DS Daily - 5th December 2012

Drink and Drugs News

The December issue is full of opinion on what works (and doesn’t) | DDN, UK

‘What about me?’

The first Adfam/DDN conference for families affected by drug and alcohol use urged carers from all over the country to make their voices heard | DDN, UK

Adapt and thrive

Drugscope’s recent conference focused on how the sector could deliver high quality services in uncertain times. DDN reports | DDN, UK

Shifting sands – 2012 according to DDN

While the frequently hot-tempered harm reduction/abstinence debate finally appeared to be morphing into something more measured, 2012 still saw the sector negotiating upheaval on all sides and dramatic shifts in patterns of drug use. | DDN, UK

'Bulking' drugs could be factor in suspected Scottish cocaine casualties, says SDF Director

Potentially dangerous drugs being used as bulking agent in cocaine could be a factor involved in the incidents involving three people being treated in Glasgow recently for Methaemoglobinaemia | Scottish Drugs Forum, UK

Addaction scheme outdoes the Work Programme by focusing on self-esteem

A project run by the charity Addaction has important lessons for poor-performing welfare-to-work contractors | Guardian Society, UK

Substance misuse and the Mental Health Act: are morality and attitudes driving assessments?

We need to assess the shortfall of AMHP knowledge on substance misuse and its impact on people who are being assessed under the Mental Health Act, writes Daisy Bogg | Community Care, UK

The global war on drugs has failed: it is time for a new approach

A public letter on drugs policy reform with signatories | Beckley Foundation, UK

IDHP newsletter (PDF)

Latest newsletter from the International Doctors for Healthy Drug Policies | IDHP, UK

Liberal Amsterdam plans to create 'scum villages'

The Dutch city has a reputation for its liberal policies, but now it has announced a scheme to house antisocial tenants in converted shipping containers | Guardian, UK

Greene King welcomes the clampdown on cheap booze

Rooney Anand, the boss of Greene King, has come out strongly in favour of minimum pricing for alcohol, claiming cheap supermarket booze is killing the pubs trade | Independent, UK

IOM health chiefs propose 50p minimum price for alcohol

Isle of Man health officials have proposed a minimum price of 50p a unit for the sale of alcohol | BBC, UK

Kids' attitude to alcohol linked to parents' habits, says Drinkaware

Children of parents who drink above the UK government’s unit guidelines are more likely than children of parents who are low risk drinkers to have ever been drunk (19% vs 11%) and to drink at least monthly (21% vs 12%), reveals new research from Drinkaware | FoodBev.com, UK

Supervised Consumption Services and Community Support

Supervised injection sites help save lives and protect communities. This was the conclusion of over 30 research studies on Vancouver’s own supervised injection site (SIS) known as Insite | IDPC, UK

Drug policy and women: Addressing the negative consequences of harmful drug control

This briefing aims to highlight the effects of drug policy on women as producers, suppliers and consumers of drugs in order to inform and guide policy makers on practices that should be avoided | IDPC, UK

Can Bosses Help Addicts?

Rehab isn't taken seriously in Britain. It's not taken seriously by the NHS, by HR professionals or by the general public | Huffington Post, UK

Smoking may worsen a hangover, US study finds

Smoking may worsen a hangover after drinking heavily, a US study reports, although the reason why is unclear | BBC, UK

Report: Synthetic pot sends thousands to hospital

K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs that mimic a marijuana high sent 11,406 people — mostly teenagers and young adults — to the emergency room in 2010 | USA Today, USA

First-of-its-kind report finds that street forms of “synthetic marijuana” products linked to thousands of hospital emergency departments visits each year

Street forms of synthetic cannabinoids – so-called “synthetic marijuana” – were linked to 11,406 of the 4.9 million drug-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2010, according to a new report (PDF) | SAMSHA, USA