DS Daily - 21st January 2013

Crazy for Party Drugs - Monday 9pm BBC 3

Britain's drug culture is changing - fast. Cocaine and ecstasy are out and mephedrone, ketamine and GHB are in. Shot in Leeds over the biggest party weekend of the year - Halloween and Bonfire Night - this film gets under the skin of the new party drugs | BBC, UK

The Big Questions - Sunday 10am, Episode 3, BBC 1

From the Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, Nicky Campbell asks: Is it ever too late to confess? Should it be legal to get high? And, are girls being robbed of their innocence? | BBC, UK

Minimum pricing: consultation deadline approaches; Scottish legal challenge; Newcastle try 'MUP' on bars; news and views

There are less than 3 weeks left to respond to the Government's consultation on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) and other measures set out in the strategy | Alcohol Policy UK, UK

Childhood asthma 'admissions down' after smoking ban

There was a sharp fall in the number of children admitted to hospital with severe asthma after smoke-free legislation was introduced in England, say researchers | BBC, UK

Addiction to medicines: commissioning services after the health reforms

A one-day conference to consider future commissioning and provision of services for dependence on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, especially benzodiazepine tranquillisers | NTA, UK

A personalised approach to prison resettlement: Lessons from a pilot project

This report (PDF) includes analysis of participant outcomes along with the key lessons that emerged in implementing a personalisation service model in the previously untested context of the criminal justice system | Revolving Doors Agency, UK

Missing the point on drugs again

In the last few weeks there have been several reports on drugs which have generated headlines about legalisation or decriminalisation | Centre for Social Justice, UK

Manchester health chiefs to give clubbers packs of sweets to highlight danger of 'legal highs'

The ‘Do you know what you’re getting?’ campaign includes giving out postcards, leaflets and specially-produced packets of dolly mixture sweets to pubs, bars and clubs across the city | Manchester Evening News, UK

Taking drugs or drinking heavily can affect a man's performance in the bedroom for years

New research has overturned previous thinking that the body recovers in a matter of weeks | Mail Online, UK

First major report from crucial English alcohol screening and brief intervention trials

The first major formal account of findings from the SIPS trials reports no benefits from adding 20 minutes of theory-based counselling to a straightforward few sentences warning primary care patients they are drinking too much | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Methadone beaker parents guilty of manslaughter

The parents of a toddler who died after drinking methadone have been found guilty of his manslaughter | BBC, UK

Councils invest in tobacco while helping smokers quit

The job of helping smokers give up their habit will pass from the NHS to councils in April, which raises questions as some local authority workers' pensions invest in tobacco stocks | BBC, UK

Electronic cigarette claims banned

Claims that a brand of electronic cigarettes is "completely harmless" have been banned after a watchdog ruled that they misled consumers | Cancer Research UK, UK

Electronic cigarette TV ad campaign could prove landmark case

A controversial television ad starring Waterloo Road actor Mark Benton will air from Saturday 19 January on channels including ITV, Channel 5 and Sky, as well as in print and online | Radio Times, UK

Transforming rehabilitation: New London stakeholder event

Following the publication of the Government’s consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation: a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ on 9 January, we are holding a series of regional events during the 6 week consultation period | MoJ, UK

Brazil considers compulsory drug rehabilitation law

Brazilian authorities are considering a law which would make treatment compulsory for crack cocaine users in Rio de Janeiro, ahead of the 2014 football World Cup | BBC, UK

Guatemala's president: 'My country bears the scars from the war on drugs'

Otto Pérez Molina tells John Mulholland that leaders of drug-consuming countries in the west have to accept that the war on drugs has brought Latin American nations to their knees | Guardian, UK

Russia emerges from two-week new year drinking binge

Medical officials warn of impact of January holiday, when Russians are thought to drink 1.5bn litres of alcohol | Guardian, UK

Warning of migraine sufferers hooked by addictive painkillers

An expert from the region has warned that growing numbers of migraine sufferers are becoming hooked on new brands of painkillers containing addictive ingredients such as caffeine and barbiturates | Yorkshire Post, UK

How addictive is sugar?

Prime Minster David Cameron revealed this week in the House of Commons that he has trouble stopping his three children from over-indulging on sugary, fizzy drinks | BBC, UK

Heroin haul second biggest in State’s history, say gardaí

Gardaí have made what is thought to be the second biggest heroin seizure in the history of the State | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Alcohol problems in the criminal justice system: an opportunity for intervention

This publication describes an integrated model of care for alcohol problems in prisoners, with elements for best practice | WHO, Switzerland

From Montevideo to Washington: A New Dawn for Drug Policy

While both Mexico and the United States have adamant objections to drug legalization, their first order of business is to transform their common enemy: the drug war that is so rooted along their shared border | World Policy Blog, USA

Marijuana Possession Arrests Exceed Violent Crime Arrests (INFOGRAPHIC)

Americans are shifting on marijuana. More than half of them think it should be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes | Huffington Post, USA

The war on pot is no safe bet

As recreational drugs go, marijuana is relatively benign. Unlike alcohol, it doesn't stimulate violence or destroy livers. Unlike tobacco, it doesn't cause lung cancer and heart disease | Chicago Tribune, USA

Eugene Jarecki: ‘A jailer is as victimized by the drug war as the person he is jailing.’

Eugene Jarecki is a documentary maker whose previous works include “The Trials of Henry Kissinger” and “Why We Fight.” His most recent film is “The House I Live In,” a blistering critique of the conduct of the drug war and especially of its impact on poor and minority communities | Washington Post, USA