DS Daily - 25th October 2010 |
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Token Poll
The consultation on the 2010 drugs strategy has been nothing if not controversial, with many in the field complaining of lack of both time and detail. DDN casts an eye over some of the responses [Drink and Drugs News, UK]
East of England - former drug addicts celebrate recovery
Former drug addicts throughout the East of England will be celebrating freedom from addiction and the rebuilding of shattered lives in a week of events in prisons, treatment centres and community halls across the region [NTA, UK]
Speak up! Sounding off for policy’s sake
Editorial - Claire Brown (and other features) [Drink and Drugs News, UK]
Spending Review: Cuts could cost charities 'billions'
Charity Commission chairwoman Dame Suzi Leather said cutting funding to charities that were providing key public services would be short sighted [BBC, UK]
Prevent this Project from its odious task
Iam ashamed and embarrassed at the mealy-mouthed response of the British Medical Association's ethics committee to Project Prevention's offer to pay £200 to any substance-use-dependent person agreeing to sterilisation - Professor Martin Prince, Institute of Psychiatry [Letters - Guardian, UK]
Why I took £200 to be sterilised
The Mail identifies the first British drug addict to take a controversial charity's money to have a vasectomy [Daily Mail, UK]
An opportunity for improvement - children and parental substance use
Adfam has produced a policy response to discuss the impact parental drug and alcohol use has on children [Adfam, UK]
Concateno launches range of 'legal high' tests as mephedrone enquiries surge
Concateno announces new ‘legal high’ testing services as 1 in 7 mephedrone tests prove positive [Concateno]
Presentation on PSHE education in Schools
Margaret Jones Ofsted's HMI who leads on PSHE education came to the Drug Education Forum to talk about the state of drug education in school settings [Drug Education Forum, UK]
Speech on Government plans for prison reform
Policing and Criminal Justice Minister, Nick Herbert, delivered the annual Parmoor Lecture for the Howard League for Penal Reform [Ministry of Justice, UK]
Drugs use in Welsh prisons falls
Drug use in Welsh prisons has fallen by more than two-thirds, our research reveals. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show a huge decline in the number of people testing positive when randomly tested [WalesOnline, UK]
Integrated care for dual diagnosis finally proves its worth
This rare test of truly integrated substance use and mental health care for severely mentally ill patients found it cut subsequent psychiatric and legal crises. Even where full integration is not possible, the same principles could improve the work of mental health and addiction services. Print publication 2006 [Drug and Alcohol Findings]
Stripped down methadone better than leaving patients to wait
What can you do if patients have to wait for a methadone slot? This US study found that offering a bare-bones substitute prescribing service during the waiting period meant patients felt better, used drugs less and were more likely eventually to enter the fully-fledged programme. Print publication 2006 [Drug and Alcohol Findings]
Right time, right place
Alcohol-harm reduction strategies with children and young people [Alcohol Concern, UK]
Tackle children's alcohol misuse 'early', urges report
The charity Alcohol Concern has issued a stark warning about the number of children drinking at dangerous levels [BBC, UK]
Alcohol Concern calls for end of 'pocket money' alcohol
Alcohol Concern Cymru said shop deals mean the weekly recommended alcohol limit for a man can be bought for less than £4 and a woman's for under £3 [BBC, UK]
Welsh teens get a taste for ‘ludicrously’ cheap alcohol
Wales has one of the most serious underage drinking problems in the UK, a leading charity said [WalesOnline, UK]
The Homeless Games
Inexcess is proud to broadcast The Homeless Games, an “Olympic Style” games for people who are, or have experienced homelessness [Inexcess TV, UK]
An open letter to Vince Cable
Now is the time to choose between the smoking lobby and the British people [New Statesman, UK]
€11m being 'wasted' on urine tests for addicts
Nearly €11m is being wasted by the HSE conducting urinalysis tests for drug addicts that doctors and addiction experts say serve no purpose [Independent, Ireland]
Methadone can cut crime levels and give life back to heroin addicts
Reply to an article ... To compare substituting methadone for heroin with exchanging two forms of alcohol is an insult to this newspapers reader’s intelligence [Irish Medical Times]
UN expert calls for a fundamental shift in global drug control policy
At a press conference in New York on Tuesday 26 October, at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, one of the UN’s key human rights experts will call for a fundamental rethink of international drug policy [TDPF, UK]
Buprenorphine Implants for Treatment of Opioid Dependence
Among persons with opioid dependence, the use of buprenorphine implants compared with placebo resulted in less opioid use over 16 weeks as assessed by urine samples [JAMA, USA]
‘Interested Parties’ Await Outcome of a Marijuana Measure
A week before Californians vote on Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana for recreational use, businesses are preparing to enter what is expected to be a robust retail market if the measure passes [New York Times, USA]
Drug Testing Poses Quandary for Employers
What companies consider an effort to maintain a safe work environment is drawing complaints from employees who cite privacy concerns and contend that they should not be fired for taking legal medications, sometimes for injuries sustained on the job [New York Times, USA]
The war next door
Horrific brutality of Mexican drug cartels 'makes al Qaeda look tame' [Daily Mail, UK]
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Growing in Iraqi Forces
A growing number of Iraqi security force members are becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol, which has led to concerns about a significant addiction problem among the country’s armed services [New York Times, USA]
Lifesavers
A position paper on access to Naloxone Hydrochloride for potential opioid overdose witnesses [Anex , Australia]
Australia lagging in overdose treatment
Chicago Recovery Alliance (CRA) medical director Dr Sarz Maxwell has told a drugs conference in Melbourne that use of Naloxone, an emergency intervention treatment, should be made more accessible to heroin and other opiate drug users and their families in Australia [The Age, Australia]
Call for public access to overdose treatment
Groups dealing with narcotics users and their families are pushing for greater public access to a drug that can reverse overdoses [ABC News, Australia]
Market forces challenge drug policies
The policy challenge is that young Australians simply do not share the attitude of older generations to such drugs and regard them as a cheap and readily available alternative to alcohol [The Age, Australia]
Debate rages over health effects of marijuana
Although marijuana has been in use for years, voters will head to the polls with only a hazy understanding of its health effects [VAADA, Australia]
Alcohol price spike fuels switch to ecstasy
A new phenomenon of young people ''switching'' to the increasingly cheap party drug ecstasy has been fuelled by rising alcohol prices, according to drug researchers, nightclub owners and the people themselves - the nightclubber [The Age, Australia]
Should the adult blood-alcohol limit drop to 50mg per 100ml?
A new poll out today shows the majority of Kiwis believe they should not drive after consuming more than two standard alcoholic drinks [New Zealand Herald]