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US signals softer stance on drug sentencing for non-violent offenders
The US administration has indicated a softening of its stance on drug sentencing, with proposals to abolish mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders. The country has long been the subject of criticism for its […]
Hepatitis can’t wait
An online event by NHS England marked the start of the 10th World Hepatitis Day, with the slogan ‘Hepatitis can’t wait’. The event reaffirmed the commitment to eliminating hepatitis C in England ahead of the world goal of 2030. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic we were still on track to do this, said […]
Sector welcomes Black’s ‘gamechanger’
[…] he said. ‘It needs to be outward looking and work with the field and the people affected.’ Steve Rolles of Transform was among those to question why prisons had been left out of the remit, calling it ‘odd and a shame’. There were also concerns as to why the Central Drugs Unit was based […]
Government commits to new drugs unit
A new drugs unit will be set up to help ‘end illegal drug-related illness and deaths’, the government has stated, following the publication of the second part of Professor Dame Carol Black’s Independent review of drugs. The Joint Combating Drugs Unit will bring together multiple departments of state – the Department of Health and Social […]
Tom Woodcock joins The Calico Group as new director of treatment and recovery
The Calico Group is pleased to welcome Tom Woodcock as Director of Treatment and Recovery in a new role.
More than £550m needed to save treatment system, says Black report
The government needs to invest an additional £552m in the drug treatment system over the next five years through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), says the second part of Professor Dame Carol Black’s Independent review of drugs – one of more than 30 recommendations in the long-awaited document. An additional £15m in employment […]
Make it stick
[…] there to give to others – targeting those high-population areas is really important.’ Inadequate supply Another alarming finding from the Release document was that only half of prisons and one in five young offender institutions were actually providing naloxone to those leaving custody – this despite the up-to-eightfold increase in risk of a drug-related […]
Services now ‘on their knees’, says Carol Black
Funding cuts have left treatment and recovery services ‘on their knees’, commissioning has ‘become fragmented with little accountability for outcomes’ and partnerships between local authorities and health and criminal justice agencies have deteriorated across the country, Professor Dame Carol Black told the Westminster Social Policy Forum’s Tackling drug addiction and substance misuse – latest thinking on […]
COVID fails to dent ‘resilient’ European drug market
The European drug market has ‘continued to adjust’ to disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, says EMCDDA’s European drug report 2021: trends and developments. Traffickers in a ‘resilient and more digitally enabled’ market have adapted to border closures and travel restrictions, as reflected in changes to trafficking routes and less reliance on human couriers. While street […]
Stronger Together
Mike Trace sets out the vision for the newly merged Forward Trust and Action on Addiction.
DDN June 2021
Drugs legislation is woefully out of date Fifty years on, does anybody believe that the Misuse of Drugs Act is still fit for purpose? The verdict is not good (page 6). A dramatic failure, punitive (particularly to the most vulnerable in our society), neither fair nor evidence-based, a blunt policing tool that compounds damage… some […]
Change Grow Live launches country-wide homeless outreach initiative
Eighteen new homelessness outreach services, employing 130 staff, have been launched across England by Change Grow Live. Alongside access to drug and alcohol treatment, the specialist teams will offer wraparound holistic support including wider mental and physical health, as well as help with housing and benefits. The teams will provide street interventions for people sleeping […]
DDN April2021
[…] Permanent • Temporary • Consultancy Supplying experienced, trained staff: • Commissioning• Service Reviews• DIP Management• DAT Co-ordination• Needs Assessments / Project Management/ Groups and 1-1 drug workers/ Prisons and community drug workers/ Nurses (detox, therapeutic, managers)/ Many more roles... CALL TODAY: 020 8987 6061Register online:www.SamRecruitment.co.uk Solutions Action ManagementStill No.1 for Recruitment and Consultancy AAAPRIL […]
Letters
The DDN letters page, where you can have your say. The August issue of DDN will be out on 2 September — make sure you send letters and comments to claire@cjwellings.com by Wednesday 28 August to be included. False dichotomy In her open letter to Anna Soubry MP Dr Chris Ford draws an erroneous […]
Homelessness ‘substantially’ increases BBV risk for people who inject drugs
Homelessness and unstable housing are associated with a ‘substantial’ increase in acquisition risk for both HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs, according to research by the University of Bristol. Recent homelessness or unstable living circumstances meant a 55 per cent increase in HIV risk and 65 per cent for hep C risk, […]
