Daily news - 25th January 2016

UK news

Psychoactive Substances Bill [HL]

Commons amendments | Parliament.uk, UK

Police seize consignment of Poppers as MPs approve Government legal highs ban

Police have seized a consignment of Poppers during a blitz of legal high retailers conducted as the Government’s Psychoactive Substances Bill moves towards becoming law | Independent, UK

This map can tell you whether your MP voted to keep poppers legal

On Wednesday afternoon MPs in the House of Commons debated the Psychoactive Substances bill, which included a clause proposing the banning of alkyl nitrites, also known as ‘poppers’ | Independent, UK

The impact of alcohol on the NHS: 'we get the drunks in 24/7'

Healthcare professionals share their experiences of funding constraints, violent behaviour and drink-related disease and death | Guardian, UK

Alcohol and the NHS - five key questions

Discover how much alcohol people drink, and the burden it places on the NHS | Guardian, UK

The great British booze problem: how a few glasses a day has led to an epidemic for the NHS – video

Derek McBeath, 43, saw himself as a casual drinker – but the two cans of lager he was drinking every night were killing him. The specialists treating him at the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London, say most people with liver disease aren’t alcoholics – they just drink too much | Guardian, UK

Up to 35% of A&E visits in north-east are alcohol related, says report

Staff tell of chaos and abuse, with high volumes of drink-fuelled cases now a daily rather than a Friday night aspect of work | Guardian, UK

Problem drinkers account for almost 70 per cent of alcohol sales

The alcohol industry makes an estimated £23.7bn in sales in England alone | Independent, UK

Could a Chinese herb stop you drinking too much?

New alcohol guidelines have stressed the importance of cutting back. Could an ancient Chinese herbal remedy help you get that pleasurable buzz while drinking less, asks Michael Mosley | BBC, UK

Legal high warning after Gay Village clubber killed by designer drug five times more powerful than heroin

A devastated family have issued a legal high warning after a young clubber died after taking a new designer drug FIVE times more powerful than heroin | Manchester Evening News, UK

'Rogue heroin' warning after sudden Salisbury death

Police suspect a "rogue batch of contaminated heroin" may have been responsible for the sudden death of a woman in a Wiltshire car park | BBC, UK

Cannabis vaping teen 'recovering well' in hospital

A teenager is in a "serious condition" in hospital after inhaling cannabis oil she bought online | BBC, UK

Kenny Sansom reveals how alcoholism nearly killed him as Jeremy Kyle stages 'celebrity intervention' on ITV show

Friends and family stepped in after former Arsenal and England footballer's three-decade battle with alcoholism | Telegraph, UK

All the money in the world could not cure his drug addiction, says Hans Rausing's sister

One of Britain's wealthiest women, Sigrid Rausing talks of her sadness at watching her brother relapse into heroin abuse | Telegraph, UK

Dog treated by vets after eating 'legal high' on Angus beach

A puppy has become the first dog in Scotland to receive hospital treatment after eating a "legal high" on an Angus beach | BBC, UK

Jail kingpins 'test' new legal highs on vulnerable prisoners known as ''spice pigs''

A report reveals dealers give a substance to lags who are weak or in their debt to see how strong or dangerous it is before distributing it | Mirror, UK

HMP Bullingdon: Drugs found during prison crackdown

Drugs were found during a crack-down on illegal contraband at HMP Bullingdon | BBC, UK

Drug courier Mark Hutchison jailed over Lockerbie heroin haul

A drug courier from Larkhall caught near Lockerbie with a consignment of heroin being brought into Scotland from Liverpool has been jailed | BBC, UK

Stalybridge drug dealer ordered to pay back crime cash

A convicted drug dealer has been ordered to pay back more than £100,000 of his ill-gotten gains | BBC, UK

International news

Realising Rights: Developing Human Rights-based Indicators for Drug Control

Human-rights based indicators must be included in the monitoring and evaluation of drug policy, Harm Reduction International’s Gen Sander told UN member states today | HRI, UK

LSE academics to advise Colombian President Santos on new policies for after the 'War on Drugs'

Leading Academics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) are set to advise the Colombian Government on a post-‘war on drugs’ strategy on January 28th 2016 in Bogota | LSE, UK

