DS Daily - 21st January 2010

Call for immediate public health plan to address anthrax contamination of heroin

The letter to to Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon from Sebastian Saville, Executive Director, Release and co – signatories [Release, UK]

Anthrax death from heroin reported in Germany

Following the deaths of seven heroin users and infections of 14 by anthrax in Scotland, fears have begin to rise in Germany following a fatal case of anthrax in a 24-year-old male injecting drug user [BioPrepWatch]

Take-homenaloxone

Welcome to take-homenaloxone.com. This is a website run by independent academics and healthcare professionals aimed at raising the awareness and profile of the use of take-home naloxone as a mechanism for reducing drug-related death, and to provide a forum for discussing innovation, training and practice developments [Take-homenaloxone]

Confessions of a middle-class pill popper

The deaths of Michael Jackson and Brittany Murphy have highlighted the dangers of prescription drugs, and at least 1.5million people are thought to be addicted in the UK [Daily Mail, UK]

Wales Peer Mentor Service - Newport and Monmouthshire

CRI has been commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver a Peer Mentor Service in Newport and Monmouthshire, funded by the European Social Fund. The service will train peer mentors to provide support to people who are being treated in the community for drug and alcohol issues [CRI, UK]

Truth about cocaine revealed

Government drugs campaigns reveals downside of cocaine use at event in Glasgow ... Know the Score was launched to encourage parents to discuss the realities of drugs and now offers help and advice to both groups and professionals [STV, UK]

Sniffer dogs hired out to parents to check for drugs

A company is hiring out sniffer to dogs to parents worried their children are using drugs. Opinion is divided over how useful the service is [BBC, UK]

Safe. Sensible. Social.

Selling alcohol responsibly: government response to the consultation on the code of practice for alcohol retailers - Report - Overview [Home Office, UK]

Local solutions already exist in fight against irresponsible drinking

Moves to curb irresponsible drinking have led to a call for a 'revisit of existing solutions', particularly in preventing sales of alcohol to young people [NDS, UK]

Protecting Young People From Alcohol Related Harm

LBRO Case Study Evaluation – Apr 2009 [Local Better Regulation Office, UK]

Binge drinking strips women of their dignity, says female police chief

Julia Hodson spoke out after spending Saturday night in Nottingham city centre touring streets and visiting bars and a hospital's A&E unit [Daily Mail, UK]

Mandatory alcohol code must be stronger says RCN

Minimum pricing and tighter regulations on labelling, sales and advertising should also be introduced within the mandatory code [RCN, UK]

Women who drink too much should not have IVF: experts

In advice to clinicians on lifestyle factors and fertility treatment, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology said: "Fertility doctors should refuse treatment to women used to more than moderate drinking and who are not willing or able to minimise their alcohol consumption." [Telegraph, UK]

Government launches one-stop shop for data

A major new website has been launched to the public which gives anyone who wants to use it unprecedented and free access to government data in one place [Cabinet Office, UK]

Insite, foresight, hindsight

The B.C. Court of Appeal’s ruling on Vancouver’s Insite shooting gallery for heroin addicts makes for interesting reading. We are all so busy arguing over the merits of harm reduction, and the wisdom of the Harper government’s attempt to shut down the clinic, that it is easy to forget the big constitutional issue that was the chief concern of the court here [Macleans, Canada]

House committee votes down marijuana bills

Efforts to reform Washington state's marijuana laws were voted down by a House committee Wednesday [Seattle Times, USA]

Introducing ONDCP Update

The newsletter of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will be published monthly by ONDCP's Office of Public Affairs and Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison, a new component dedicated to building partnerships with state, local and tribal government leaders, law enforcement officials, substance abuse professionals, and state and national organizations [ONDCP, USA]