Daily news - 22nd January 2016 |
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UK news
New opiate and crack-cocaine users: characteristics and trends
This report uses available data to estimate the number of new users of opiates and, or crack-cocaine (OCUs) between 2005 and 2013 | Home Office, UK
Drug alerts and local drug information systems
PHE has published advice for local authorities about drug alerts and local drug information systems. The information helps LAs and their partners to assess intelligence received about new, potent, adulterated or contaminated drugs and, if appropriate, issue public health alerts. It suggests systems and approaches that local areas could adopt, adapt or use to inform their local systems | PHE, UK
Health Matters: Your alcohol treatment services toolkit
We hope that through the breadth of ‘Health Matters - Harmful drinking and alcohol dependence’ content, we have made the case for investing in effective alcohol treatment services, but a question may remain; what tools and resources are available to support professionals in making a local impact? | PHE, UK
Health Matters: Harmful drinking and alcohol dependence
Welcome to the third edition of PHE’s Health Matters, a resource for public health professionals, which brings together important facts, figures and evidence of effective interventions to tackle major public health problems | PHE, UK
Infected blood: reform of financial and other support
Seeks views on the reforms to the support for those affected by hepatitis C or HIV from historic NHS blood treatments | DoH, UK
Naloxone: the opioid overdose reversal drug
Information and video on recognising overdoses and administering Naloxone | CRi, UK
Experimental compound mimics antidepressant effects of ketamine in mice
Researchers hope CGP3466B will lead to the development of faster-acting antidepressants | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK
Three Brighton heroin deaths spark 'party drug' fears
Heroin-related deaths of three people in three months in Brighton have sparked concerns the substance is being used as a "party drug" | BBC, UK
Tragedy of student David Connell who died after taking 'legal highs to calm exam nerves
David Connell, 21, bought the antidepressant etizolam online to try and alleviate anxiety problems | Hull Daily Mail, UK
Hindley prisoners in hospital after 'taking legal high'
Three prisoners suspected to have taken so-called legal highs at one prison had to be resuscitated and taken to hospital, a report says | BBC, UK
Jan McLean: Police failings over drug swallow death
A series of police failings "may have impacted" on the death of a man who swallowed drugs after he was arrested, the police watchdog has found | BBC, UK
Drugs worth £2m seized on M1 in Bedfordshire
Drugs with an estimated street value of £2m were recovered from a van on the M1 in Bedfordshire, police said | BBC, UK
Internationl news
Chandler Jones episode shows NFL policy on marijuana makes no sense
NFL players are banned from taking medical marijuana – so instead they’re taking a harmful synthetic version. It could be the league’s next big headache | Guardian, UK
Paranoid men driving high with 20lb of marijuana call police on themselves
A 911 call was released of two self-proclaimed ‘dumbasses’ who were arrested in Idaho for drug trafficking last year after believing they were being followed | Guardian, UK
Police in Australian outback offer cash prizes to drivers found to be sober
Police in the northern Australian town of Katherine have offered four cash prizes worth £240 each to drivers who record a zero blood-alcohol level during random breath tests from Christmas to late January | Telegraph, UK
2016–18 strategy and work programme and 2016 annual work programme
The EMCDDA strategy and work programme for 2016–18 and the 2016 annual work programme is based on the EMCDDA’s vision to contribute to a more secure and a healthier Europe. A more proactive approach, combined with a greater emphasis to knowledge transfer, strategic analysis and threat assessment will be the main drivers to achieve this goal | EMCDDA, Portugal
One third of Irish smokers claiming to be unconcerned about being diagnosed with lung cancer
Smokers are putting their heads in the sand when it comes to contemplating the potential of developing lung cancer with one third of Irish adults claiming to be unconcerned about being diagnosed with the disease even when displaying a range of symptoms | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Smoking, drinking, texting: public service advertising can change bad habits
How influenced are you by public sector advertising? According to a study commissioned by media agency Mediavest from its sister company Ignite Research, 65 per cent of people admit to having changed their behaviour due to public sector advertising campaigns | Irish Times, Ireland
