DS Daily - 5th March 2010 |
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Drug-misusing offenders
Results from the 2008 cohort for England and Wales [Home office, UK]
New figures show drug treatment value for money
The cost of providing effective drug treatment to individual addicts has fallen by one-fifth over the last five years, according to an analysis by the National Audit Office [NTA, UK]
NAO drugs report - No framework to evaluate value for money. Again.
To add insult to injury, this report only covers specific initiatives to “tackle problem drug use”. It hasn’t even looked at policing costs, (which, according to the value for money study that Transform tore out of the clutches of the Home Office under FOI, constitutes the far larger expenditure) – £2 billion a year [TDPF, UK]
Powder cocaine: how the treatment system is responding to a growing problem
Paul Hayes, Chief Executive, spoke to Channel Four and explained that “cocaine is becoming normalised. Significant numbers of people see drugs as an adjunct to their Saturday night entertainment, alongside their use of alcohol.” [NTA, UK]
Cocaine in the UK
What the Report does not do is to get to grips with the fundamental issue: cocaine and other drugs are a by-product of globalised consumerism, which works by providing people with goods and services that they want to buy [Release, UK]
This cocaine report gets it so wrong
The new parliamentary report on the cocaine trade lacks evidence and contradicts current expert thinking on the drug [Comment, Guardian, UK]
Mephedrone in Guernsey
Guerney in considering classifying mephadrone as a class A drug. Audio from 9.03 minutes to 12.40 minutes [Radio5 Live, BBC, UK]
Guernsey could outlaw 'legal high' mephedrone
Authorities in the Channel Island of Guernsey have told BBC News they are considering classifying the synthetic stimulant mephedrone as a class A drug [BBC, UK]
Government 'may well ban' mephedrone
Dr Les King, former head of the Drugs Intelligence Unit at the Forensic Science Service, debates whether it should be made illegal and how it should be classed. Audio [Today Programme, BBC, UK]
IDPC Drug Policy Guide
This is the first edition of the IDPC Drug Policy Guide aimed at national government policy makers PDF [International Drug Policy Consortium]
Drugs control is leading to human rights abuses says study
Worldwide efforts to prohibit drugs are causing human rights abuse, increased violence and restricted democracy, argues a new study from the [London School of Economics and Political Science, UK]
Alcohol in Transport: Issues and Interventions
Looking at both the relationship between alcohol misuse and potentially resulting problems that may occur in the rail environment, but also assessing how the rail industry can overcome such issues effectively and without unduly impacting on those who do drink but do not cause problems [Centre for Public Health, UK]
Doubts over savings made by closing alcoholics’ unit
Highland and Islands MSP Dave Thompson also fears the cost of keeping drunks in cells will soar as a result of the closure of the eight-bed designated place unit at Beechwood House in Inverness [Press & Journal, UK]
EU court blow for SNP’s minimum price for alcohol
The court in The Hague ruled that a similar policy to set a minimum price for tobacco in Ireland, France and Austria is illegal because it breached competition law [Times, UK]
Head shop ‘legal highs’ to be banned from June
Alternatives to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy will no longer be sold in head shops from June onwards, the Government confirmed [Irish Examiner]
Opposition fears loopholes for 'legal highs'
The Government's decision to ban several substances sold in head shops does not go far enough and will fail to halt the trade in so-called “legal highs”, Opposition parties have warned [Irish Times]
K2 ‘fake weed’ is dangerous and growing in popularity among teens
There is a new and dangerous “fake weed” drug known as K2 that is becoming popular among America’s teenagers [Examiner, USA]
Treatment Admissions Reporting Abuse of Both Alcohol and Drugs: 1997-2007
Between 1997 and 2007, the proportion of substance abuse treatment admissions reporting co-abuse of alcohol and drugs declined from 45.3 to 39.4 percent [SAMHSA, USA]
NGOs to have a strong presence at the Fifty-Third Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Over 160 representatives from some 55 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world will participate in the Fifty-third session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which will take place in Vienna on 8 - 12 March 2010 [UNODC]
World illicit drug user total: 170 - 250 million
Production and use patterns break down as follows: [Democratic Leadership Council, USA]