DDN March 2021
Early trauma is the common thread Early trauma is an incredibly complex subject and yet it is the common thread that runs through so much of our work. Adverse Child Experience (ACE) studies have highlighted the links between addiction and neglect, abuse and violence, yet how often do we use this knowledge to develop our […]
Brook Drive – meet the team
As part of our ‘I am a…’ series two of the team from Brook Drive, the only third sector detox service in London, tell us about their careers – and the challenges past and present. ‘My past is my greatest asset’ At our 26-bed residential detox service we offer medically assisted detoxification from drugs […]
DF Family support worker job decription 30.11.20
[…] those bereaved by addiction. Our services include a helpline, support groups, an annual 'bereaved by addiction' conference and our young people’s bereavement project. We also work in prisons, schools and community settings. The F SW will work flexibly to ensure a high -quality helpline service; this may include weekend, evenings and public holidays and […]
Getting Engaged
With drug-related deaths once again hitting record levels, it’s never been more urgent to make sure we’re properly engaging with so-called ‘chaotic clients’.
DDN November 2020
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Just a child
The exploitation involved in ‘county lines’ is an urgent call for action, as DDN reports. The brutal killing of a 16-year-old boy shook his community in Shropshire. How had this happened on the streets of Shrewsbury? As the investigation began, a picture emerged that took all of the support services by surprise. Michael had been […]
Safeguarding Sanctuary
The lockdown has forced services providing domestic abuse support to become even more resourceful and innovative, says Miranda Hawtrey. Read the full article in DDN magazine Working in a setting supporting those with addiction issues and complex needs is always a delicate balancing act. But when the coronavirus outbreak swept through the UK in March […]
More than 120 children slain in Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’
More than 120 killings of children and young people were carried out in the Philippines between July 2016 and December 2019, according to a report by the Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the Philippine Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center. Just under 40 per cent of the killings were carried out by the […]
21st May issue
Whatever you feel about existing data collection systems – and we know that many of you feel very strongly that they have taken over your job and burrowed into client time – there is no doubt that the NTA has consulted carefully before introducing the new Treatment Outcomes Profile system (page 10). Its designers, addiction researchers Dr John Marsden and Dr Michael […]
29th January issue
[…] difficult subjects with their children? Drug, alcohol and parenting charities debated issues at a recent seminar and learnt from innovative schemes (page 12). Gary Rees shows determination to improve communication between prisons and makes progress in healthcare and harm reduction through the innovative ‘Sparcle!’ network, on page 10. Finally, amid reports of how crystal meth is devastating America, the Home Office […]
21st April issue
Are residential treatment centres up to scratch? In explaining the new star rating system, David Finney mentions that the drug and alcohol sector performs better than most (page 6). Clearer signposts to good (and not so good) treatment should give clients and commissioners better choice, and prompt the poorer performers to shape up for survival. The lottery of service standards becomes […]
Nothing to declare
In the fourth part of his personal story, Mark Dempster pushes his luck to the limits abroad and comes home for a dose of harsh reality. I spent my break in Morocco drinking poppy tea and smoking hash. I hitched a lift in the middle of nowhere with some German tourists. We stopped by some […]
Media Savvy
Who’s been saying what? It appears that those who have the biggest budgets shout the loudest, as the supporters of minimum pricing cannot be heard over the red-faced rants from the multinational drinks corporations. Katherine Brown, Guardian, 8 May Tellingly, the Queen’s Speech excluded a host of politically correct bills that had been demanded […]
Euro drug scene in ‘state of flux’
New threats are continuing to challenge Europe’s established models of drug policy and practice, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), with the drug problem in a ‘state of flux’. Positive developments regarding more traditional drugs – such as fewer new heroin users, less injecting and declining use of cocaine […]
European drug scene in a ‘state of flux’
New threats are continuing to challenge Europe’s established models of drug policy and practice, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), with the drug problem in a ‘state of flux’. Positive developments regarding more traditional drugs – such as fewer new heroin users, less injecting and declining use of cocaine […]
