young people from offending has been announced by Justice Secretary Michael Matheson as latest figures show the number of under 18s in custody has reduced by 70% | Scottish Government, UK
Latest additions to the Effectiveness Bank
Feeding back screening test results is a key tactic in brief alcohol interventions, but in real-world trials in New Zealand and Sweden it largely failed to curb student drinking. Screening and feedback depend on truthful answers - would pregnant women be that frank? Finally, beyond interventions targeting individuals is the more promising public health strategy of making cheap drink inescapably more expensive; who gains and who loses most? | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Social bias in the policing of illicit drug users in the uk and Australia: findings of a self-report study
This paper uses data from the Global Drug Survey to test if there is Social bias in the policing of illicit drug users in the uk and Australia | Academia.edu, UK
The potential effects of policy changes on drug markets in the UK and Australia: estimates from a survey of drug users
One of the barriers to drug policy analysis and reform is uncertainty as to the effects of possible policy changes | Academia.edu, UK
Drugs: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of (a) the conclusions of the Global Drug Survey 2015 and (b) progress made to restrict online sales of illegal drugs in 2014 | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Health Education
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps Public Health England is taking to increase awareness among young people of (a) emerging psychoactive substances and (b) other recreational drugs associated with nightlife | They work for you, UK
Marijuana legalisation: Is the UK falling out of love with cannabis?
According to a recent report from Europe's drug monitoring agency – the EMCDDA – the amount of Britons aged 15 to 34 using cannabis has almost halved in little more than a decade | IBTimes, UK
Stop cutting back on smoking cessation services, expert warns councils
Local authorities must stop stripping back NHS Stop Smoking services in GP practices, a leading expert on smoking cessation has warned | Pulse, UK
Blackpool Fulfilling Lives: Our Stories - video
Blackpool is one of 12 areas in England that has received Big Lottery Fund funding to support people with multiple needs | Addaction, UK
Liverpool news: Raheem Sterling 'caught using laughing gas' again
Reports emerges alleging that Sterling has been pictured again inhaling nitrous oxide, only months after the last similar furore | Telegraph, UK
Jan McLean's death in Guildford was drug-related
The death of man who collapsed while in police custody was drug-related, an inquest jury has concluded | BBC, UK
International news
Dozens of arrests ordered in 'Ndrangheta drugs raid
Police have ordered the arrest of 34 people in Italy and another four in Spain in an international drugs raid | BBC, UK
The alleged crystal meth kingpin who idolised Breaking Bad's Walter White
Police in Florida say they have broken up trafficking network headed by John Wayne Bell who tried to emulate character from award-winning TV show | Telegraph, UK
Ana Liffey drug project position paper on the provision of low threshold residential stabilisation service (LTRSS) in Ireland (PDF)
This paper sets out the position of ALDP with regard to Low Threshold Residential Stabilisation Services (LTRSS). Our hope is that it provides an accessible foundation for discussion and engagement with all stakeholders | Ana Liffey Drug Project, Ireland
Consumer survey on communication of alcohol associated risks
We invite you to complete this questionnaire which will enable us to map consumers’ opinions on the topic. Results will feed into RARHA work and will contribute to the discussion on how to communicate information about alcohol-related risks. This survey is carried out through the European Union Joint Action on Reducing Alcohol Related Harm (RARHA) bringing together expert organisations in public health from 30 European countries | EuroCare, Belgium
HIV and hepatitis B and C in Latvia
At the request of the Ministry of Health in Riga, a team of experts from European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the EMCDDA paid a technical visit to Latvia on 2–4 September 2014. The aim of the joint mission was to analyse the epidemiological situation, review current prevention and control efforts, and propose key actions for strengthening the response to HIV and hepatitis B and C | EMCDDA, Portugal
Afghan heroin now also being trafficked through Africa: new UNODC report
A significant portion of opiates originating in Afghanistan are transiting Africa before being trafficked onwards to Europe, North America and other consumer markets, UNODC noted in a new report published today. Afghanistan is the largest producer of opium in the world and the 'Balkan' route has traditionally been the primary route for trafficking heroin out of Afghanistan.The report, entitled 'Afghan Opiate Trafficking - the Southern Route', however, notes a changing trend: the 'southern route' - a collection of trafficking routes within which organized criminal groups smuggle heroin out of Afghanistan on southerly flows - are gaining ground in the supply of some European markets | UNODC, USA
Poaching, Drugs, and Murder in Costa Rica: Shell Game (Part 1)
