DS Daily - 28th January 2011

Statistics on Drug Misuse, England - 2010

This annual statistical report presents information on drug misuse among both adults and children. It includes a focus on young adults [NHS Information Centre, UK]

Illegal drug use is in decline, NHS figures reveal

Fewer people of all ages are taking drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin, according to survey [Guardian, UK]

Dedicated drug court: process evaluation

A process evaluation study of dedicated drug courts, their implementation and factors underpinning the potential for DDCs to reduce drug use and associated offending. PDF [Ministry of Justice, UK]

Positive signs from Drug Courts

There are positive indications that Drug Courts are helping offenders on the road to rehabilitation, a study has found [Ministry of Justice, UK]

Dozens arrested in drug and gang operation in Sheffield

A long-running police operation to target drug and gang crime in Sheffield has led to more than 40 arrests [BBC, UK]

Alcohol Deaths

UK rates fall in 2009 [Office for National Statistics, UK]

Fall in alcohol deaths due to economic downturn

Government alcohol policy should ensure alcohol becomes less affordable permanently, not just in an economic downturn [Alcohol Concern, UK]

How booze culture is crippling Britain's hospitals

Dr Nick Edwards sees at first hand the effects booze culture is having on our emergency departments [Daily Mail, UK]

Wales has one of UK’s highest death rates linked to alcohol

Out of every 100,000 Welshmen in 2009, 20.3 died an alcohol-related death – up from 14 in 2000. This was ahead of an English average of just 15.8 and a UK average of 17.4 [Wales Online, UK]

Alcohol abuse: middle-class women are ‘new bingers’

One in three women in professional households admitted she had drunk to excess at least once in the previous week [Daily Express, UK]

Legal but lethal

So-called 'legal highs' are every bit as deadly as heroin and cocaine [Daily Mail, UK]

Concateno recommends national standards for parental substance misuse testing

Concateno’s call comes following the publication of part one of the Munro Review of Child Protection; the first in a series of three reports commissioned by the Department of Education to identify possible improvements in frontline child protection services [Concateno, UK]

Kill or cure? First reflections on the new government drug strategy

Everyone who works, or who has ever worked, in the field of addiction wants to cure the illness. However the concept of cure in chronic illnesses such as addiction is still only an aspiration - Professor David Nutt [Worksforfreedom]

Learning from Drug Deaths in Scotland

There is evidence that social connectedness is protective across a range of health issues and I wonder what impact there would be if services actively connected (assertively linked) clients into recovery communities. Would that save lives? I fear at the moment the value of such a potential intervention is grossly underestimated [Binge Inking]

LGBT Pride and Prejudice

Being a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is an important public office. It should not be acceptable to hold such an office and to express and publish offensive papers against LGBT people or any other minority group [Eric Carlin Blog]

Mental health guide for criminal justice staff launched

A new mental health guide to help frontline criminal justice staff has been produced after practitioners at a mental health charity joined forces with criminal justice and health agencies [Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, UK]

The Link Between Substance Abuse, Violence, and Suicide

Although it is difficult to compare the relative impact among different mental health problems with the risk of suicide, alcohol and drug use disorders have been found to be strongly related to suicide risk [Psychiatric Times]

Depression and journalism: an uneasy relationship?

The reaction of colleagues ... Attitudes in the profession [Beyond the silo]

MPs debate community cohesion

Phil Wilson, Labour MP for Sedgefield, moved a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 26 January 2010 on the subject of community cohesion [Parliament, UK]

Think Local, Act Personal

Partnership agreement confirmed as the future direction of social care. PDF [SCIE, UK]

Passive smoking ‘victims’ to challenge prison service

Prisoners forced to share their cells with smokers have lodged compensation claims against the Scottish Prison Service [The Herald, Scotland, UK]

EMCDDA Work programme 2011

The 2011 work programme takes forward activities begun in 2010 to implement the EMCDDA’s three-year strategy (2010–12) PDF [EMCDDA]

Obama says legalising drugs a "Legitimate Topic for Debate"

The following press release has been issued by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) . Whilst some way from a shift in policy it is at least a significant shift in tone, especially given the US Drug Tsar's insistence that 'legalization is not in the president's vocabulary nor is it in mine' [TDPF, UK]