New directions
David Gilliver talks to International Drug Policy Consortium executive director Ann Fordham about raising awareness and the changing course of the global drug policy debate. ‘It’s clear that the global consensus on prohibition is breaking,’ says International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) executive director Ann Fordham. ‘But that doesn’t mean there’s going to be a new consensus.’ IDPC […]
DDN010609
[…] waiting times from an average of nine weeks to two weeks were phenomenal, and the treatment penetration we have now â both in the community and in prisons â is unrivalled in the world. We forget sometimes how easy it is for people in this country to get free drug treatment especially for heroin […]
November 2009
Closing the gaps Services must link to provide a stronger net. ‘We asked for help and ended up blamed.’ Sue Foreman’s story gives harrowing insight into the desperate isolation experienced by a family struggling to help their son with multiple problems (page 6). Knocking on the doors of drug and alcohol services, doctors, mental health, social services, […]
News in brief
Council call London’s drug and sexual health services are failing to respond appropriately to gay men’s drug use, according to NAT (National Aids Trust). The trust has written to councils calling for action to address a ‘recent and rapid rise’ in the use of mephedrone, crystal meth and GHB/GBL in London’s gay scene, citing high […]
I am a…
Supporting people and changing lives
People work for people – whatever your job, whatever the industry, the ultimate aim is to improve people’s lives. Nowhere...
Addiction Treatment Directory 2024
[…] of Lancaster. Horizon Alcohol, Drugs and Sexual Health Support – a service offering free, confidential and non-judgemental support for all Blackpool residents. Drug & Alcohol Services in Prisons – providing confidential help and support, and a range of life-saving clinical and psychosocial programmes. Delphi Medical provide flexible solutions to recovery by working with […]
Pharmacists allowed to dispense methadone without prescription
Pharmacists are to be allowed to give out methadone, buprenorphine and other medicines containing controlled substances such as opioids or barbiturates without a prescription during the COVID-19 pandemic. The home secretary wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) earlier this month asking them to urgently review emergency measures that would ‘ensure […]
Dame Carol Black Review – Next Steps
Dame Black has spoken loud and clear. How policy makers respond will be crucial.
Coronavirus advice
Information, advice, and useful resources on coronavirus for treatment services, service users, and people who use drugs.
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DDN Magazine Partners
DDN is a free independent publication that works in partnership with some of the major charities and treatment providers in the sector. Our partners provide expert input into the publication to help provide the best possible up-to-date news and features from the substance misuse field. If you are looking for a treatment service please […]
DDN March 2020
‘The savings offered by HAT give an obvious direction’ MANY YEARS AGO the UK treated heroin addiction as a medical issue, with diamorphine scripts dispensed by GPs. It’s taking us a long time to come back to that viewpoint but what might change the political mindset is the economic good sense of heroin assisted treatment […]
Drugs market has ‘never caused greater harm’, says Carol Black review
The illegal drugs market ‘has long existed but has never caused greater harm to society than now’, according to the first phase of Professor Dame Carol Black’s independent review of drugs. Even if more money became available for drug treatment, there would still be ‘a lot of work to do’ to build up capacity and […]
CQC rates Delphi Good
[…] Delphi locations include The Pavilion in Lancaster; a countryside residential drug and alcohol detox offering tailored addiction treatments. Delphi also work in a number of North West prisons, including HMP Manchester and HMP Buckley Hall, where they provide drug and alcohol recovery services in the form of an integrated pathway to authentic recovery. Emma […]
DDN 2020 Programme
[…] and successes and the impact our peers have in engaging and empowering people in hepatitis C care and treatment. From drug treatment to homeless shelters and prisons, our peer workers engage with often marginalised and under-served communities and those least likely to be engaged with treatment services. Reaching these groups by sharing their […]
No time to lose
The ‘substantial upward trend’ in drug-related deaths was explored at the latest meeting of the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group, as DDN reports. The greatest increase in drug-related deaths was seen in the most deprived areas, explained Dr Ben Windsor-Shellard of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the North East of […]
Drugs, Alcohol & Justice All-Party Parliamentary Group reports
DDN regularly covers meetings of the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice All-Party Parliamentary Group. Here are links to some recent reports.
