Weekly news - 16th December 2011

Frontier Medical Group a new sponsor of DS Daily

A big thank you to all our sponsors for supporting DS Daily. If you think that you might be able to sponsor DS Daily then please Email Jim Young jimy@drugscope.org.uk to discuss sponsorship options

UK Drug Situation - 2011 Edition UK Focal Point on Drugs

Annual report to the European monitoring centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction | UK Focal Point on Drugs, Centre for Public Health, UK

Monitoring and evaluation of family intervention services and projects between February 2007 and March 2011

This report provides the latest monitoring evidence on families working with a family intervention between February 2007 and 31 March 2011. The findings presented are based on families referred to family interventions in 159 local authorities. In addition statistical modelling (logistic regression) was used to look at the factors associated with successful and unsuccessful outcomes | Department of Education, UK

DrugScope responds to new government programme to support ‘troubled families’

DrugScope is deeply concerned about growing evidence of disinvestment in substance misuse projects that are already working with and in communities to tackle some of the issues being discussed today, particularly those working with young people and their families. Continued investment in drug and alcohol treatment services is vital for achieving a range of government policy objectives, including supporting families, improving public health and reducing crime and re-offending | DrugScope, UK

Will the Family Drug and Alcohol Court survive?

The court gets results - but funding cuts put it under threat. Evaluation report (Legal Action Group) on the work of FDAC | Guardian, UK

Responding to new psychoactive substances

This briefing paper describes some of the practical and legal obstacles facing Member States when responding to such new substances. It underlines the importance of national early-warning systems in detecting and identifying new substances as the first step towards assessing the risks of, and ultimately controlling, potentially dangerous new drugs. Download in English | EMCDDA

Amphetamine: a European Union perspective in the global context

This joint publication with the European Police Agency, Europol, is an in-depth study on the illicit market in amphetamine - Download - Press release | EMCDDA

New practical guide for prevention professionals

EMCDDA launches first European quality standards to improve drug prevention in the EU | EMCDDA

Trends in treated problem drug use in Ireland 2005 to 2010

This paper describes trends in treated problem drug use in Ireland between 2005 and 2010. The analysis presented is based on data reported to the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) and to the Central Treatment List (CTL) Full report - Appendix - Press release | HRB, Ireland

Iran: Surge of secret executions for drug offences must end

This year has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people – many impoverished – who are executed for drug offences in Iran. Report: Addicted to Death: Executions for Drug Offences in Iran | Amnesty International

Illicit drug related emergency department visits vary by metropolitan area

Information collected from eleven metropolitan areas including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Miami (Dade County and Fort Lauderdale Division), Minneapolis, New York (Five Boroughs Division), Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle | SAMHSA, USA

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2010

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates of drug use in the United States | SAMHSA, USA

Adult Drug Courts

Adult Drug Courts: Studies Show Courts Reduce Recidivism, but DOJ Could Enhance Future Performance Measure Revision Efforts. Full report | GAO, USA

Legality of Denying Access to Medication Assisted Treatment In the Criminal Justice System

This report examines the prevalence of opiate addiction in the criminal justice system, its devastating consequences, and the widespread denial of access to one of its most effective forms of treatment: medication assisted treatment | Legal Action Center, USA