Russian HIV cases reach record high of more than a million

And 70 per cent of victims have no access to medication | Independent, UK

China finds restaurants using opium poppies in food

Thirty-five restaurants across China have been found illegally using opium poppies as a seasoning, officials have revealed | BBC, UK

World Economic Forum: Swiss soldiers used drugs at Davos

Soldiers on duty at the World Economic Forum in Davos have been sent home for using cannabis and cocaine, the Swiss army says | BBC, UK

Even before their teens children are trying drugs

Long before they go to college, Irish teenagers are mired in the drugs culture and parents must be wary | Independent, Ireland

Addicts risk death using prescription epilepsy pill

An estimated 6,000 users have died from drug use over the past decade | Independent, Ireland

Head shops closed but trade in legal highs thrives on internet

Head shops have closed down around the country but there are more than 700 online shops selling these dangerous products, according to an expert | Independent, Ireland

Hospitals brace themselves for surge of teen drug users

Latest synthetic highs can have lethal effects on those using them, consultant says | Independent, Ireland

Surface web, deep web, dark net explained - video

EMCDDA Insights: the internet and drug markets | EMCDDA, Portugal

Limiting e-cigarette flavors may benefit public health

Flavor variety is an important component in young smokers' decisions to switch to e-cigarettes, new research from Weill Cornell Medicine indicates. The investigators say their findings provide critical insight into what attracts teens to the products and may also help policymakers develop strategies to regulate e-cigarettes in a way that reduces teenage use without compromising a critical method for adults to quit or reduce cigarette smoking | Medical Xpress, USA

After El Chapo: The World's 10 Most Wanted Drug Lords

DEA spokeswoman Barbara Carreno told VICE News that the agency was receiving many confused enquiries because of delays in updating its website | VICE, USA

Why are habits so hard to break?

Taming that sweet tooth for your New Year's resolution might be harder than you think. New research suggests that forming a habit leaves a lasting mark on specific circuits in the brain, which in turn seems to prime us to further feed our cravings. The research deepens scientists' understanding of how habits manifest and may suggest new strategies for breaking the bad ones | Science Daily, USA

Massachusetts Chief’s Tack in Drug War: Steer Addicts to Rehab, Not Jail

Believing addiction is a disease, the Gloucester Police Department became the unusual law enforcement agency offering heroin users an alternative to prison | NY Times, USA

Women and weed: the gender differences in cannabis use and abuse

Naomi* smokes a couple of bongs in the morning after her two-year-old son has been fed and clothed. Once he is asleep at night, she smokes about 20 more | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

The secret alcohol liaison nurse's diary: 'Cuts are having a devastating impact'

A nurse says her service is lucky to have volunteers supporting clients to work towards an alcohol-free life | Guardian, UK

How the NHS saved my life: I spent my 20s playing Russian roulette with alcohol

Chris Owen, who developed alcohol-induced epilepsy, tells how the health service picked him up after every injury | Guardian, UK

Chaotic lives and ethical dilemmas: inside the hospital liver ward

Hepatologists in Southampton are seeing more young, middle-class and female alcoholics – some even in their teens | Guardian, UK

The making of a hangover: the true impact of one night out

ix reporters in city centres across the country report on one night of British drinking – and its impact on the National Health Service | Guardian, UK

Crispin Blunt’s poppers speech: a brave acknowledgment of awkward truths

Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP for Reigate, Surrey, offered the British media a late Christmas present when he admitted to being a user of the drug amyl nitrite, more commonly known as “poppers”, during a House of Commons debate on the Psychoactive Substances Bill, which would see them banned | Conversation, UK

Poppers: How gay culture bottled a formula that has broken down boundaries

With a Tory MP outing himself as a user, why are poppers being banned? | Independent, UK

Is it time to legalise drugs? - video

his time on Consented TV we talk about whether we should legalise drugs, our changing drugs habits and why drug legislation has been so slow to adapt to the obvious societal changes that have occurred | Consented TV, UK

Ayahuasca: the shamanic brew that produces out-of-body experiences

Ayahuasca, known by various names by different indigenous groups in South America, is a generic term commonly associated with preparations of the mildly psychoactive vineBanisteriopsis caapi. Ayahuasca literally translates from the Quechua language of the North Andes as “soul vine” or “vine of the dead” and has traditionally been consumed by indigenous communities such as the Aruák, Chocó, Jívaro, Pano, and Tukano across the upper reaches of the Amazon River system in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru | Conversation, UK