Review of the year 2019
[…] with frontline understanding.’ MARCH Funding pressures see City Roads close after 40 years, while Release warns that the amounts of naloxone being provided by local authorities and prisons are ‘drastically insufficient’. PHE and the Home Office, meanwhile, report a ‘statistically significant’ increase in crack use, driven in part by aggressive marketing. APRIL The government […]
DDN Magazine December 2019
‘Connecting can revise our response to a world gone mad’ THIS MONTH’S ISSUE went to press on polling day, and we brace ourselves for the result. It brings to a close months of being pounded by the same rhetoric without much hope that our opinions count. The HIT Hot Topics conference (page 8) is familiar […]
Prison Admin Support Volunteer
Do you have good administrative and interpersonal skills? Would you like to give 1 to 2 days of your time to help a Charity? This role is ideal for individuals who would like to make a difference by using their skills to support a leading Rehabilitation Charity and/or build a CV The Administration Volunteer will […]
Prison Admin Support Volunteer
Do you have good administrative and interpersonal skills? Would you like to give 1 to 2 days of your time to help a Charity? This role is ideal for individuals who would like to make a difference by using their skills to support a leading Rehabilitation Charity and/or build a CV The Administration Volunteer will […]
What a long strange trip it’s been
[…] mainly because of county lines gangs. 2019 County lines activity is still on the up, as is crack use, and City Roads becomes the field’s latest casualty. Prisons continue to struggle with rising NPS use and Release warns that councils are providing ‘drastically insufficient’ levels of naloxone. And 12 years after the RSA’s call […]
PHE to produce ‘orange book’ for alcohol treatment
Public Health England (PHE) is working to produce the first UK-wide set of clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment, the agency has announced. While the UK drug misuse treatment guidelines – widely known as the ‘orange book’ – have helped to ensure good practice in drug treatment, there has so far been no equivalent for alcohol. PHE […]
21st June issue
Inspiration fix Don’t curb your enthusiasm! THE ENTHUSIASM AT THE WELSH SERVICE USERS’ CONFERENCE(page 12) was infectious and refreshing, particularly in this climate of real and impending cuts. It was a reminder of what’s working for many people – and that includes some economically sound decisions on best treatment options. Chris Campbell, founder of the user group SMUG, […]
Your letters
Your letters and comment from DDN magazine and our social media channels
DDN Magazine October 2019
More than my past For a long time now we’ve been involved in initiatives to help remove barriers for those seeking to get back into work (page 6 and page 12). Remember the UKDPC’s work on tackling stigma and getting people who have used drugs back into employment? Remember the old heated debates in DDN […]
Thanks for Sharing
[…] Treatment and testing for hep C has improved dramatically in recent years, but with more diagnoses happening at different locations – drugs and outreach services, GP surgeries, prisons – it’s crucial that organisations have systems in place that can process and share patient information efficiently. Eradicating the virus will only happen if the many […]
DDN Magazine September 2019
Harm reduction is not the preserve of one community September is a glorious opportunity to celebrate recovery month and we’re delighted to hear about the activities taking place all over the country. The Recovery Games in Doncaster (page 16) sums up the spirit of events and we’re looking forward to following what’s happening around the […]
[…] how many people would turn up. But I looked forward to the day, wondering what would be said – and if I would have the courage to say or ask anything. I was really surprised by the turnout. The people that attended obviously cared about what was going on in our criminal justice system and the fact that there were women in jail, and that maybe most them shouldn’t be. The lady who had organised the conference came over and gave me a little slip of paper with a question on it that she would like me to read out for one of the prisoners. She also explained that the whole conference was being recorded for a BBC programme, and I tried not to panic. The question was to panellist Eoin McLennon-Murray. It said: ‘Why does probation constantly over populate our prisons for breeching? If circumstances were taken into consideration, sometimes the reasons should be valid and recognised. After all it costs over £53,bbb to the tax player to put/keep someone in prison for a year.’ He replied that he agreed probation held too much power when it came […]