DS Daily - 19th April 2012 |
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A Drug Policy for the 21st Century
Our emphasis on addressing the drug problem through a public health approach is grounded in decades of research and scientific study. There is overwhelming evidence that drug prevention and treatment programs achieve meaningful results with significant long-term cost savings - R. Gil Kerlikowske | Huffington Post, USA
EMCDDA trend report for the evaluation of the 2005–12 EU drugs strategy
It reviews the main trends and changes in the European drug situation and in the responses developed by the EU Member States. Four main areas are covered by the report: drug use and drug-related problems; drug supply; drug policies; and demand reduction interventions | EMCDDA
Assessment of the implementation of the EU Drugs Strategy 2005—2012 and its Action Plans
The 2005-2012 EU Drugs Strategy (as with previous strategies) was developed to complement and add value to national strategies and approaches while respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality set out in the EU Treaties - Download - Summary | RAND, USA
New heroin-assisted treatment: recent evidence and current practice
To be published today | EMCDDA
Opium, opioids, and an increased risk of death
Beyond overdose the risks are incompletely understood | British Medical Journal
‘Prisons are awash with drugs’
An estimated £100 million worth of drugs are smuggled into prisons every year but there is a worrying lack of knowledge about how they get there | Inside Time, UK
Former top MI6 officer attacks global war on drugs
Suggestions that the drug laws need changing, that the global war on drugs has failed, are invariably put down to woolly, liberal, or maverick, thinking. What will be the response then when the suggestions come from a former deputy head of MI6 in a study published by such an established and venerable thinktank as the International Institute for Strategic Studies? | Guardian, UK
The NHS and local authorities should pool resources in order to expand specialist alcohol treatment
The NHS and local authorities should pool resources in order to expand specialist alcohol treatment because they will both benefit from the improved health and safety of their communities, according to Paul Hayes, NTA Chief Executive | National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, UK
Drinking nation: have we had enough?
So, have we had enough, and is the government’s adoption of the economist’s solution—raising the (minimum) price of alcohol—the answer? | British Medical Journal
Mental health leaders need to up their game in tackling homelessness
A new report from our Mental Health Network and homelessness charity St Mungo's says the NHS needs to improve its support for homeless people with mental health problems | NHS Confederation, UK
Mental health and homelessness
Planning and delivering mental health services for homeless people - Download | NHS Confederation, UK
Young homeless people suffer increased mental and physical health problems
Young homeless people are twice as likely to suffer depression, and more than four times as likely to have been admitted to hospital for a health problem than their non-homeless peers, research has found | Children & Young People Now, UK
NHS 'must do more to respond to rising numbers of homeless'
Many homeless people struggle to register with a GP and gain access to health services, NHS Confederation warns | Guardian, UK
The number of child deaths in custody is a national scandal
The deaths of vulnerable young people placed in youth prisons demonstrate that the system needs an urgent overhaul | Guardian, UK
Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services
England, April 2011 to December 2011 (Q3 - Quarterly report) | NHS Information Centre, UK
Germany makes €14bn in taxes from smokers, so a ban is unlikely
Why is a state that is normally seen as a leader in Europe lags behind when it comes to this important health issue | Public Service Europe
Damaging effects of alcohol abuse seen by GPs every day
Alcohol abuse increases violence in the community and the home and has lead to an unprecedented increase in liver disease here the ICGP has said | Medical Independent, Ireland
Can Russia kick heroin?
A huge population of addicts and a growing HIV epidemic have failed to persuade the state to face up to its disastrous drug problem. But now an unofficial band of volunteers is trying to fill the gap | Independent, UK
Oxycontin addicts change narcotics
Treatment backlog caused even though limited number seeking help | CBC News, Canada
Take action to prevent fatal overdoses from heroin, prescription opiates
Doctors, patients, friends and family can take some specific steps to curb the risk of fatal overdoses from heroin and opiate use | Seattle Times, USA
No Savings Are Found From Welfare Drug Tests
Ushered in amid promises that it would save taxpayers money and deter drug users, a Florida law requiring drug tests for people who seek welfare benefits resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number of applications, according to recently released state data | New York Times, USA
BioDelivery Sciences International Extends Patent Protection
Transmucosal Delivery Devices with Enhanced Uptake - BEMA Buprenorphine and BEMA Buprenorphine/Naloxone | PE HUB, USA
Did Cartagena mark the beginning of the end of the war on drugs?
Slowly but surely, world leaders are beginning to admit that their war on drugs is not working. Reform is now unavoidable | Guardian, UK
Australia tobacco plain packaging case in court
The world's biggest tobacco firms are challenging the Australian government in court over a law on mandatory plain packaging for cigarettes | BBC, UK
Tobacco industry's legal challenge stumbles as death tops agenda
The tobacco industry's constitutional challenge to enforced plain packaging has hit a central problem: smoking kills | The Age, Australia
The First Opium Win
Spending even, say, a couple of billion dollars a year to remove this cash crop from the market would be a bargain, even if all the raw opium - an estimated 5,800 metric tons in 2011 - were simply dumped into the Indian Ocean | New York Times, USA
Incentives for Life
Cash-on-Delivery Aid for Tobacco Control in Developing Countries | Council on Foreign Relations and the Center for Global Development
Indian State Finds Itself in Tight Grip of Addiction
For the Punjab government, the problem is hardly unknown. Private drug treatment centers, some run by quacks, have proliferated across the state, and treatment wards in government hospitals have seen a surge in patients | New York Times, USA