A pooled analysis of 25 studies has shown for the first time good evidence that methadone and other forms of opioid substitution therapy substantially reduce new hepatitis C infections. Previously, this had been clearly demonstrated for HIV, but not hepatitis C (Aidsmap)
Bibliography: Interventions – Harm Reduction
Evaluation supports take-home naloxone Australia-wide
The Australian Capital Territory’s opioid overdose management program, which makes take-home naloxone (THN) available to potential opioid overdose victims, has been overwhelmingly endorsed by an independent evaluation team (NDARC)
Factors affecting repeated cessations of injecting drug use and relapses during the entire injecting career among the Edinburgh Addiction Cohort
OST was associated with reduced time to cessation, and there was some suggestion of increased time to relapse too. The likelihood of prolonged cessation is greater for women, increases with age, and decreases with time since last relapse (Drug and Alcohol Dependence)
People who inject drugs should have access to hepatitis C treatment, expert panel recommends
New recommendations on hepatitis C treatment and care for people who inject drugs encourage physicians to offer treatment to all people who inject drugs diagnosed with HCV, and to offer a comprehensive package of social support and harm reduction to enable people to adhere to treatment (Aidsmap)
Prescribed drugs associated with dependence and withdrawal – building a consensus for action
Analysis report (BMA)
The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2015
While the report notes that there still are a troubling number of governments with capital drug laws, in practice very few states actually execute people for drugs (Harm Reduction International)
Naloxone – what the new legislation changes mean
Kate Halliday, SMMGP Programme Lead, discusses the recent legislation changes which make naloxone more readily available for those that need it
Naloxone – what the new legislation changes mean
Kate Halliday, SMMGP Programme Lead, discusses the recent legislation changes which make naloxone more readily available for those that need it (SMMGP)
Tackling the issue of New Psychoactive Substances in prisons
This series of RAPt research and policy briefings aims to synthesise over 20 years of practical experience, combined with data and analysis from our in-house research team, to improve our understanding of how to effectively tackle drug- and/or alcoholrelated crime
Takes one to know one?
An evaluation of peer mentoring in the drug dependency treatment sector (Howard League)
Cannabis-smoking teens less likely to complete education
UNSW-led research finds teens who smoke cannabis at least once a week are less likely to finish school, enrol in university or obtain a degree (NDARC)
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment resources for alcohol, drugs and tobacco
PHE has published the latest alcohol, drugs and tobacco joint strategic needs (JSNA) resource pack to help local areas develop joint strategic needs assessments and local joint health and wellbeing strategies that effectively address public health issues relating to alcohol, drug and tobacco use
International experts back Irish drug injection centre plan
An international group of experts has welcomed plans to introduce medically supervised injection centres in Ireland, saying the move will help to tackle the problem of public injecting as well as facilitating access to treatment (The Journal Ireland)
French Senate Gives Green Light to Drug Consumption Rooms
After a heated debate, Senators have decided to approve an experimental project to provide a safer environment for drug users, in order to prevent death and disease (Drug Reporter)
Turning evidence into practice: Preventing blood-borne viruses
This briefing aims to support local authorities and drug treatment and healthcare services to review their BBV prevention and treatment interventions for people who inject drugs (Public Health England)
Special Report: Harm Reduction and the Global HIV Epidemic
A new report from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, assesses the state of harm reduction worldwide by focusing on the steps that five sample countries—Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Vietnam—have, or have not, taken to address the HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs (PWID)
Methamphetamine 2015
17 points (Australian Medical Association)
Naloxone legal changes (UK)
In summary, the amended Regulations are a good step forward, but in my opinion they simply don’t go far enough, and definitely do not meet some of the assurances that had been made previously. Ultimately, what we really need is a national programme – as they have in Scotland and Wales – to ensure that everyone at risk of opiate overdose has access to Naloxone (Injecting Advice)
Researchers evaluate use of pharmacy-based naloxone education and distribution to fight opioid overdoses
In response to the growing opioid crisis, several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have granted pharmacists the authority to provide naloxone rescue kits without a prescription to at-risk patients (News Medical)