Since sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica began in the 1950s, conservationists and poachers have peacefully shared the beach. But the murder of the environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval in 2013 shocked the eco-friendly country and brought attention to a violent overlap between conservationism and drug trafficking in Costa Rica's abundant national parks and untouched coastlines | VICE, USA
Poaching, Drugs, and Murder in Costa Rica: Shell Game (Part 2)
Since sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica began in the 1950s, conservationists and poachers have peacefully shared the beach. But the murder of the environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval in 2013 shocked the eco-friendly country and brought attention to a violent overlap between conservationism and drug trafficking in Costa Rica's abundant national parks and untouched coastlines | VICE, USA
Substance Abuse in Canada: The Effects of Cannabis Use during Adolescence
Compiled by well-known and respected experts in the field of cannabis research, the report provides an overview of the latest research on how cannabis affects youths’ brain and behaviour | CCSA, Canada
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2013–14
Around 119,000 clients were estimated to have received over 180,700 treatment episodes from 795 publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment agencies in 2013-14. Alcohol was the most common drug leading clients aged 30 and over to seek treatment, while cannabis was most common for clients aged 10–29. Over the 5 years from 2009–10, there has been an increase in the proportion of episodes where amphetamines were the principal drug on concern (from 7% to 17%) and an increase in smoking/inhaling as the method of administration for amphetamines. A majority of treatment episodes had a duration of three months or less, and counselling remains the most common treatment type | AIHW, Australia
National opioid pharmacotherapy statistics 2014
On a snapshot day in 2014, over 48,000 clients received pharmacotherapy treatment for their opioid dependence at 2,432 dosing points around Australia. As in previous year, methadone was the most common pharmacotherapy drug, with around two-thirds (67%) of clients treated with this drug. There were 2,319 prescribers of opioid pharmacotherapy drugs, an increase of 15% from 2013 | AIHW, Australia
How far should work drug testing go?
Does your boss have the right to sack you after you've tested positive for booze or drugs on the job? | Age, Australia
Doctor: Legalisation of pure MDMA should be considered
A Wellington emergency doctor says the legalisation of pure MDMA - the main ingredient in recreational drug ecstasy, which has euphoric effects - should be considered to protect users from other, more dangerous substances | New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol - some encouraging trends
Recent drinking trends, across the population and among young people in particular, have shown that we are drinking less frequently compared with a decade ago | PHE Blog, UK
The challenge of synthetic drugs in a free society
If new medicines weren’t subject to such stringent regulation, they wouldn’t be so expensive. We accept the extra cost as the price of ensuring the effectiveness and safety of the treatments we rely on, and of knowing something about their side-effects. There is, however, one class of drugs that by-passes the regulatory filter: illegal narcotics | Conservative Home, UK
What Happened In The House Of Lords About Cannabis?
Yesterday, Baroness Molly Meacher asked a question about cannabis in the House of Lords. A video of the eight minute debate is available here. A full transcript is here. | Peter Reynolds Blog, UK
The European Drug Report 2015
Earlier this month (4 June 2015) the EMCDDA published its annual European Drugs Report. My experience is that these reports get more useful every year. In addition to the opportunity to see how UK drug use both resembles and differs from patterns of use in different parts of the continent, the report also gives a very useful heads-up on trends in how countries respond to the issue of drugs | Russell Webster, UK
‘Quitting is suffering’: Hon Lik, inventor of the e-cigarette, on why he did it
Few people have heard of Hon Lik, which is a pity because he’s probably saved more lives already than anybody else I have met. Twelve years ago, he invented vaping — the idea of getting nicotine vapour from an electronic device rather than a miniature bonfire between your lips | Spectator, UK
Levy on tobacco industry would put UK’s public services at risk
Sarah Boseley’s article (Call for levy on tobacco industry, 10 June) fails to provide any balance, as indeed does the report that she comments on | Guardian letters, UK
Academics Come Out in Force Against Indonesia’s Drug Crackdown
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has used his short time in office to enforce a brutal war on drugs. In December 2014, just two months after being sworn in, Widodo declared a state of emergency on drugs and vowed to reject requests for clemency related to drug offenses. The president has acted with chilling efficacy—14 people have been executed for drug-related offenses since he made this pledge | OSF, UK
The best argument against marijuana legalization
What if Big Marijuana behaves like Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco? | Vox, USA