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Likewise launches to support people in Sheffield with drug and alcohol issues
[…] projects to ensure more people across our city have access to support and recovery services when they need them.” Likewise will offer a range of support including harm reduction, recovery navigation, clinical and therapeutic interventions. The service will also provide support for family members and continue to work with people in longer term recovery to […]
Accentuate the positive
[…] to balance budgets and maintain services that local communities cared about, while working to develop partnerships such as the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) – something that combined harm reduction and reducing reoffending and showed the two could complement each other. ‘But evidence of effectiveness isn’t enough in the current financial climate,’ she said. ‘The coming […]
Executions for drug offences up 850 per cent in two years
There were at least 285 executions for drug offences worldwide in 2022, according to the latest report from Harm Reduction International (HRI). This represents a 118 per cent increase on 2021 and an 850 per cent increase since 2020. There are 35 countries that still retain the death penalty. Executions for drug offences were either […]
DDN February 2023
[…] The outlook for their health is worrying – but how do we encourage them to take the risks seriously and play an active part in their own harm reduction? There’s no doubt that a new alcohol strategy is well overdue – but it must go beyond a focus on young people and have absolute relevance […]
November issue 2013
In this month’s issue of DDN… ‘The key harm reduction messages for active ketamine users revolve around dose management and hydration. Understanding how to dose, avoiding dose stacking and learning to take breaks between using sessions…’ In November’s issue, Mat Southwell and Lana Durjava offer practical advice on understanding and meeting the complex needs of people […]
Almost half of MDMA sold at festivals last year was fake
[…] to tell what’s really in the drugs people purchase – and the pandemic and Brexit appear to have exacerbated this issue. Rapid onsite testing, dissemination of alerts, harm reduction information and associated risk communications through media and social media channels provide vital ways to inform drug-users, practitioners and policymakers to help reduce drug-related harms at […]
UK’s first Home Office-licensed drug checking service launches in Bristol
The country’s first regular drug checking service to be licensed by the Home Office will open in Bristol later this month, provided by harm reduction body The Loop. The organisation has been providing drug-testing facilities at festivals for almost a decade. The sample drop-off and Loop pop-up laboratory are located at Bristol Drug Project. The […]
WDP to deliver services in Surrey
[…] from 1 April 2022 and will be operational for an initial three-year term. WDP will be delivering one-to-one and group support for service users, as well as harm reduction. It has an award-winning Capital Card scheme, and a unique family safeguarding service which will be co-located with children and families’ social services teams. Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of […]
Words into deeds
[…] in the future, have a look at that matrix.’ The three headline objectives were reducing overall drug use, reducing drug-related crime and reducing drug-related deaths and health harms, with the government saying ‘very clearly that it wants a whole-system approach, with the money spent behind achieving those’. Prof Dame Clare Gerada: Needs ‘joined-up effort’ […]
DDN December/January 2021
[…] fired up our pages for many years – ensuring people are on the dose that suits them, and the all-important dialogue that moves way beyond the ‘ harm reduction v recovery’ days and focuses on our collective assets and interests. Our reports on pages 10, 12, 16 and 21 give a flavour of the will […]
The comprehensive spending review: a substance misuse perspective
[…] a greater extent in deprived areas. The benefits of properly funding substance misuse services will be far-reaching. Estimates show that the social and economic costs of alcohol related harm amount to £21.5 billion, while that of illicit drug use costs £10.7bn. These include costs associated with deaths, the NHS, crime and, in the case of […]
People in need of residential treatment being failed, says Phoenix
[…] If implemented, the legislation would be evaluated after four years, says the coalition of SPD, Greens and Free Democratic Party, which will take over from Angela Merkel’s CDU party. The new government also intends to introduce drug checking and other harm reduction measures, it says. rehab report phoenix futures Phoenix Futures chief executive Karen Biggs
‘One in five’ in North East could have undiagnosed liver disease
[…] reduction in levels of alcohol-related crime, disorder or public nuisance. Dr Karl Ferguson: Understanding the impact of MUP is important ‘Understanding the impact of MUP on social harms including crime and public safety is an important aspect of the overall evaluation,’ said Dr Karl Ferguson, public health intelligence adviser at Public Health Scotland. ‘The […]
Drugs & Me
Drugs & Me is a social enterprise that provides services centered around drug harm reduction, as part of an upcoming network of mental health tools brought to you by the Mental Health Education Foundation. Website: https://www.drugsand.me/
Clubbers warned to pace themselves as venues reopen
A new harm reduction campaign by drug safety organisation The Loop in partnership with the Metro newspaper is warning clubbers to stay safe as venues open after 18 months of lockdown restrictions. Clubbers are being urged to pace themselves and not ‘make up for lost time’ ‘High Alert’ is urging people to pace themselves and […]
The long road
[…] so national coverage really shouldn’t be a problem. It’s about getting the right people on board who can fight your battle.’ Early champions Another early champion is harm reduction campaigner and former GP Judith Yates, who first came across naloxone in 2009 when David Best and others were working on an early paper. This studied […]
