DrugWise Daily |
13th December 2024 |
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UK news
Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2024
An overview of the extent and trends of illicit drug use. Data are from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated 8.8% of people aged 16 to 59 years (around 2.9 million people) reported using any drug in the last 12 months for the year ending (YE) March 2024; there was no statistically significant change, compared with YE March 2023 | ONS, UK
Town has higher figures of child cannabis use
Children in Rotherham use cannabis and vape at a rate higher than the national average for their age group, a survey has revealed | BBC, UK
Glasgow drug consumption room to open within weeks
The UK's first consumption room for illegal drugs is "weeks away" from opening in Glasgow after delays caused by water supply testing. The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility on the city's Hunter Street was due to open on 21 October, but was pushed back after failing to pass a three-stage testing programme | BBC, UK
Exploring the delivery of alcohol-related health advice in dental practice settings: A scoping review
Dental Professionals (DPs) are ideally placed to support public health efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm by routinely screening patients and offering alcohol-related health advice, a scoping review commissioned by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) has found. However, the review found that while DPs are encouraged to screen patient’s alcohol consumption and provide advice in the form of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs), there is a reluctance to do this. This is due to concerns about a lack of time, training and funding | SHAAP, UK
Ethics in Focus webinar: the power and principles of telling stories of substance use - video
Listen to our guest speakers discuss the ethics and power of storytelling: ethical considerations, responsibilities, and best practices for sharing stories about people that use substances, addiction, recovery, and resilience | Anti-Stigma Network, UK
Veterinarian: 'I drank to numb the emotional pain'
"I used alcohol as an emotional crutch." Kirstie Pickles has not had a drink in 13 years, but the day-to-day stresses of being a veterinarian once led her to turn to alcohol for "emotional support" and to numb the pain | BBC, UK
Alcohol among reasons young people given support
Alcohol remains one of the biggest reasons young people in Guernsey are referred to support services, a charity has said. The Action for Children substance team said they had seen between 60 to 70 young people referred to them due to alcohol issues, with 97% of those receiving support | BBC, UK
Inmates at open jail with highest drug use 'bored'
Inmates at an open prison in Lancashire, which has the highest drug use of any in the country, have told inspectors they are "frustrated and bored". During an unannounced inspection of HMP Kirkham in September inspectors said they "frequently smelt cannabis as they walked around" | BBC, UK
Stigma Shorts Series with Alex Stevens
Friday 13 December 2024 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM (UTC+00). Online. Professor Alex Stevens will use ideas from his latest book, on Drug Policy Constellations, to explain how the current mix of policies on drug-related deaths came to be. Instead of focusing on electoral politics, or appealing for 'evidence-based policy', Alex will show how particularly Scottish combinations of policy actors, ideas, morals and forms of power influenced the belated response to the crisis of drug-related deaths | TryBooking, UK
International news
Global State of Tobbaco Harm Reduction 2024: A situation Report
The fourth in our biennial GSTHR series, this report tracks the extent to which safer nicotine products are replacing and substituting for combustible and risky oral tobacco products. It is split into two parts, A Global Perspective and Regional and National Insights | GSTHR, UK
Myanmar soldiers ‘forced to take meth’ to stay sharp
Soldiers captured by rebel forces claim they were given methamphetamines before being told to torch houses | Independent, UK
Syrian rebels seize vast haul of banned drug captagon, country’s largest export
Drug dwarfed all legal exports put together, with Assad’s brother widely believed to be power behind lucrative trade | Guardian, UK
‘Mother of all battles’: terror for Mexicans as war rages inside Sinaloa cartel
Violence shows few signs of ending after three months of war between rival factions that have left more than a thousand dead or disappeared | Guardian, UK
Alcohol Action Strategic Plan 2025-2029
Alcohol Action Ireland is setting out its strategic plan for 2025-2029. We will advocate for government policies which will reduce alcohol consumption and provide services for those harmed by alcohol. We intend to focus on the actions which can bring about a sea-change in how our government and society understands and views alcohol | AAI, Ireland
Data reveal U.S. overdose deaths fell 17% in just one year
In new data that suggest the U.S. opioid epidemic may be easing, drug overdose deaths fell 17% between July 2023 and July 2024. The new data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 94,000 people died from drug overdoses (ODs) during that 12-month period, down from more than 113,000 deaths between July 2022 and July 2023 | Medical Xpress, USA
