DS Daily - 5th March 2012

Together we stand

Full report from the fifth national serice user involvement conference, includes coverage of the main sessions and workshops, interviews, vox pops and much more - video | Drink and Drugs News, UK

Magazine Features

News focus - Legal line and post its - Soapbox | Drink and Drugs News, UK

Hidden cost of methadone revealed as doctors rake in £8m a year

Government stats released last week claimed the heroin substitute cost taxpayers £28million a year. But the figure didn’t take into account the annual £372.93p GPs are handed for every patient still on the drug | Daily Record, UK

Cannabis memory effects examined

Scientists believe they are closer to understanding how taking cannabis disrupts short-term memory | BBC, UK

Police to target cannabis growers across the North West

Police from across the North West are launching a month-long crackdown on cannabis cultivation | BBC, UK

Cannabis growers must be jailed says top judge

A senior judge has ignored ‘soft’ new drugs sentencing guidelines by jailing six men for growing cannabis | Daily Mail, UK

One year on, why I want young people to learn from my daughter's death

Vicky Unwin, whose daughter died after taking ketamine, is helping to launch a petition calling for compulsory drug education | Guardian, UK

Louise lit up our lives. Let her tragic death be a beacon of hope on drugs

A year ago, 21-year-old Louise Cattell drowned in her bath after taking ketamine. Her mother, Vicky Unwin, says action is needed to stop other deaths | Guardian, UK

'Drug Network' Raided

Officers execute warrants and arrest 11 more people for drugs offences in dual-force operation | Police Oracle, UK

Colwyn Town Council objects to training cafe

Plans for a £1m cafe bistro geared towards providing catering training for recovering alcoholics and drug users were slammed by Colwyn Bay Town Council earlier this week | North Wales Weekly News, UK

NICE sets health quality standards for identifying and caring for drinkers

From the UK health service standard-setting agency, a concise statement of 13 practices which constitute high quality health care for problem drinkers and good practice in identifying and advising hazardous drinkers - standards which may be used to assess and reward providers and health service commissioning authorities | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

UK national guidance on alcohol prevention, treatment and brief interventions

All five entries in the new Effectiveness Bank bulletin document the suite of medical and public health guidance on responding to alcohol-related problems recently published by the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

A minimum price for alcohol?

Commons Library Standard Note | Parliament, UK

Borough hit by alcohol deaths shock

The borough of Scarborough was hit by 23 alcohol-related deaths in just one year, according to shocking new figures | Scarborough Evening News, UK

Cabinet in open revolt over plans to ban cheap booze in the budget

The Prime Minister is determined to end what he describes as the ‘scandal’ of binge drinking by tripling the price of low-cost alcohol, but he has faced concerted opposition from six Cabinet Ministers, including fellow Conservatives Michael Gove and Andrew Lansley and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg | Daily Mail, UK

No way back

Rough sleeping in England has risen 23 per cent with more than half of those on London’s streets non-UK nationals who come here looking for work but instead find destitution | Inside Housing, UK

Working with the private rented sector to tackle youth homelessness

Identifies the most effective ways in which agencies are supporting young homeless or vulnerably housed people to access and sustain private rented accommodation - Report - Toolkit | Crisis, UK

Budget 2012: Calls for '2p a cigarette' rise

Health campaigners are asking for more substantial rises in cigarette duty in this month's Budget | BBC, UK

Charities 'could face cuts of up to £5.5bn'

The charity sector is facing local and national government funding cuts of between £1bn and £5.5bn in the current financial year, a report suggests | BBC, UK

Charity funding cuts hit deprived areas hardest

Leaked document says funding in affluent parts of Britain has been largely untouched | Guardian, UK

Women’s ‘Journeys’ to Homelessness

Key Findings from a Biographical Study of Homeless Women in Ireland | School of Social Work and Social Policy and Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Pot distribution law declared unconstitutional

In a decision destined for appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, a state court judge has ruled the state's medical marijuana distribution law is unconstitutional | SF Gate, USA

Christie Wants New Jersey to Be First to Require Drug Treatment

Governor Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, wants to make his state the first in the U.S. to require drug treatment for nonviolent offenders | SF Gate, USA

Better access to naloxone, training could reduce opioid overdose deaths

The findings in this report suggest that distribution of naloxone and training in its administration might have prevented numerous deaths from opioid overdoses,” stated Eliza Wheeler, MPA, Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project, Harm Reduction Coalition, Oakland, Calif., and colleagues | Formulary, USA

Russia's Retrograde Stand on Drug Abuse

Russia has one of the world’s highest levels of injecting drug use. The estimated number of injecting drug users is 1.8 million, and the estimated number of opiate users exceeds 1.6 million. A decade ago 100,000 people were H.I.V. positive in Russia. Today there are over 1 million | New York Times, USA