DS Daily - 2nd November 2010 |
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INCB Reviews the Problem of Illicit Drug Markets and Corruption
An analysis of the inter-linkages between corruption and illicit drug markets is a highlight of the 99th session of the International Narcotics Control Board [UNODC]
Mixed message on drugs and alcohol?
It took the government some time to come up with a statement in response to the Lancet article on the relative harms from alcohol and illicit drugs. Reading it, one can see different departmental hands at work: the tensions that exist between Home Office and Department of Health seem to shout at me from between the lines - Mark's earlier blog [Mark Easton, BBC, UK]
Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis
The findings correlate poorly with present UK drug classification, which is not based simply on considerations of harm- Abstract [The Lancet, UK]
Why doesn't this dangerous man come clean and admit he wants to legalise drugs?
Because the article is published in The Lancet, a respected medical journal, and has been widely reported in near reverential terms elsewhere, some people may be tempted to take it seriously [Daily Mail, UK]
£6m of drugs seized from Lancashire's streets
Police made 4,176 seizures during 2009/10 - up nine per cent from the previous year’s figure of 3,816 [Lancashire Telegraph, UK]
Two patients at psychiatric unit die after suspected drug overdoses
The men, aged 25 and 36, were discovered by staff conducting routine observations in Liverpool [Guardian, UK]
Gwent magistrates get new powers in alcohol crackdown
From yesterday, magistrates in Gwent can impose the orders on offenders aged 16 and over who regularly commit crime or disorder while under the influence of alcohol [South Wales Argus, UK]
Workers are told to 'clock out' when nicotine calls
A front has been opened in the continuing struggle between smokers and their employers, with growing numbers of local authorities forcing their staff to "clock out" every time they take a cigarette break [Independent, UK]
Politicians ‘must end public link with drink’
With a major study suggesting that alcohol is causing more harm to society than heroin or crack cocaine, a leading addiction counsellor has called on politicians to end their public relationship with drink [Irish Examiner]
Mary Ann Sieghart: Restore sanity in the debate on drugs
Every year, 750,000 Americans are arrested for possessing small amounts of cannabis: a waste of time and money [Independent, UK]
NIDA Misses Mark on Naloxone for Opioid Overdose
While $1.15 million might be adequate to develop, acquire approval, and market a naloxone Autoinjector, using already proven technology (as in the EpiPen), it would be merely “seed money” at best for the sort of sophisticated automated device described in the proposal request above [Pain-Topics, USA]
Outspoken Activist’s Case Becomes Tangled in Secrets
The brief paints an unflattering picture of the United States attorney’s office in Kansas, which may have overreacted to Ms. Reynolds’s adamant public defense of two medical professionals, Stephen J. Schneider and his wife, Linda K. Schneider, who were indicted in 2007 for illegally distributing prescription painkillers to patients who overdosed on them [New York Times, USA]
Per capita alcohol consumption in Australia: will the real trend please step forward?
This new information is consistent with evidence of increasing alcohol-related harm and highlights the need for timely and accurate data on alcohol sales and harms across Australia [Medical Journal of Australia]
AER foundation welcomes release of treasury costings Into alcohol tax reform
The AER Foundation Chairman, Cheryl Bart, said: “The release of the background papers and Treasury costings is a positive step towards reigniting frank and open discussions about the merits of introducing a more equitable taxation system that would see alcohol taxation based on the volume of alcohol per serve" [AERF, Australia]
Nation's thirst for alcohol underestimated
Dr Tanya Chikritzhs said there was a view the nation's drinking rate had bobbled along flatly since the mid-1990s, though a revisit of historical data now showed this was not the case [The Age, Australia]
Russia to develop new methods of drug addiction treatment
Russia's state anti-narcotics committee (GAK) is developing new forms of treatment for drug addiction, following exposure of a number of cases where addicts were subjected to coercive treatment, the country's drug chief said on Monday [RIA Novosti, Russia]
UNODC to intensify support for new Kyrgyz drug control authority
Executive Director Yury Fedotov has given his full support to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in response to the growing threat of drug trafficking throughout Central Asia [UNODC]
Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon promotes drug dependence treatment over incarceration in Cambodia
During his visit, Mr. Ban held official talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen and His Excellency King Norodom Sihamoni. He also visited Cambodia's first methadone maintenance clinic, at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh [UNODC]