Daily news - 10th June 2016 |
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UK news
Effectiveness Bank Old Gold collection
From the days of typewritten manuscripts and slide-rule calculations come seminal and sometimes unrepeatable studies which exposed the orthodoxy of their times to empirical trial | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Immediate effects of alcohol marketing communications and media portrayals on consumption and cognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies
[Open access] Viewing alcohol advertisements (but not alcohol portrayals) may increase immediate alcohol consumption by small amounts, equivalent to between 0.39 and 2.67 alcohol units for males and between 0.25 and 1.69 units for females. The generalizability of this finding beyond students and to other marketing channels remains to be established | BMC Public Health Journals, UK
The Empire of excess - BBC iPlayer
Dr. Sam Goodman of Bournemouth University explores the influence of the Empire on beer production in Britain and the effects of alcohol on the lives of ex-pats | BBC, UK
If antidepressants don’t work well, why are they so popular?
Another day, another study casting doubt on antidepressants. The latest says that for children and teenagers, nearly all these drugs don’t work. So why do prescriptions for antidepressants in the UK continue to climb? | New Scientist, UK
Mind and body partner information pack (PDF)
The Mind and Body programme is a multi-component risk reduction programme for young people who are vulnerable to risk taking behaviours. The focus is on exploring thoughts and actions in relation to self-harm but the programme also aims to provide participants with strategies to reduce other risk behaviours including drug and alcohol use, early and unprotected sex and offending | Addaction, UK
An independent drugs harm reduction website founded by UCL students is winning support from leading drug policy experts and campaigners
Pablo Lubroth, Ivan Ezquerra Romano, and Gabriel Hirschbaeck founded drugsand.me, an “educational website that teaches about the existing harm reduction methods for drug users.” | UCL, UK
Thinking about quitting weed or know someone who might be?
Some people use cannabis occasionally and do not experience any problems. Others smoke more than they want to and find it interferes with their life. Some people find it hard to quit even if they want to. For those who want to stop, we are carrying out research in London, UK to see if a new medication (based on the cannabis plant) can help. We will provide individual support and payment for your time | UCL, UK
Dumfries and Galloway alcohol support programme funding fears
A health expert has voiced concern at any possible impact of funding cuts on a programme for people with potentially harmful drinking patterns | BBC, UK
Aspire - New Beginnings Open Day 23 June
Free event. An open day celebrating recovery is planned at New Beginnings10am to 3.30pm on Thursday 23 June, for professionals, service users and families | Doncaster Drug & Alcohol Services, UK
Man on legal highs killed mother thinking she was a witch
A man who beat his mother to death in their County Londonderry family home thought she was a witch after taking a so-called legal high he bought online | BBC, UK
Sprint star Private Zone banned after trainer caught smoking marijuana
Private Zone, one of the leading dirt sprinters in the United States, has added a bizarre and unfortunate footnote to his career after he was banned from racing in New York on Friday because his trainer failed a drugs test | Guardian, UK
International news
EU member states losing €11.3bn a year to sale of illegal cigarettes
A new report says that some 53 billion illegal cigarettes were consumed in member states last year | Parliament magazine, UK
Smoking cannabis every day can distort brain activity, research suggests
'We found that this disruption of the reward system correlates with the number of problems, such as family issues, individuals have because of their marijuana use. Continued marijuana use despite these problems is an indicator of marijuana dependence' | Independent, UK
John Kasich legalizes Ohio medical marijuana
From 6 September, cannabis edibles, oils and vaporizers are approved - but recreational use and smoking the drug are still banned | Independent, UK
The activists helping illegal pot dealers turn into legit marijuana businessmen
California officials want to ensure that those once punished over harsh weed laws aren’t overrun by wealthy entrepreneurs once it’s legalized recreationally | Guardian, UK
The Secrets Inside 1960s Editions of the US Government's Private Drugs Newsletter
The history of the government's side of the war on drugs is often even more arcane and mysterious than that of the chemists and distributors operating underground. Dating to 1967 and 1968, the first four issues of Micro-Gram, the government's restricted internal drug memo, recently appeared on Erowid, the always-essential psychoactives library | VICE, UK
A new Minister, a new policy?
