3rd October 2014Gold sponsors: |
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UK news
Workplace drug testing 'on the rise', say providers
Workplace drug testing has increased significantly in the UK, four leading screening companies have said | BBC, UK
RFT Drug poisoning 2013 final tables rates using 1976 ESP (Excel sheet 160Kb)
Number of deaths and age-standardised mortality rate for deaths related to drug misuse, by country and region, England and Wales, deaths registered between 1993â2013 | ONS, UK
Drug recommended to help cut drink dependence
A pill designed to reduce alcohol consumption among problem drinkers looks set to be made available to NHS patients in England and Wales | BBC, UK [Also - Anti-alcohol pill set to be prescribed in England and Wales - video | BBC, UK ]
Government minister answers your alcohol questions - video
One of the UK's top Accident and Emergency doctors says there's a dangerous epidemic of preloading among young people | BBC Newsbeat, UK
Alcohol Interventions in Primary Care & Beyond: Leeds PHE conference presentations
Earlier this year a conference exploring 'alcohol intervention in Primary Care & beyond' took place in Leeds. The event aimed to look at interventions from Identification & Brief Advice (IBA) to treatment models within Primary Care. Topics also included ambulance pathways and the broader evidence and policy base | Alcohol Policy UK, UK
Research into over-the-counter medicine dependence
A team of researchers at the University of Aberdeen are conducting research into over-the-counter (OTC) medicine dependence. They are looking for individuals in the UK aged 18 years and above who are currently dependent on OTC medicines, or currently receiving treatment for OTC medicine dependence, to take part in telephone or Skype interviews. If you have access to eligible clients and are interested in assisting please get in touch | University of Aberdeen, UK
Tobacco Giant Philip Morris International is Highest-Spending EU Lobbyist
A new and comprehensive raft of data has shed some light on the murky world of European Union lobbyists, revealing tobacco giant Philip Morris International is the company that spent the most money lobbying EU politicians in 2013 | IB Times, UK
Man who smuggled £5m of cocaine in fruit consignments jailed
One of Britain's most notorious drugs barons, who smuggled cocaine worth £5m in watermelon and pomegranate consignments, has been jailed for more than 17 years | BBC, UK
Free 'London for Allâ autumn conference
The âLondon for Allâ autumn conference, Wednesday October 22nd will provide training sessions on Measuring Social Impact, Building Relationships with Business and link local VCS expertise with the regional picture | LVSC, UK
Stephen Fry criticised after saying he was âonly personâ hurt by cocaine use on Newsnight
Stephen Fry has faced criticism after saying he was the only one hurt by his cocaine use | Metro, UK
Mental health: Pilots to help people find work launched
The government has launched four pilot schemes to help unemployed people with mental health problems find work | BBC, UK
International news
NYU study finds relationship between neighborhood drug sales and drug use
The research showed more frequent the witnessing of drug selling, the higher the odds of use, particularly for greater quantities of drugs or âharderâ drugs | New York University, USA
Drug addiction viewed more negatively than mental illness, Johns Hopkins study shows
While both are treatable health conditions, stigma of addiction much more pronounced, seen as 'moral failing,' researchers say | John Hopkins University, USA
Heroin overdose death rate doubles in US from 2010-12
Fatal heroin overdoses rose sharply across much of the United States in just two years, with a new report showing the death rate doubled from 2010-12, health authorities said Thursday | Medical Xpress, USA
Marijuana use associated with lower death rates in patients with traumatic brain injuries
LA BioMed researchers surveyed emergency patients tested for THC levels | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol minimum unit pricing: time to take action?
The UK governmentâs minimum pricing policy for alcohol has been hotly debated over the last couple of years and this week a new study describing the potential benefit of minimum unit pricing over the governmentsâ current ban on below cost selling has started sparks flying once more | Mental Elf Blog, UK
We asked three doctors how illegal drugs affect your sperm
Life is full of hard truths. One of the hardest is that you can only party for so long before your body starts asking you nicely to please chill out, or you accumulate so many responsibilities that drinking five beers and popping a molly just isn't wise anymore | VICE, UK
Chemical X Makes Rave Informed Art Pieces From Pills, And Then Secretly Sells Them
One of the most enduring legacies of rave culture - aside from the music itself - has been its visual aesthetic. The gaudy and psychedelic flyers that once promoted warehouse parties and legendary clubs have become collectibles and precious documents of dance music history | VICE thump, UK
Is it time to legalise recreational drugs and prostitution to earn revenue from our guilty pleasures?
The spending on illegal drugs was estimated at £6.7 billion annually, ranked third after tobacco and wine and more than the amount the nation spends on beer and spirits | Yahoo blog, UK
California Chips Away at the Stigma of Addiction
It's not every day that a state does something compassionate and sensible for people who use drugs, but recently, California did just that | Huffington Post Blog, USA
Silk Road Drugs: MDMA Most Popular, Lots of Prescription Meds, And More Data
Daryl Lau, a self-described "computer stuff" guy, has a knack for gathering and assembling interesting data. In the past he made a map of the world's supply of burgundy. This week, he turned his attention Silk Road 2.0, one of the most popular black marketplaces on the deep web | Reason.com Blog, USA
White people are more likely to deal drugs, but black people are more likely to get arrested for it
Here's a pretty astonishing chart on the skyrocketing number of arrests of black Americans for nonviolent drug crimes | Washington Post, USA
How Peer Education can make Festivals Safer
With the recent deaths at Torontoâs VELD festival or the Boonstock Festival in Penticton, BC, many people are now scrambling to come up with explanations for the tragedies. Toronto Police are blaming bad drugs. Many media outlets are taking the opportunity to blame youth culture. Whatever story we tell, the fact is that people are doing drugs at parties | Matters of Substance, Australia