Designer drugs pose a severe public danger after hospitalisation of six
The hospitalisation of six people after allegedly taking 2C-B is a prime example of the potential dangers of consuming a so-called designer drug | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Four deaths linked to Cork party drug
The drug that left a teenager fighting for his life in Cork City has been identified as 25I-NBOMe — a potent hallucinogenic stimulant | Irish Examiner, Ireland
How the Epidemic of Drug Overdose Deaths Ripples Across America
Deaths from drug overdoses have jumped in nearly every county across the United States, driven largely by an explosion in addiction to prescription painkillers and heroin | NY Times, USA
A Brief History Of Medical Cannabis: From Ancient Anesthesia To The Modern Dispensary
For many decades in the U.S., marijuana has been painted as the psychedelic drug of hippies and stoners who lay around smoking dope to the detriment of their cognitive function. This image of marijuana use can certainly be attributed to one aspect of its culture, but Cannabis — a category of plants that include three species and seven sub-species — have been used in medicine for thousands of years | Medical Daily, USA
Addiction 2016: As Heroin Use Escalates, A New Drug To Reverse Overdoses Hits US Drugstores [VIDEO]
On the night Chris McClamroch overdosed on heroin, he and two friends were driving home from meeting a dealer in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky | IBTimes, USA
Connect drug policy to community values
While governments measure drug policies primarily based on their capacity to reduce the availability of illicit drugs, this ignores the ‘real world’ impact of drug policies on the health, security, development, and human rights of affected communities. That's why leading researchers have released an open letter asking national governments and UN agencies to commit to revising the indicators currently used to evaluate drug control policies | ICSDP, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
Could the Psychoactive Substances Bill trigger the end of drug prohibition?
The Psychoactive Substances Bill has passed its third reading in the Commons and now appears to be unstoppable. So where do we go from here? Can even a sliver of hope emerge from a Bill packed with so much anti-scientific rhetoric and so many ill-conceived aims? | Politics.co.uk, UK
Poppers users beware, a draconian and discriminatory law is on its way
You rarely get a new law that criminalises the lifestyle choices of gay men, but the legal highs bill is coming to the statute book | Guardian CIF, UK
You’re not hallucinating, MPs really did pass crazy bad drug law
It’s official – the UK ban on legal highs that will begin in April is going to be one of the stupidest, most dangerous and unscientific pieces of drugs legislation ever conceived | New Scientist, UK
Headlines about e-cigarettes don’t mean they’re ‘not safer than tobacco’
If your New Year’s resolution was to stop smoking, and you were looking for support to help you quit, then recent headlines suggesting e-cigarettes ‘aren’t any safer than tobacco’ might have raised an eyebrow or two | Cancer Research UK, UK
What do we know about drink drivers?
A recent response to a Freedom of Information request by the DVLA gives up-to-date figures on the number of people disqualified from driving after being convicted of a drink driving offence. The response was made on 5 November 2015 but only published on 8 January 2016 | Russell Webster, UK
Nick Clegg: Give doctors the right to prescribe cannabis for those in real pain
Thousands of Britons suffer from chronic conditions but face breaking the law to get treated. That must change | Evening Standard, UK
How the super rich do detoxes
Luxury hotel suites, doting staff and spa treatments on tap… mega-wealth can’t protect you against addiction but it sure does take the edge off getting clean. Charlotte Edwardes reports on the rise of five-star rehab | Evening Standard, UK
Norway's Largest HIV Organization Ignores UN Recommendations on Drug Decriminalization
In the face of clear recommendations from both UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) that drug use should be decriminalized, Norway’s largest HIV organization has refused advocating such a measure | Talking Drugs Blog, UK
Sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll – then hepatitis C treatment
In his youth, Andrew Loog Oldham epitomized the Swinging Sixties. The idiosyncratic manager discovered the Rolling Stones and produced some of their classic songs, including 19th Nervous Breakdown, Mother’s Little Helper, Lady Jane, Ruby Tuesday and Paint It Black. He formed Britain’s first independent record label, which recorded Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac, and for a time he worked with the Beatles | Globe and Mail, Canada