DS Daily - 4th December 2012

Skills Consortium Road-show 1: London

The Skills Consortium is a sector-led initiative which boosts the skills of the drug/alcohol sector. Initially run by the NTA it is being taken on by Adfam, DrugScope and the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Practitioners (FDAP). This event will explore the aims of the consortium and its plans for the future | Adfam, DrugScope, FDAP, UK

Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy. 2nd Annual Report

The current report (PDF) provides an update of Scotland’s alcohol strategy, the evaluation plan and the analyses of price, consumption, affordability and alcohol-related harms detailed in the baseline report | NHS Health Scotland

For the first time in 20 years, Scots are drinking less

ALCOHOL consumption in Scotland has fallen for two years in a row, as the price of alcohol has increased, a new NHS report has shown for the first time | Scotsman, UK

Stoned Again - BBC iPlayer

Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith re-examines whether her decision to reclassify cannabis, against expert advice, was the right one - four years on | BBC, UK

Phoenix Futures takes over running of NORCAS

Phoenix Futures and NORCAS announce that Phoenix Futures will take over the running of NORCAS services from 10 December 2012 | Phoenix Futures, UK

CRI and Sova confirm merger

CRI and Sova have today announced confirmation of their merger which takes immediate effect | CRI, UK

Three cheers for a drink-free January

After cutting down on alcohol, one couple are looking forward to total, if temporary, abstention | Telegraph, UK

Evelyn Gillan: The evidence is indisputable: alcohol price is key to protecting individuals and society from harm

Recent improvements in alcohol-related deaths in Scotland are to be welcomed, but the fact remains that we have the highest level of alcohol consumption in the UK | Scotsman, UK

'Binge-drinking gene' discovered

Scientists believe some people have a gene that hard-wires them for binge drinking by boosting levels of a happy brain chemical triggered by alcohol | BBC, UK

Poorest streets 'fleece, deprive and expose citizens to risk'

From fried chicken shops to high street lenders, local authorities should use their powers to protect residents from harm | Guardian, UK

Drugs are taken for pleasure – realise this and we can start to reduce harm

The web-based Net Pleasure Index is an attempt to gather information about a much-ignored element of drug-taking | Guardian, UK

B-chilled campaign

Phoenix Futures launches an interactive Safer Nightlife Campaign in Birmingham in partnership with the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, aimed at improving public safety over the Christmas period | Phoenix Futures, UK

Impact report

Phoenix Futures launches new report highlighting this year's achievements | Phoenix Futures, UK

Legal Highs, Lethal Lows harm minimisation campaign

The "Legal Highs Lethal Lows" campaign will run from 03/12/12 until the end of Jan 2013 and then be followed by a number of initiatives throughout the spring/summer aimed at music festivals and student freshers weeks | Substance Misuse Strategic Team for Leicestershire and Rutland, UK

Bangor drugs factory: in pictures

Photographs of the cannabis factory in Wales | ITV.com, UK

Roll up! Kate Winslet's new starring role... promoting film about making drugs legal

Kate Winslet is at the centre of an embarrassing row over drug legalisation, after her name was used to endorse a campaign run by her boyfriend’s uncle, Sir Richard Branson | Daily Mail, UK

'It's not actually that exciting to be f*****-up all the time' - Pete Doherty's battle with drug addiction continues

The Libertines frontman speaks about life in Paris ahead of the release of his film Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle | Independent, UK

Drugs - It's About Health, Not Policing @ Drug Policy Debate Series, with George Soros (video)

Drug policy debate a film by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union | YouTube

HSE National Liasion Pharmacist – Advice on the use on injecting tanning agents (PDF)

Due to the recent publicity and warnings about the dangers of injecting melanotan the HSE has released the following information | INEF, Ireland

Fourth Annual Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service Report
2011 - 2012 (PDF)

Includes data on children presenting with substance misuse issues | Health Service Executive, Ireland

Sniffer dogs nose out smuggled prison drugs

Attempts to smuggle drugs into prisons have fallen dramatically thanks to sniffer dogs | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Cutting jail benzo use reduces violence

Stopping the use of certain tranquillisers in prisons and hospitals reduces the levels of violence and self-harm and helps raise health standards, according to the country’s leading forensic psychiatrist | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Dangers of demon drink outlined

The failure of successive governments to develop a coherent policy to deal with the problem of excessive alcohol consumption in the Republic has had a “devastating” impact on society ... | Irish Times, Ireland

Alcohol kills someone every seven hours

There are more retail outlets in Ireland where you can purchase alcohol than fruit, vegetables or milk, a public health specialist has said | Irish Health, Ireland

Cannabis for medical use may be legalized in Ireland early next year

Drug manufacturers wish to sell cannabis-based products | Irish Central, Ireland

State Estimates of Underage Alcohol Use and Self-Purchase of Alcohol: 2008 to 2010

This issue of The NSDUH Report presents State estimates of past month alcohol use among persons aged 12 to 20 and State estimates of self-purchase of alcohol among past month drinkers | SAMSHA, USA

Overdoses of synthetic drug 'Smiles' on the rise for teens

Forget about bath salts. "Smiles" or 2C-I is the new synthetic drug of choice in this country | MyFoxdc.com, USA

Psychiatric Association Creates Category of “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders”

The American Psychiatric Association has approved a new edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) that combines substance abuse and dependence into a single category of "substance use and addictive disorders" | DrugFree.com, USA