Weekly news - 2nd April 2010 |
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Home Secretary bans mephedrone
Mephedrone and its related compounds are to be banned and made Class B drugs following recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs [Home Office, UK]
Eric Carlin's ACMD resignation letter to the Home Secretary
[Eric Carlin, UK]
My resignation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
I resigned from the ACMD yesterday as a result of my grave concerns and misgivings about the processes we went through at our meeting this week and more generally about the lack of logic and sometimes morality in what we’re required to do [Eric Carlin's blog, UK]
Drug adviser Dr Polly Taylor's full resignation letter
Saying she did not trust the government's use of its advice [BBC, UK]
Drug adviser Taylor on importance of independent advice
Dr Polly Taylor - who resigned from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - talks to Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman about the decision to ban the drug mephedrone and her claims that scientific independence is being compromised by political pressure [BBC Newsnight, UK]
Three appointments to ACMD
The appointments will be for a period of three years, and attract no remuneration [Home Office, UK]
Consideration of the cathinones
Report from the [Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, UK]
Pathways to Problems 2009
A follow-up report on the implementation of recommendations from Pathways to Problems. Press release [AMCD, Home Office, UK]
Renewed guidance for treating heroin addicts in prison
Guidance for the treatment of heroin addicts in prison has been updated to reinforce the expectation that prisoners jailed for more than six months should not be maintained on methadone unless there are exceptional circumstances. Letter - Guidance [NTA, UK]
Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2009
An annual compendium presenting the latest available information from a range of national data sources relevant to drug misuse [DMIS, Scotland, UK]
Local Drugs and Alcohol Information 2010
A compendium of local statistics on alcohol and drug use, brought together from previously published national sources [DMIS, Scotland, UK]
National drug treatment waiting times framework National reports
Period ending Oct - Dec 2009 [DMIS, Scotland, UK]
Happy families?
Despite family support being a central part of the current drug strategy, it has for years been poorly funded and sporadic - Editorial [Drink and Drugs News, UK]
DDN virtual magazine
Features in PDF: "Ecology of soul" - "High hopes" - "Harm reduction comes of age" - "Get with the times" - "Letters and comment" [Drink and Drugs News, UK]
Should addiction services offer therapy for co-morbid depression and anxiety?
Most patients at drug and alcohol services suffer depression and/or anxiety, far too many and usually not severely enough to engage mental health teams. Should services offer special mental health therapies, or is substance-focused treatment sufficient? [Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK]
Health Profile of England 2009
Rising alcohol related hospital admissions and alcohol related deaths [DoH, UK]
Risk assessment of new psychoactive substances — operating guidelines
The principal aim of these guidelines is to put in place a sound methodological and procedural basis for carrying out each risk assessment, by using a semi-quantitative assessment procedure [EMCDDA]
An environmental scan on alcohol and other drug issues facing law enforcement in Australia 2010
This is the second alcohol and other drug environmental scan undertaken for the law enforcement sector in Australia [NDLERF]
Alcohol Advertising Position Paper
[Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association , Australia]
Alcohol Taxation Position Paper
[Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association , Australia]
Background Paper – Alcohol Taxation
[Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association , Australia]
Afghanistan cannabis survey 2009
This report is dedicated to the memory Late Amanullah, who was tragically killed in Kandahar in October 2009 while undertaking work for this cannabis survey [UNODC]