Researchers Aren’t Sure Why Drug Deaths Are Down, But They Have Theories
There were 108,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2022. That was twice the number of drug overdose deaths compared to the year before. Since then, something has changed: overdose deaths are dropping rapidly – and, according to an analysis by Vox, no one is quite sure why. But the experts have their theories | VICE, USA
Eli Lilly to test obesity medications as treatments for alcohol and drug addiction, CEO says
Eli Lilly, the company that makes the blockbuster weight loss treatment Zepbound, will start studying its obesity products as treatments for alcohol and drug addiction, making it the first major drugmaker to do so, CEO David Ricks said Tuesday | STAT News, USA
An opioid settlement ruling could have far-reaching implications for other lawsuits
Ohio's state supreme court has struck down one of the central legal arguments used against corporations accused of fueling America's opioid crisis. The ruling could have far-reaching implications | npr, USA
As OPC Opens in Rhode Island, the US Still Lags Far Behind
Rhode Island has made history by opening the United States’ first overdose prevention center (OPC) that’s sanctioned by a state government. The site opened on December 10 in Providence. As Filter has reported, it’s run by local harm reduction nonprofit Project Weber/Renew and its clinical partner VICTA, which provides substance use treatment and behavioral health services | Filter Magazine, USA
FDA asks Biden administration to limit nicotine in tobacco products
In what appears to be a last-ditch effort to limit the harms of smoking before its term ends, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would significantly lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products | Medical Xpress, USA
Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia
Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use is a major cause of preventable disease, illness and death in Australia. This report consolidates recent information on the availability and consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Australia, and related impacts, harms and treatment | AIHW, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Hepatitis C and mental health: Using peer support to fight stigma
Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood-borne virus that is most commonly acquired by people who inject drugs. If left untreated, HCV can cause cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and liver cancer. Unfortunately, due to its most common transmission routes (the sharing of unsterile injecting equipment), hepatitis C is also a stigmatised disease. As such, people who use drugs with a HCV diagnosis face multi-layered stigma, often seen as instruments of contagion, rather than those deserving of care | Centre for Mental Health blog, UK
Delivering advice to reduce drinking in dental practice settings
In our latest blog, Dr Andrea Mohan discusses her latest research on the role of dental professionals in delivering Alcohol Brief Interventions | SHAAP blog, UK
Germany’s Cannabis Pilot Programme: A Transformative Step for Europe’s Industry
Germany has taken a groundbreaking step in cannabis reform with the launch of its cannabis pilot programme under the Cannabis Control Act (CanG). This initiative, which integrates research, regulation, and innovation, is designed to guide the nation’s cannabis policies while setting a precedent for the rest of Europe. Here’s everything you need to know about this landmark programme and its implications for the cannabis industry | Volteface, UK
Japan Bans Cannabis Use Yet Opens Medical Cannabis Industry
For decades, Japan has had some of the strictest cannabis regulations across the world, handing out harsh sentences for its possession, cultivation and sales. An amendment to the country’s Cannabis Control Act and Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act seeks to update its laws to enable a new medical cannabis market while cracking down harder on recreational use. A new consumption law coming into effect today will effectively criminalise the use of cannabis – previously not a crime under the nation’s near-total cannabis prohibition | Talking Drugs, UK
Are tobacco and cannabis economic substitutes or complements? New research suggests it changes with age
It’s no secret that many different drugs, whether illicit or regulated and legal, are often consumed together or share a similar group of users. But the way people consume drugs together can vary, both with changes in their price and across different age groups. Our recent research, published in the Journal of Population Economics, examined these dynamics between two of the most commonly used drugs in Australia – cannabis and tobacco | Conversation, Australia
Been drinking and your heart’s fluttering? You may have ‘holiday heart’
It’s the time of year for workplace Christmas parties, and gatherings with family and friends. Maybe you’ll drink a lot in one go. Then you feel your heart beating fast or irregularly. Maybe there’s a flutter in your chest or neck. Maybe you feel dizzy or short of breath. You may feel so concerned you go to the emergency department. After a few tests, you’re told you have “alcohol-induced atrial arrhythmia”. In plain English, that’s an irregular heartbeat brought on by excessive, or binge drinking | Conversation, Australia