DDN April 2021
[…] idea of buying alcohol for people with severe dependence might seem a strange one to many. The outreach team in Bristol (p6) are well enough tuned to harm reduction to know that their life-saving actions during lockdown have opened up many opportunities. It’s a brave idea and the tangible results of their initiative speak for […]
Chelita De La Haye – i am a…
[…] with young people under the age of 25. At the same time I volunteered with a local drug treatment project on the Dance Drug Safety Project, providing harm reduction advice in the night-time economy. I found engaging with both young people and individuals who misuse substances rewarding. The post of young person’s substance misuse nurse […]
DDN November 2020
[…] healthcare discrimination should be a primary focus. Sharing the ‘safe supply’ scheme from his home in British Columbia, Bill Nelles (p16) charts the journey of one straightforward harm reduction approach, through the challenges of risk assessment, scepticism and moral dilemma, to finally become official health policy. He hopes that the UK could follow suit with […]
Doubling Down
[…] most at risk of infection, there has been no notable reduction in new transmissions in recent years. Prevention is absolutely vital to achieving elimination and yet currently harm reduction provision does not go far enough, with 36 per cent of people who inject drugs reporting in 2018 that they did not have adequate needle and […]
0713_DDN_web
[…] FOCUSED Delegates at Adfams conference discuss the progress made since Hidden harm p12 PROFILE HRI executive director Rick Lines on dignity, compassion and human rights p22 w.driwnkaugkrnsauecw HARM REDUCTION ACTIVISTS GATHER IN VILNIUS w.drinkauigsiekicogumiedri kIrSikNiukI1g75k-ri rk uri IdkiosrimSonsbia7mir7miedrimSoniIaSi2iIdg5digsi3rSJi -o5diaiSa5gauia7mir5k7k-g5iloseg5rigssory0 Goin g t o t h e In te rn atio nal H arm R ed ubtio […]
Obituary
[…] death of Alan Joyce. I first came across Alan when he started working as a volunteer for the Methadone Alliance. He popped up on some of the harm reduction mailing lists, full of passion for his new role, and with an interest in politics and post-structuralist philosophy. An ex-art student, Alan had studied Fine Art […]
Euro drug scene in ‘state of flux’
[…] western European countries, and smaller proportions of injectors. Recent HIV outbreaks in Greece and Romania, however, have ‘interrupted this positive trend’ and underline the need for adequate harm reduction and treatment services, says the document. A key theme of the report is that drug treatment remains ‘a cost-effective policy option, even at a time of […]
European drug scene in a ‘state of flux’
[…] western European countries and smaller proportions of injectors. Recent HIV outbreaks in Greece and Romania, however, have ‘interrupted this positive trend’ and underline the need for adequate harm reduction and treatment services, says the document. A key theme of the report is that drug treatment remains ‘a cost-effective policy option, even at a time of […]
Your letters
[…] people get to experience anything like what Dr Brinksman describes at his own practice. Name and address supplied Electro revolution Professor Howard Parker acknowledges the harm reduction benefits of e-cigarettes (DDN, April, page 18), but also says they do not have a scientific clean bill of health. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine in aerosol form […]
Weathering the storm
[…] 15 April (see news, page 4) which – alongside instructions to minimise face-to-face contact, scale back hep C testing and defer detoxes – recommends increasing provision of harm reduction measures including naloxone, and encourages services to increase stock held by NSPs and allow people to take more equipment. The guidance also advocates new ways of […]
Cannabis class
[…] Prozac – could worsen cannabis withdrawal. He reminded people that the cannabis drugs meter (www.drugsmeter.com) was a simple way for people to think about their use and harm reduction. Dr Malcolm Bruce explained that while some people using cannabis did present themselves to NHS cannabis services, the numbers were low, which was why the role […]
Drug Reporter
[…] policy website of the Rights Reporter Foundation. The website was created in 2004 to promote drug policy reform advocacy in the region. In 2007 we started our video advocacy program and our website has become an international hub for English and Russian language news articles, blogs and films about harm reduction and drug policy reform. www.drogriporter.hu/en en Drug reporter
Matters of Life and Death
[…] on an NPS course, and the conversation related to a worker struggling with a young person whose high-risk polydrug use and apparent unwillingness to take on board harm reduction measures left the worker desperately worried and stuck. We discussed the idea of the young person writing a ‘what if…’ letter to their parents. ‘You think […]
Shared perspectives
[…] year saw the first reduction in overdose deaths since 2012, dropping from 1,600 to 1,000. While they remain far above the 400 a year before the crisis, we are getting much better at responding to them. Bill Nelles harm reduction activist 2016: Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, a mural highlighting fentanyl-related drug deaths Credit: Gerry Rousseau/Alamy
DDN April 2020
[…] proportion to the task ahead. With so much beyond our control, we need to focus on essential priorities – which is where the clear protocols and sound harm-reduction practices are so useful. We have been so impressed by the swift initiatives to share action that will save lives. In the rush to convert everything […]
Inside Out
[…] worse. I had three children when my husband asked me for a divorce. I was drinking in public toilets and was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. I was looking at nine years. I knew going to prison would save my life. I was taken straight to healthcare at Bronzefield, very […]
