Daily news - 6th January 2015 |
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UK news
More than 400 Superman ecstasy pills found in Ipswich
More than 400 ecstasy tablets believed to be from a batch linked to the deaths of four people have been found hidden in Ipswich | BBC, UK
Superman ‘ecstasy’ pill deaths are result of ‘illogical and punitive drugs policy’
Former government adviser Dr David Nutt says ban on MDMA has resulted in more dangerous drugs coming on to market | Guardian, UK
Effectiveness Bank hot topics January/February 2015
Starts with the emotive arguments about why drug overdose death rate trends differ in the nations of the UK, then turns to the relatively neglected issue of the impact of the therapist in treatment, the widely misunderstood phenomenon of motivational interviewing, and the latest hope for universal prevention strategies | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Not all about the treatment
By focusing on the intervention as if it were a mechanical lever, treatment research has not just ignored but sought to eliminate what now seems a more important factor - the influence of the practitioner and how they relate to the patient | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
The Drugs Wheel
The Drugs Wheel was originally designed as a training tool. By 2012 there was an increasing number of new psychoactive substances on the market that didn’t fit within the old methods of drug classification, and adding three new categories (cannabinoids, empathogens and dissociatives) meant that all drugs could now be placed within one model | Mentor - ADEPIS, UK
Scotland’s drug death rate three times higher than England
A major new analysis of drug misuse deaths in the UK asks whether the fact that England has twice the proportion of problem drug users in treatment is behind the dramatically higher drug misuse death rate in Scotland | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
ITV investigation reveals potentially dangerous chemicals in legal highs - video
An exclusive investigation by ITV has revealed not only how easy it is to buy legal highs but uncovers the potentially dangerous chemicals that are contained within them. Both Lincolnshire and Humberside Police forces have warned against their use. Drugs charities say users who ignore the guidelines and smoke these toxic substances are playing Russian roulette with their lives | ITV, UK
Integrated Monitoring Systems Annual Report – Cheshire and Merseyside 2013/14
This publication details the results of the IMS across Merseyside and Cheshire cross matching it with structured NDTMS data, along with an overview of significant developments in drugs and alcohol research | CPH, UK
Cancer: Women's lung cancer rates rocket in Wales
The number of women in Wales being diagnosed with lung cancer is "rapidly increasing" has seen a 35% rise in the last decade, according to a report | BBC, UK
Lung cancer sufferer explains symptoms - audio
Marian Jones, 67, from Porthmadog in Gwynedd, explains what it is like living with lung cancer. She quit smoking over 20 years ago and was diagnosed with the disease about six year years ago | BBC, UK
Jersey men jailed over Caribbean cocaine seizure
Two men caught trying to sail a yacht loaded with 250kg of cocaine to the UK have been jailed in the Caribbean | BBC, UK
International news
Hungarians take to the streets over plans to tax the internet and drugs-test every teenager, journalist and politician
Hungarian leader Viktor Orban is steering his country away from the West and towards Russia with unorthodox policies | Independent, UK
Medical marijuana finds crossbench backers in Australian parliament
Campaign to legalise marijuana for medical purposes gathers strength with push to get issue on top of agenda in new parliamentary year | Guardian, UK
South Korea: Cigarette sales plummet after price hike
Tobacco sales have fallen sharply in South Korea after the price of cigarettes nearly doubled on New Year's Day, it's reported | BBC, UK
Mexico missing: Organised crime charges for ex-mayor's wife
The wife of the former mayor of the Mexican city where 43 students went missing has been charged with organised crime and money laundering | BBC, UK
Poisoning cases rise blamed on e-cigs
The number of liquid nicotine poisoning cases has jumped in the last year with the soaring popularity of electronic cigarettes | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Colorado Begins $5.7 Million ‘Good to Know’ Campaign for Marijuana Awareness
The campaign is aimed at educating the state's citizens without alienating them | TIME, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Going Out This Weekend? Don't Take These Pink 'Superman' Pills
There is a central mystery behind the batch of pink, diamond-shaped Superman logo "ecstasy" pills that appear to have caused the torturous deaths of four young men over Christmas and New Year . And that is: Why would anyone make these things? | VICE, UK
The Superman pill deaths are the result of our illogical drugs policy
The lethal substance responsible, PMA, was produced as a direct consequence of banning a number of ecstasy precursor chemicals | Guardian, UK
Effective Education for Children and Young People
Substance use is a tricky topic to broach with young people. Many adults focus on the worst possible outcome of substance use, and warn children and teenagers that substances are “addictive”, powerful, and capable of ruining their lives | Mentor - ADEPIS, UK
Laying down the lasso
A recent report in The Guardian, on a ‘huge rise’ in illicit online sales of pharmaceuticals, reminded me of one of the best books I read in 2014: legal scholar Anupam Chander’s The Electronic Silk Road | Toby Seddon, UK
Memo: Public Health - Can we talk?
Over the festive period public health soured the mood somewhat with yet another scare campaign about the dangers of smoking and it made me compelled to pen this short memo | NSP, UK
IV Drug Use in East Africa: The Dangers of Reported Flashblood Phenomenon
Any intravenous (IV) drug user can attest to the horrible pain that is opiate withdrawal, and the extreme lengths that they will go to in order to avoid it | Talking Drugs Blog, UK
What Heroin Addiction Tells Us About Changing Bad Habits
It's a tradition as old as New Year's: making resolutions. We will not smoke, or sojourn with the bucket of mint chocolate chip. In fact, we will resist sweets generally, including the bowl of M&M's that our co-worker has helpfully positioned on the aisle corner of his desk. There will be exercise, and the learning of a new language | NPR, USA
Why 2015 Is a Huge Year for Harm Reduction
The movement has made great strides in recent years. But with an agenda including vastly more access to naloxone and leadership from the South, 2015 could be better still | Substance.com, USA
Most Welfare Recipients Don’t Use Drugs, So Why Do States Keep Drug-Testing Them?
On Friday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law suspicion-based drug-testing for welfare recipients in three of the state's counties in late 2015 | VICE, UK