DS Daily - 24th February 2011 |
 |
How the British fell out of love with drugs
The number of young people taking drugs has fallen by 30% in 15 years. Is the drop down to quality, bad celebrity PR or price? [Guardian, UK]
How did this girl's mother end up in jail for trying to save her from drugs?
This is lunacy. Tabitha wrote a six-page letter to the judge pleading for her mother not to be jailed - but she ignored it [Daily Mail, UK]
Police raid Coventry's 'biggest drugs factory'
Cannabis with a street value of up to £2m has been seized after a raid on what police believe to be the largest drugs factory ever found in Coventry [BBC, UK]
Should “legal highs” be regulated as medicinal products?
In the United Kingdom legislators are using the term “legal highs” as shorthand for emerging psychoactive substances that are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 but that in their opinion cause similar harm to those that are [BMJ, UK]
The hospital taking direct action on treating homeless people
Homeless people admitted to A&E are often twice as sick as the general public and cost eight times as much to treat. Has one hospital found the solution? [Guardian, UK]
Stigma, still with us, but tolerated no more
Recently the UKDPC published a report on the malignant effect of stigma on those with addiction problems. The editor of the Irish Independent would do well to read it [Binge Inking]
Rehabilitation works
Ensuring Payment by Results cuts reoffending [CentreForum, UK]
Hooked podcast
We again talk to Andrew Preston this time about his company Exchange Supplies who produce some of the best and most innovative equipment and resources there are for drug services [Injecting Advice, UK]
NHS cuts are just the tip of the iceberg says mental health charity
As new figures reveal over 6,000 mental health jobs are to be axed from the NHS, charity Rethink Mental Illness says this is just the tip of the iceberg [Rethink, UK]
Making a difference with data
This project has been set up to spread understanding about open data and transparency in local public services [Making a difference with data, UK]
Drinks industry and sports sponsorship
Taking a leaf out of Big Tobacco’s book? [Beyond the silo]
Alcohol harm is causing a nasty headache
Dr Foster Intelligence’s exclusive analysis for HSJ shows that 7 per cent of hospital admissions are related to alcohol [HSJ, UK]
Union leaders warn cuts will see 50,000 NHS jobs lost
More than 50,000 posts are to be shed across the NHS, including doctors, nurses and midwives, as managers hunt for efficiency savings, trade union leaders warned [Independent, UK]
Multiple drug use on the increase
Multiple drug use is on the rise in the West of Ireland, according to the Co-ordinator of the Western Drug Task Force [Galway Independent, Ireland]
HSE wants changes to addiction services
The HSE is proposing a number of changes to the addiction services in the Dublin Mid-Leinster and Dublin South West regions under the transformation agenda of the Public Service Agreement [Irish Medical Times]
White House moves to fund needle exchanges as drug treatment
The Obama administration has designated intravenous needle exchanges as a drug treatment program, allowing federal money set aside to treat addictions to be used to distribute syringes to narcotics users [Washington Examiner, USA]
Addiction: Pulling at the Neural Threads of Social Behaviors
Addiction coopts the brain's neuronal circuits necessary for insight, reward, motivation, and social behaviors - Nora D. Volkow [Neuron]
Drug addiction hijacks several areas of the brain
And almost all of one's life [LA Times, USA]
The Conservative Case for Needle Exchange
While this is a controversial issue, and many people believe that needle exchange programs simply facilitate or condone illegal drug use, there is a powerful conservative argument for why it is nonetheless good public policy [Texas Tribune, USA]
Sydney's grog-fuelled map of shame
Sydney's most violent hotspots have been revealed in a new report, as police warn the city is running the risk of becoming "the booze-bashing capital of the world" [The Age, Australia]
Waikato DHB Has Its Say On Alcohol Issues
Waikato District Health Board has identified resources used in the treatment of alcohol related conditions as taking away from resources which would be better used in other areas such as addressing health targets [Scoop, New Zealand]
UN Regional Task Force meeting on injecting drug use and HIV/AIDS held in India
The UN Regional Task Force (RTF) meeting on injecting drug use and HIV/AIDS for Asia and the Pacific took place on 10 and 11 February 2011 in New Delhi, India [UNODC]
Kenya to adopt comprehensive HIV prevention package for people who inject drugs
The Kenyan government is taking an innovative approach to reducing HIV among injecting drug users. In a bold new initiative, the government is set to give drug users free access to HIV prevention and treatment services [UNAIDS]