DS Daily - 9th May 2013

Jersey drug users warned of 'strong heroin' batch

Drug users in Jersey have been warned of a "batch of strong heroin" that increases the chance of overdose | BBC, UK

Queen's speech: alcohol and cigarettes curbs 'not abandoned'

Jeremy Hunt insists no final decisions have been made despite absence of measures to introduce minimum alcohol pricing and plain cigarette packaging | Guardian, UK

Queen's Speech: Policies once championed by the Coalition conspicuously missing from the list of new laws

Government accused of betraying key causes as policies mystery left out of speech | Independent, UK

Minimum pricing for alcohol: the red-faced ranters have won

Intense lobbying from alcohol producers would appear to have killed-off this ground-breaking policy | Guardian, Uk

Health Groups to Cameron and Hunt: Let Parliament Decide on Standardised Packaging

Members of the Smokefree Action Coalition have written to Prime Minister David Cameron and Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt today expressing deep disappointment that legislation to introduce standardised packaging of tobacco products was not included in the Queen’s Speech | Smoke Free Action, UK

Secondary schools ban e-cigarettes

A growing number of secondary schools are banning e-cigarettes over fears that they are being used by pupils to start smoking | Telegraph, UK

CRI creates two divisions to address needs of communities

CRI is to create two clear divisions – ‘Social Care and Health Initiatives’ and ‘Criminal Justice’ | CRI, UK

ACMD is holding an open meeting on 16 May 2013 invites members of the public to attend at its offices in central London

The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) invites members of the public to its open meeting on Thursday 16th May 2013. There will be an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback to the ACMD and participate in a question and answer session | Gov.uk, UK

Texas inmate Carroll Joe Parr executed for killing fellow drug dealer in 2003

Inmate said he was resigned to his fate but insisted someone else killed 18-year-old Joel Dominguez in Waco robbery | Guardian, UK

Tobacco and alcohol control agencies given a new lease of life

The future of Fresh and Balance, the North-East's two public health campaign groups, has been secured for at least the next two years | Northern Echo, UK

Drugs Policy Talk by Prof David Nutt for MedSoc

Nutt had been invited to speak to York students and staff on the issues surrounding drugs policy in the UK and to present his views on possession, use and decriminalization of controlled substances | Yorker, UK

Addiction in Afghanistan - iPlayer Radio

Pascale Harter introduces a special essay from Darius Bazargan, on the ethical dilemmas of reporting on Afghanistan's new wave of heroin abuse. Making a film in Kabul which followed one of the country's hundreds of thousands of addicts, he witnessed wretched scenes of physical and spiritual degradation | BBC, UK

Do as I say, not as I do: 94pc of consultants drink alcohol

Hospital consultants are generally slimmer than the rest of us – but they are more likely to drink, particularly female medics, according to a new study, writes Eilish O'Regan | Irish Independent, Ireland

Police raid Maastricht coffeeshops after owners let tourists back in

Police have raided several coffeeshops in Maastricht after their owners indicated they would revert to selling soft drugs to foreign visitors | Amsterdam Herald, Netherlands

Money Laundering and The Drug Trade: The Role of the Banks

Mexico is in the grip of a murderous drug war that has killed over 150,000 people since 2006. It is one of the most violent countries on earth. This drug war is a product of the transnational drug trade which is worth up to $400 billion a year and accounts for about 8% of all international trade | Global Research, USA

Social Anxiety Linked to Teen Substance Abuse

Suffering from anxiety can make teens more prone to abusing substances at an earlier age, new research shows. Researchers followed 195 teens, aged 14 to 18, who met the criteria for substance use disorder; they found that those with panic disorder or social anxiety had a greater chance of abusing substances at an earlier age | Fix, USA