West Midlands kinship care report: supporting kinship families affected by alcohol or drug msiuse
The purpose of this report is to highlight the specific needs of kinship carers and the value that kinship carers add to children of drug or alcohol users across the West Midlands (West Midlands Regional Forum)
Drug health harms – national intelligence
Notes for directors of public health, commissioners, service providers and needle and syringe programmes reflecting presentations and discussion from the seventh meeting of the National Intelligence Network on the health harms associated with drug use, held in London on 4 June 2015 (Public Health England)
Managing drug users’ high suicide risk
A new NDARC resource assists co-ordinated approach
Naloxone – preliminary advice from the working group updating Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management
The working group updating the 2007 national clinical guidelines on drug treatment has published some preliminary advice on naloxone before addressing its supply and use more fully in the published update next year. The advice covers naloxone dosing in overdose situations, take-home naloxone products that can be supplied and training that should be provided, now and following legislation to make naloxone more widely available from October 2015 onwards (Public Health England)
WHO calls for urgent action to curb hepatitis
WHO is alerting people to the risks of contracting hepatitis from unsafe blood, unsafe injections, and sharing drug-injection equipment
Draft Council conclusions on the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2013-2016
Regarding minimum quality standards in drug demand reduction in the European Union
Improving access to, and completion of, hepatitis C treatment
This briefing provides an overview of the key issues that local providers and commissioners of drug and hepatitis treatment should consider (PHE)
Injecting risk practices and Hepatitis C
Harm minimisation interventions and public health messages need to target this behaviour to reduce the risk of HCV infection (NDARC)
People who inject drugs: HIV and viral hepatitis monitoring
Data tables and commentary for the unlinked anonymous monitoring survey of people who inject drugs, data for 2004 to 2014 (Public Health England)
Alcohol’s Harm to Others
A report for the Institute of Alcohol Studies produced by the University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR)
New guidelines to support people bereaved by alcohol or drugs
A set of practice guidelines aimed at providing meaningful support to people who have lost a relative or friend to alcohol or drugs (university of Bath)
Preliminary results of the IDHDP global naloxone survey
Slideshare of conference presentation (IDHDP)
Opioid Overdose Prevention Programs Providing Naloxone to Laypersons — United States, 2014
Organizations providing naloxone kits to laypersons receive many reports of overdose reversals and can reach large numbers of potential overdose bystanders (CDC)
Methadone Dose-capping Still Continues in Practice, If Not in Policy
Dose-capping – limiting the amount of methadone a patient can take on a daily basis – was ruled “contrary to the current state of the medical literature and the principle of individualized treatment” in 2007 by SAMHSA in the Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment. So it’s surprising that it still goes on (ATF)
20 year report on Needle and Syringe Program attendees in Australia
The report presents national and jurisdictional data from the Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey from 1995 to 2014. Around two thirds of Australia’s primary Needle and Syringe Program services participate in the survey and program attendees have participated on more than 45,000 occasions (The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia)
Position paper on the provision of medically supervised injecting centres in Dublin
ANA Liffey Drug Project
Physician Waivers to Prescribe Buprenorphine Increase Potential Access to Effective Treatment Options to Address Opioid Overdose Crisis
Published in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs, the study shows that the increased number and geographic distribution of physicians obtaining waivers to prescribe buprenorphine has widened potential access to effective treatment for those with addiction to heroin or prescription painkillers (RAND)
The misuse of benzodiazepines among high-risk opioid users in Europe
As we describe below, available evidence shows that the misuse of benzodiazepines contributes to morbidity and mortality among high-risk opioid users (EMCDDA)
Laws prohibiting peer distribution of injecting equipment in Australia
A critical analysis of their effects (Drug Policy)
Drug consumption rooms
Part of the Perspectives on Drugs (PODs) series, launched as part of the European Drug Report package, these designed-for-the-web interactive analyses provide deeper insights into a selection of important issues (EMCDDA)
Drug consumption rooms
Part of the Perspectives on Drugs (PODs) series, launched as part of the European Drug Report package, these designed-for-the-web interactive analyses provide deeper insights into a selection of important issues (EMCDDA)
