DrugWise Daily |
17th March 2025 |
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UK news
PHS urges caution after increase in sudden overdoses in Scotland
Public Health Scotland (PHS) is urging caution, following reports of an increase in fatal and near fatal overdoses in people using heroin in recent weeks. Some overdoses have been characterised by sudden and rapid collapse, with many requiring multiple doses of naloxone to reverse the overdose. Rapid testing has identified a nitazene-type opioid in some heroin samples linked to these overdoses, with further testing underway to determine the specific type | PHS, UK
Raised concerns after a sudden increase in overdoses among people using heroin in Scotland
There is concern about clusters of drug related harm including both near-fatal overdoses and deaths. As a result, Scottish Drugs Forum have launched refreshed information and resources to raise awareness of the signs of overdose and how we can reduce risk | SDF, UK
‘Brain pacemakers’: implants to be tested to help alcohol and opioid addicts
Trial will determine whether electrical pulses can control and decrease yearnings | Guardian, UK
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Health Education
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help raise awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) local authorities | They work for you, UK
Hull’s EU Navigator: Guiding rough sleepers off the streets
Aldona Pawluszak joined ReNew Hull in February 2023. Through her role as EU Navigator, in just 10 months she has transformed the relationship between EU nationals experiencing homelessness, and the various services that can support people. The largest community she works with is Polish, using her native language – but as she also speaks Russian, Aldona extends her outreach to the city’s Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian rough sleepers, amongst others | Change Grow Live, UK
MOD awards £324k stop smoking contract
According to a contract award notice published by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), a £323,624 contract has been awarded to NCSCT Community Interest Company to provide smoking cessation training and expert tobacco control advice for the Armed Forces | UKDJ, UK
Weymouth: Police crackdown on ketamine use after increase
The force has begun a targeted operation on the distribution and use of the highly addictive Class B drug among young people in the town following a surge in incidents of youngsters taking the drug - which has led in some cases to medical emergencies | Dorset Echo, UK
Study title: Storytelling Promoting Alcohol Choice, Empowerment and Sharing (SPACES): Supporting mid-life women who would like to reduce their alcohol consumption - participant information sheet
Alcohol consumption among mid-life women is a growing concern in the UK, with one in five now drinking at levels that could increase future health harms. However, women’s drinking is a very under researched area and there is a lack of evidence based resources for women who would like to reduce their alcohol consumption. If you have reduced your alcohol intake over the last five years, we are interested in hearing your story. We are inviting women aged between 40 and 65, who currently reside in the UK to take part | Oxford Brookes University, UK
It’s one of London’s most famous bar scenes - the council wants alcohol-free ‘quiet nights’
Westminster Council has also proposed ‘sensory friendly’ nights with reduced noise and low lighting for neurodiverse people | Independent, UK
Cheltenham cracks down on cocaine use by bringing in ‘amnesty bins’ for punters
Large blue bins were placed outside the main entrances to the course in the hope race-goers dumped their stash before facing the embarrassment of being pulled aside | Metro, UK
Street Drugs Discussions: Deep dive into Mephedrone
Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:00 - 14:00 GMT. This webinar features a panel discussion discussing the rise and fall of Mephedrone in the UK | Drug Science, UK
The Victorians' obsession with cocaine: How discovery of 'wonder' drug's numbing effect in EYE operations triggered explosion in popularity - and even Sherlock Holmes was a user
When its anaesthetic properties were demonstrated in 1884, one US neurologist breathlessly hailed a discovery 'almost as wonderful and important' as electricity. In the UK, a 'new era' was announced by a senior doctor in the British Medical Association. Cocaine was, as one report put it, the 'magic drug' - a substance which could cure all manner of ills, from coughs and colds to toothache and 'nervous debility' | Mail Online, UK
Nine drug gang members sentenced
Nine members of a drug gang with an estimated turnover of between £2,500 and £4,000 per day, from selling heroin, cocaine and cannabis, have been sentenced | BBC, UK
International news
Key Terms and Concepts in Alcohol Use and Problems: A Critical Evaluation
[Open access] Alcohol use is linked to a wide and complex range of individual and societal harms. Decisions on whether and how to address alcohol-related harms are shaped by the way in which such problems are understood, particularly through the use of language and concepts in professional and lay discourse. However, all terms and concepts have a complex set of implications which vary by context. We take an author-led and empirically informed approach to critically evaluate common terms and concepts to describe alcohol use and related constructs | Substance Use, Research and Treatment, UK