DDN Magazine December 2019
[…] that our opinions count. The HIT Hot Topics conference (page 8) is familiar with this sensation. Speakers travel across the world to share frustration at opportunities for harm reduction being squandered and governments driven by greed and ignorance. It would be easy for any one of us to think our voice didn’t matter – but […]
DDN Magazine November 2019
[…] published our first issue of DDN. I interviewed the drugs minister Caroline Flint, who talked about the new drug intervention programme (DIP) and the recently launched Alcohol harm reduction strategy. There was a lot happening – the Home Office was pumping money into the sector to ‘break the cycle between drugs and crime’. By our […]
UK drug policy failing, say MPs
[…] on the government to consult on decriminalising possession for personal use to a civil matter, and urges it to examine the Portuguese system, which also includes improved harm reduction and treatment provision. Money saved in the criminal justice system through decriminalisation could be used for investment in treatment and prevention, the report argues. With funding […]
April issue
[…] who don’t have the vote is not. Our cover story this issue (page 6) gives insight to the slow steady progress on prison welfare reform, focusing on health and harm reduction. Practice in other countries in Europe and the US is constantly informing suggestions of radical change in our own criminal justice system. The picture is of painfully […]
The power of naloxone
[…] prescribed to a responsible person and kept in communal areas of supported accommodation facilities. Over the last ten years naloxone has become an integral part of Harbour’s harm reduction procedure, with kits easily available across all of its properties in boxes attached directly to the walls, as well as in first-aid kits and kept in […]
Case dismissed
[…] (DDN, July/August, page 5). Only 12 per cent of prisoners who were previously dependent on heroin left prison with naloxone in 2017-18 A look at the ‘substantial harms’ that contribute to the unacceptable death rate showed that many prisoners were still being released without the certainty of accommodation, increasing their risk of relapse and […]
DDN Magazine June 2019
[…] and into education and treatment programmes (page 14). Since then disinvestment has become the norm. So where does that leave us? In dire need of a clear harm reduction led strategy to replace a ‘tough on drugs’ approach that is unfit for purpose in every way, according to a parliamentary meeting that included senior police […]
Man of principle
[…] engaged with the process. A police officer for 33 years, George Gallimore is principal officer at the Police Federation, and speaks on its behalf on drugs and harm reduction issues. ‘The electorate will worry about lower level anti-social behaviour, dog fouling, litter and the minor things that you worry about when you live in an […]
Becoming visible: homelessness
[…] No help for smokers Dr Lynne Dawkins of London South Bank University (LSBU) explained the strong link between homelessness and tobacco use and looked at opportunities for harm reduction. Smoking killed around 200 people a day in England and was responsible for more than a quarter of cancer deaths – and with the average pack […]
DDN February 2019
[…] (page 16), to challenge the narrative and acknowledge the moral bankruptcy involved. Crucially, we must do more to bring evidence to daily practice through simple, cost- effective harm reduction, early interventions, and the confidence to reach out and create strong peer networks. Turning our backs on this situation and leaving it to others is not […]
DDN Wider Health
[…] It contains articles published in our monthly DDN magazine, alongside reports, research and contributions that add to our knowledge bank looking at lung health, smoking, vaping, tobacco harm reduction and safer nicotine products. We have also produced a special supplement on End of Life Care for Manchester Metropolitan University and our own Routes to Recovery […]
The power of connection
[…] ‘We listen to our women and give them a voice.’ Improving the women’s health is a driving force of SWOP’s work and the approach is grounded in harm reduction. The network of partner agencies enables swift referral to treat sexually transmitted diseases, infections and HIV, and working with sexual health and homeless health teams helps […]
State of the sector: Time to talk
[…] social support. ‘There have been calls for solutions that dovetail with the mainstream – long-term recovery and support,’ says Dale-Perera, and these should include strong elements of harm reduction – community OST, more needle exchanges, and better coverage with naloxone. Mike Dixon, chief executive of Addaction, believes we need to ‘change the feel of services’ […]
Europe: ‘new era’ of declining heroin use and complex stimulant market
[…] are also continuing to decline, along with the numbers of newly reported HIV cases –particularly when compared to countries like Russia and Ukraine. In Greece, however, where harm reduction services have fallen victim to austerity measures, infection rates increased from less than 20 per year before 2010 to 241 in 2011, the result of ‘a […]
The Fear Inside
[…] activities. In a prison setting it carries additional challenges, with individuals often engaging in riskier behaviour due to contextual factors such as unsafe environment, limited availability of harm reduction services and a climate in which they have to hide their drug use to avoid punishment for failing mandatory drug testing. Incarceration has an overwhelming impact […]
Royal College of Physicians comes out for decriminalisation
[…] our position on drug policy reform,’ said RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer. ‘That such an influential medical body has put its weight behind a public health and harm reduction approach to drugs, including the decriminalisation of personal possession and use, goes to show just how far the debate on this issue has moved forward – […]
How do we keep up this momentum?
