DS Daily - 16th February 2012

Time is of the essence for drink-related harm; opiate blocker prevents overdose deaths

A new bulletin has collated the latest additions to the Effectiveness Bank. Two authoritative reviews conclude that more days and hours when alcohol can be bought/served equals more alcohol-related harm, while in England naloxone helps prevent the most severe form of opiate-related harm - overdose death | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Hackney Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) rules out cuts to Substance Misuse Charity

Contrary to claims by UNITE the Union, counselling and women and families’ services provided by national charity Lifeline will not be cut - there are no plans to reduce the service or to cut funding | Hackney Drug and Alcohol Action Team, UK

David Cameron knows the drug laws aren't working

His failure to change them is simple cowardice | Telegraph, UK

Discourage the use of 2ml barrels

I'm sure its a common experience of needle programme workers around the UK (even around the world), people asking for 2ml barrels when they are planning to groin inject. But a 2ml isn't the best equipment for this and it's a behaviour that we as workers or peer educators need to challenge | Injecting Advice, UK

Briefing Paper for Plans on the evalulaiton of Minimum Unit Pricing

This briefing paper has been produced to inform interested parties of the existing and proposed plans for evaluating alcohol minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland should it be introduced by the Scottish Parliament | Health Scotland, UK

Alcohol pricing: a battleground between health groups and drinks industry

David Cameron would be parting company with his health secretary, Andrew Lansley, by backing a minimum unit price | Guardian, UK

Wales needs to be ‘more honest’ about alcohol

A hard-hitting report by Alcohol Concern Cymru challenges the notion that alcohol problems can only been blamed on a small number of “problem drinkers” | Wales Online, UK

Welfare reform calendar 2011 – 2013

The Welfare Reform Bill is about to receive royal assent and will radically alter the benefits system. Now the government has beaten the Lords, Carl Brown explains why it is important that landlords prepare for the changes | Inside Housing, UK

Legalize marijuana, former B.C. attorneys-general say

Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh, Graeme Bowbrick and Geoff Plant say the 89-year-old marijuana prohibition has failed | Vancouver Sun, Canada

Legalizing drugs won't prevent abuse

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastest-growing drug problem | CNN, USA

Deadly Alcohol Needs Global Regulation, Health Expert Says

Existing WHO recommendations on ads, pricing and driving laws could serve as the framework for a new international convention on alcohol regulation, yet even the US would struggle to meet some of them | Scientific American

Pharmaceutical drug use among police detainees

In light of increased concern regarding the illegal use of prescription medication and the extent of the diversion of pharmaceuticals into the black market, the AIC incorporated a set of new questions into its third quarterly DUMA survey in 2011 | Australian Institute of Criminology