DS Daily - 4th April 2012 |
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Why have student drug users become so reckless?
Recreational drugs have mutated from mood-enhancing to bladder-destroying. And no one seems to care | Guardian, UK
Drug policy debate is needed
To deal with the public health consequences of the criminalisation of drug use - Ian Gilmore | BMJ, UK
Even the police think our drugs laws are absurd
Senior officers admit banning ‘legal highs’ won’t work. So will politicians recognise that the war on drugs is lost? | London Evening Standard, UK
The recent evolution of UK drug strategies
From maintenance to behaviour change? | People, Place and Policy Online, UK
Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
On 30 March, legislation was laid before Parliament making a number of amendments relating to nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers and other healthcare professionals | Home Office, UK
Cumbria alcohol and drug service to be run from Manchester
Cumbria's drug and alcohol services are being taken over by a health trust outside the county | BBC, UK
Six new alcohol and drug services for Derby
More than £2m is to be invested in six new services in Derby to help people recover from alcohol and drug addictions | BBC, UK
Sniffer dogs out on city drugs beat
Sniffer dogs will be out in Hull this weekend as part of a crackdown on the use of recreational drugs by revellers | Yorkshire Post, UK
Tackle alcohol abuse at the dentist urge health experts
Alcohol abuse causes dental disease and mouth cancer warn health experts | Royal College of Surgeons, UK
Tilley awards 2012
This year's awards open on 30 March and the deadline for entries is 27 June 2012. One of the themes: "Alcohol and Drugs" | Home Office, UK
Developing the model for community settings
A list of speakers, presentations and workshops for download. This one day conference was organised by Edinburgh Cyrenians, in association with Create Consultancy, Comic Relief, INEBRIA and Alcohol Research UK | Cyrenians, UK
A Merger of Strengths – Two Leading London Charities to Merge
Two Charities Blenheim CDP and CASA, Merged on the 1.4.2012 The merger of the two organisations allows the combined organisation to cover a much wider area of service provision, both geographically and in terms of services on offer | Blenheim CDP, UK
Homelessness, October to December 2011
The latest revised National Statistics on homelessness produced by the Welsh Government were released on 3 April according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority - Download | Welsh Government, UK
Improving mental health of prisoners
Under this latest referral, those working in health, youth and criminal justice, education and social care sectors will be given NICE guidance on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interventions for the prevention and early treatment of mental health problems of offenders | NICE, UK
Statistics from the Northern Ireland Drug Addicts Index 2011
People are registered on the index if they are known to be, or if a medical practitioner considers them to be, addicted to one or more of 14 controlled drugs. These controlled drugs include Heroin, Cocaine, Methadone and Morphine | Northern Ireland Executive
Govt threatens alcohol ad ban to protect young people
The Government has warned that it will consider a ban on alcohol advertising unless more action is taken to reduce young people’s exposure to it | Alcohol Action Ireland
CCSA launches quiz on marijuana and driving
Think you know the risks of marijuana and driving? Take the quiz | Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
US anti-drug agency opens office in Bulgaria
A U.S. anti-drug agency has opened a new office in Bulgaria, which lies on a major drug trafficking route linking Western Europe, the Middle East and Southwest Asia | Washington Post, USA
U.S. Facing Bold New Calls for “Drug War” Alternatives
At a poorly attended summit of Central American leaders, the host President Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala reiterated calls for the decriminalization of recreational drug use | Council On Hemispheric Affairs
Addicts embody cocaine boom in Brazil's "cracklands"
The gritty transactions of the drug trade take over in city neighborhoods that hum with legitimate commerce by day | Reuters
When the UN Won't Condemn Torture You Know Something's Very Wrong
When the UN's drugs watchdog, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), was asked recently about its official position on torture carried out in the name of drug enforcement, one would have expected an unequivocal denunciation. Instead, what was given was an unequivocal refusal to do so | Huffington Post, UK
Half of homelessness services clients aged under 25
Among Australians seeking assistance for homelessness, 50% are aged under 25, according to a new report, released today by the | Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Punishing users doesn't work: experts
A shift away from punishing low-level drug users and giving them better access to specialist treatment would dramatically reduce the harm of drug abuse in Australia, including crime, addiction experts say | The Age, Australia
Gillard says no to any softening of drug laws
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has rejected calls for drug decriminalisation, isolating her Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, on the issue, although her drug policy advisers have left open the possibility of change | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Let the evidence guide drug policy reform
Forget the war. We need policies that work to reduce harm | The Age, Australia