DS Daily - 13th November 2012

National reports

Listed by country for download as PDF | EMCDDA

DrugScope survey into the DWP Work Programme

DrugScope will be submitting evidence to the Work & Pensions Select Committee about the experience on the Work Programme of people with histories of drug and alcohol use – if you are working with clients who have been referred to the Programme, please take our quick, 10 minute survey | DrugScope

Could illegal drug meth hold key to flu cure?

It is much too early to herald meth or any related chemicals as a “cure” for flu | NHS Choices, UK

Sick doctors returning to work struggle with feelings of shame and failure

Doctors who have been on long term sick leave find it hard to return to work because they are overwhelmed with feelings of shame and failure, and fear the disapproval of colleagues, finds new research led by | King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, UK

Lung cancer rates soaring for women

Tobacco manufacturers target them by saying smoking helps you stay slim | Daily Mail, UK

Theresa May urges people to vote in police commissioner elections

Home secretary insists police and crime commissioners will have democratic mandate amid fears of turnout below 15% | Guardian, UK

NHS sleepwalking into crisis, warns RCN

The Royal College of Nursing today warned that that the NHS in England is sleepwalking into a crisis and is calling on the Government to take immediate action to stop trusts cutting vital posts and services | RCN, UK

Painkiller withdrawal symptoms ‘similar to heroin’

Packets of Nurofen Plus are being consumed daily by an increasing number of people addicted to painkillers, according to the clinical director of the country’s largest private addiction rehabilitation clinic, who says withdrawal symptoms for Nurofen Plus are similar to what heroin addicts experience | Irish Examiner

Time for Irish patients to benefit from legal cannabis

Making cannabis legal under controlled medication legislation should minimise any abuse: people with MS and other debilitating diseases deserve nothing less | Irish Times

€100,000 boost for drug detox unit

The country's only mother-and-child drug detox unit has been given a financial reprieve thanks to a €100,000 cash grant from the Department of Health | Independent, Ireland

Addiction experts leery of generic version of OxyContin

A study published Tuesday in Open Medicine tracked OxyContin prescriptions in Ontario communities on the Canada-U.S. border. It found that prescriptions for OxyContin, one of the most popular drugs behind a wave of prescription-opioid abuse, skyrocketed in Windsor at the same time the drug became unavailable in the U.S. | Globe and Mail, Canada

Impact of the War on Drugs on Veterans

New DPA Report Highlights the Impact of the War on Drugs on Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan | Huffington Post, USA

The Movement for Marijuana Legalization Lights up Atlanta

The Atlanta-based Movement for Marijuana Legalization officially launches its legalization campaign in Atlanta. M4ML begins a fact-based discussion about marijuana policy reform and regulation tailored for the South | Seattle PI, USA

Disproportionate Penalties for Drug Offenses in Mexico

A new report reveals that in Mexico’s drug war, those detained and prosecuted for drug-related offenses are mainly consumers and/or small-scale dealers. In addition, the sanctions set for many drug crimes are disproportionate and tend to be harsher than those for rape, possession of weapons reserved for the army, or violent robbery | Open Society Foundations, USA