DS Daily - 15th September 2010 |
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Controls on Legal Highs
In securing the debate today, I wish to address the issue of so-called legal highs, which are new psychoactive synthetic substances [Parliament, UK]
Help for trafficked children caught in cannabis farms
Children are being trafficked into the UK to work in so-called "cannabis factories". There are now moves to treat those found during raids as victims rather than offenders [Children & Young People Now, UK]
Does drug policy matter? A comparative analysis
Different countries have tried different mixtures of penal, public health and other measures to limit the harms associated with the use of illicit drugs. This paper draws some lessons from these various attempts, with a specific focus on drug policy and its outcomes in the USA, Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal and England & Wales [Alex Stevens, University of Kent, UK]
Recognising the signs of foetal alcohol syndrome
Exposure to alcohol in the womb can have devastating physical and mental effects – and children in care often suffer disproportionately [Guardian, UK]
Women prisoners with personality disorder going 'under the radar' - report
The report Under the Radar, By Matt Fossey and Georgia Black, shows that imprisonment can exacerbate mental distress for women with a personality disorder diagnosis [Centre for Mental Health, UK]
Consultation on Proposed Changes to Guidance on Evaluating the Extent of Rough Sleeping - Summary of responses
We intend to adopt most of the proposed changes in the revised guidance to be issued on 14 September 2010, subject to a small number of modifications in response to issues raised during the consultation - PDF [Communities and Local Government, UK]
Local experts to map true scale of rough sleeping
Councils and local homelessness charities will use their local knowledge to more accurately assess the number of rough sleepers in their area, after the Housing Minister Grant Shapps today overhauled the way rough sleeping is monitored across the country [Communities and Local Government, UK]
Census collectors to give special attention to homeless
New measures are being introduced to ensure homeless people and rough sleepers are counted as part of the 2011 census [24dash, UK]
The views of 17,000 people using community mental health services
Some people who use community mental health services in England are still not getting the care and support that fully meets their needs, according to a survey published by the [Care Quality Commission, UK]
Fresh praise from Sir Liam Donaldson
Former chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has praised the country’s first regional office for tobacco control for its groundbreaking work in tackling smoking [Journal Live, UK]
Do tobacco display bans cut teen smoking?
The debate about whether cigarette advertising bans are effective is ongoing. But Sir Richard Thompson's claim that Ireland and Canada “have shown that it works” is not borne out by the data [Full Fact, UK]
Alcohol price study defended
Anne Ludbrook, professor of health economics at the University of Aberdeen, said she was "slightly concerned" that Holyrood's health and sport committee sometimes misunderstood the value of the modelling work that has been done on the issue [The Scotsman, UK]
Focus on units of alcohol not cutting intake by drinkers, says researcher
Research leader Dr Richard Cooke yesterday said the current system of measuring alcohol consumption was flawed as “people struggle to conceptualise what a unit is”. This means efforts to raise awareness become ineffective [Irish Times]
Former DEA heads unite against California plan to legalize marijuana
California's proposal to legalize marijuana has provoked every former director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to join in urging the White House to block the proposition if it is approved on the November ballot [CNN, USA]
Marijuana Ballot Measure in California Wins Support of Union, Officials Say
A ballot measure to make California the first state to legalize the sale and use of marijuana has won the support of one of the state’s most powerful union [New York Times, USA]
Nation's Largest Addiction Counselors' Association Announces Strategic Partnership With Hazelden
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and Hazelden, the national nonprofit focused on addiction treatment, prevention and recovery, announced today a new strategic partnership focused on improving the treatment of co-occurring disorders [NAADAC]
Drug injecting room set to become permanent
The New South Wales Government has announced plans to make the medically-supervised drug injecting centre at Kings Cross permanent [ABC News, Australia]
Injecting centre to be the only one
A drug injecting centre at Sydney's Kings Cross will remain the only one of its kind in NSW, even though authorities have declared its nine-year trial a success and made it a permanent facility, Premier Kristina Keneally says [SMH, Australia]
Alcohol Awareness Study 2010
Almost every year since 2002, Roy Morgan Research has asked a nationally representative sample of Australians their alcohol consumption habits, including the average number of standard drinks they drink each week and the greatest number of standard drinks they have drunk in one session in the last month [Salvation Army, Australia]
Alcohol industry say figures wrong in report on cost of harm from drinking
The liquor industry has accused the nation's peak alcohol body of publishing "unfounded" claims in its recent report on the cost of harm from drinking [The Australian]
Project Prevention - Worse than cure
Niamh Eastwood argues that, far from alleviating suffering and protecting women and children, the controversial programme is a fundamental attack on the rights of the most vulnerable. Also on Facebook [New Zealand Drug Foundation]