With new injection centres, the introduction of suboxone and the forthcoming new National Drugs Strategy, incoming Minister for Drugs Catherine Byrne has plenty on her plate, writes David Lynch | Medical Independent, Ireland
Black market cigarette trade increases in Ireland
In 2015, 16.5% of all cigarettes consumed here arrived through the black market | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Cigarette smoking among high school students dropped to the lowest levels since the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) began in 1991, but the use of e-cigarettes among students poses new challenges according to the 2015 survey results released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Center for Disease Control, USA
The kids are alright: US teens drop sex, drugs and smoking new reports shows
Sex, drugs and cigarettes aren’t in high demand among US teenagers these days, as fewer young people choose to engage in “risky behavior” compared to youth a decade or two ago | RT, USA
Heroin and opioid overdose deaths rise to record high in New York
Citing federal statistics, the report by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli shows in 2014 heroin-related overdoes deaths in New York hit a record 825, up by 159, or 24%, over 2013. And it's nearly 25 times higher than a decade ago | NY Daily News, USA
Alternatives to public injecting
In the midst of growing debate and public interest in supervised injection facilities, Harm Reduction Coalition has released a meeting summary of a consultation on alternatives to public injecting | Harm Reduction Coalition, USA
Marijuana and Cannabinoids: A Neuroscience Research Summit
Presentations from the March summit now online | NIDA, USA
Researchers study the use of e-cigarettes for illicit drugs
In a Department of Forensic Science lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, a contraption mechanically puffs on an e-cigarette loaded with methamphetamine, testing how much of the illegal drug is contained in the vapor cloud | Medical Xpress, USA
Federal haze
The District’s odd governance makes for even odder drug laws | Economist, USA
The FDA just made it easier to report defective e-cigarettes
The debate still rages over whether e-cigarettes are a healthier way to smoke, but in the eyes of the US Food and Drug Administration, vape pens can be classified alongside regular old tobacco products | The Verge, USA
How the Movie Udta Punjab Sparked a Debate About Drug Use in India
Central Board of Film Certification says film disparages Punjab | Wall Street Journal, USA
Boxing offers Indonesian drug users way out of addiction
Indonesia's national featherweight champion Jundullah Muhammad Fauzan is clear eyed and focused when squaring off against opponents, but it's outside the ring this young athlete fights his toughest battle | Medical Xpress, USA
Cocaine and methamphetamine related drug-induced deaths in Australia 2012
This bulletin provides interpretation of (1) final data on accidental drug-induced deaths in which methamphetamine and cocaine were mentioned in Australia in 2012, and (2) estimated data for 2013 and 2014 | NDARC, Australia
Launch sober, Norwegian-style - video
It was a public service announcement that went viral. Now there's a sequel | Age, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Gut instinct helped me save an alcoholic's life
I went to visit Rick on a whim – and found him seriously ill. Two years later he is sober and a passionate advocate for our charity | Guardian, UK
A very modern drink diary
Wearable alcohol biosensors | Russell Webster, UK
Banning Everything That Gets People High Is a Terrible Idea
Last month, selling almost any substance that gets people high became illegal in the United Kingdom. Lawmakers made exceptions for alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, traditional foods like spices, and existing prescription drugs, but the blanket ban on psychoactive substances is apparently intended to end the arms race between prohibitionists and black market chemists, who create new "legal highs" as soon as any specific substance is criminalized | VICE, UK
We're sowing 200 cannabis seeds next week
It’s happening. Right now, at a secret location in the UK under Home Office licence, final preparations are being made to plant the first crop of Finola cannabis for the production of low-THC cannabis oil (popularly known as CBD oil) | Clear Blog, UK
Teaching Points: Surveying United States’ History of Drugs and Alcohol
This past semester, I taught a course called Altered States: Drugs and Alcohol in America at the University at Albany, SUNY. It was my third version of the course. I had the unique opportunity to design two courses from scratch during my first adjunct gig at Utica ollege in 2010 and 2011 | Points: Blog of the alcohol and drugs history society, USA
Powerful opioid fentanyl poses serious risk of fatal overdose
The death of Prince and the NSW Coroner’s comments on 13 deaths among injecting drug users in a month, suspected to be related to heroin has sparked media interest in fentanyl. NDARC’s Director Michael Farrell spoke to several media outlets about the drug | NDARC Blog, Australia