Only two addiction counsellors but 100 on waiting list for services at Cork Prison
As of January this year, there are just 18 counsellors nationally, and 953 people on waiting lists to access addiction treatment, including 103 on waiting lists in Cork Prison with only two counsellors available | Echo Live, Ireland
Galway man helps treatment programme to tackle growing addiction crisis
A reformed addict from Galway city, who credits the Rutland Centre with equipping him with the tools to rebuild his life, has helped to launch the centre’s first fully funded Gambling & Gaming Specific Outpatient Programme | Connacht Tribune, Ireland
CND 68 Concludes: Six New Substances Controlled; Six Resolutions Adopted
The 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs concluded after five days of intensive discussions.The Commission acted on recommendations from the World Health Organization, deciding to place six substances under international control. These include four synthetic opioids – N-pyrrolidino protonitazene, N-pyrrolidino metonitazene, etonitazepipne, and N-desethyl isotonitazene – which have been linked to fatal overdoses. The Commission also placed hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a semi-synthetic cannabinoid with effects similar to THC that has been found in a variety of consumer products, under Schedule II of the 1971 Convention. Additionally, carisoprodol, a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant, widely misused in combination with opioids and benzodiazepines, was placed under Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention | UNODC, Austria
Psilocybin-assisted therapy for relapse prevention in alcohol use disorder: a phase 2 randomized clinical trial
[Open access] Despite the promising therapeutic effects of psilocybin, its efficacy in preventing relapse after withdrawal treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains unknown. This study aims to assess whether a single dose of psilocybin combined with brief psychotherapy could reduce relapse rates and alcohol use in AUD patients | eClinical Medicine, USA
Europol Bust Uncovers Ecuador-EU Drug Network
Massive drug bust uncovers Ecuador-Europe drug trafficking network, leading to seizure of 73 tonnes of drugs and 36 arrests | OOCRP, USA
Telephone Counseling and Messaging Guided by Mobile Profiling of Tobacco Users for Smoking Cessation
In this randomized clinical trial of 459 individuals who smoked daily, providing personalized nurse-led telephone counseling and instant messaging guided by mobile health profiling of EMA was associated with higher biochemically validated tobacco abstinence at 3 months compared with completing 7-day EMAs alone. The intervention group also had higher usage of smoking cessation aids compared with the control group | JAMA Network Open, USA
Exploring women’s intentions to seek medicinal cannabis prescriptions in New Zealand using the theory of planned behaviour
[Open access] Women are an emerging demographic for legal medicinal cannabis (MC) in New Zealand and overseas, yet their information sources and prescription pathways remain underexplored. This study examines how women learn about MC and the factors influencing their prescription decisions, including motivations tied to prior cannabis experience | DEPP, USA
Research highlights concerning rates of injecting-related injuries for drug users
New research from the University of Otago, Christchurch—Ōtakau Whakaihu Waka, Ōtautahi, has exposed the large number of health-related injuries suffered by people who inject drugs in Aotearoa New Zealand, exacerbated by the significant barriers many face in accessing health care | Medical Xpress, USA
Optimizing placement of public-access naloxone kits using geospatial analytics: a modelling study
More than 85 000 people die annually across North America from opioid poisoning; naloxone in the hands of the public is an effective intervention and saves lives. We compared the accessibility of different placement strategies for public-access naloxone kits | CMAJ, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
Creating Change in the Acute Healthcare Sector
As a respiratory physiotherapist , I have always prided myself on providing non-judgemental, empathetic and reassuring care to my patients when they are at their most vulnerable. It makes the patients less scared and more able to engage with the therapy I provide for them. It helps them to believe in themselves. It makes their recovery and progress quicker and their outcomes better | AntiStigma Network, UK
Taking pleasure seriously: Should alcohol research say more about fun? ‘No safe level’ advocates must take note
Nicholls and Hunt propose three arguments for why pleasure should be taken more seriously in alcohol research and policy debates [1]. We concur with each, but focus here on the pragmatic case; namely, that ignoring the experienced pleasures of drinking can undermine public health efforts towards reducing alcohol harm | Addiction commentary, UK
The reshaping of NHS national bodies has only just started. How will it finish?
Nine months into its term, the government has decided to radically reshape how the NHS is nationally led and managed (as part of a wider plan to reshape what the Prime Minister has called ‘an overcautious flabby state’) | Kings Fund blog, UK