[…] associated with the economic climate and spending squeeze. ‘The lesson from Greece is that disinvestment comes at a heavy price,’ he says, with cuts in treatment and harm reduction services leading to the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among injecting drug users rising from around ten in 2009-10 to 190 the following year. In […]
One size fits nobody
[…] to reduce – that it’s the law. I know it isn’t, but I have to fight at each appointment. The new staff don’t understand, or believe in, harm reduction – but I’ve seen too many friends die when they stop treatment and I’ve got to live to bring up my kid.’ For those trying to […]
Review of the year
[…] member and ex-UKDPC chief Roger Howard tells DDN. ‘But in this circumstance I think that narrative probably needs to be challenged.’ JUNE An optimistic month for the harm reduction community as a new report moves Glasgow’s proposed consumption room a step closer and one of the country’s leading public health bodies calls for music festivals […]
North Wales PCC calls for introduction of consumption rooms
[…] immediately’. Meanwhile, a report from the Cross Party Parliamentary Group on Drugs, Alcohol and Justice sets out ten key demands on the UK government, including prioritising ‘coordinated harm reduction strategies’ to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, and identifying a single government minister responsible for drug and alcohol policy. Charter for change also urges the government […]
Reflection of hope
With their roots in harm reduction services, Kaleidoscope Project provide both community and residential drug and alcohol treatment. Their new 20-bed detoxification unit in Merseyside continues their tradition of providing life-changing support for every individual. Birchwood Residential Treatment Centre ‘For the last 49 years Kaleidoscope has worked with some of the most marginalised clients with the […]
Counter culture
[…] people more often than anyone else in the system. So there’s a lot of stuff they can do.’ He reels off a list of basic interventions and harm reduction advice, as well as the opportunity to introduce patients to the right kind of hepatitis C treatment to suit their condition – ‘if you’re on OST […]
A moment to reflect
[…] at the age of 21, but she continued her pioneering work into the 1990s, helping to influence policy in the UK. APA also continued, moving increasingly into harm reduction and treatment services throughout the heroin epidemics of the 1980s and 90s, and rebranding as Addaction in 1998. Addaction has grown significantly since then, from 19 […]
By hook or by crook
[…] while reducing stigma attached to drug treatment. A move towards a regulated market would offer a targeted dialogue with people experiencing problematic cannabis use, offering opportunities for harm reduction advice to be delivered at point of purchase, and any person in need of support to be linked into reformed public health measures. There would also […]
Industrial strength: Where next for alcohol policy?
[…] offered to review beer, wine and cider duties, which are calculated according to alcohol by volume (ABV). In terms of the retailer role in helping to reduce harm, alcohol remained an ‘incredibly important’ category for shopkeepers, said public affairs executive at the Association of Convenience Stores, Julie Byers. ‘Our members have a huge responsibility […]
Naloxone outreach – Reaching out
[…] who have contact with our service users to try to get as much out there as possible.’ It’s not just about the naloxone, but about ‘the whole harm reduction message’, she says. ‘We’re trying to make it a whole health and wellbeing approach, rather than just “here’s naloxone”.’ Among the community partners, she says pharmacies […]
January issue
[…] for alcohol services on page 11; and a fresh look at local treatment services versus out-of-area provision on page 14. John Ryan gives insight into his experiences working with harm reduction in Australia (page 12), while Brendan Georgeson gives a motivational account of organising Bristol’s first dual diagnosis recovery conference. And we’re pleased to welcome Release’s first legal column, […]
Rodrigo Duterte’s punishing regime
[…] ‘mostly for using or having used drugs, or simply being arbitrarily placed ona published list of so-called drug suspects’, as well as provision of drug treatment and harm reduction services. It could also address some ‘alarming legislative proposals’ including one to re-instate the death penalty, abolished a decade ago, and another to lower the age […]