Injectable opioid treatments are more cost-effective than optimised oral methadone for chronic refractory heroin addiction. The choice between supervised injectable heroin and injectable methadone is less clear. There is currently evidence to suggest superior effectiveness of injectable heroin but at a cost that policy makers may find unacceptable. Future research should consider the use of decision analytic techniques to model expected costs and benefits of the treatments over the longer term.

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Cost-effectiveness of injectable opioid treatment versus oral methadone for chronic heroin addiction

Cannabis dependence is a disorder primarily experienced by young adults, especially in higher income countries. It has not been shown to increase mortality as opioid and other forms of illicit drug dependence do. Our estimates suggest that cannabis use as a risk factor for schizophrenia is not a major contributor to population-level disease burden.

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The global epidemiology and contribution of cannabis use and dependence to the global burden of disease

In the last few years, the debate on illicit drugs – long dominated by voices that favor repressive and punitive policies framed by prohibitionist strategies – has broadened and gained new momentum. This publication summarises the different drug law reform movements in the Latin American region.

From repression to regulation:  Proposals for drug policy reform

Responses to problematic drug use continue to improve in Scotland. Service provision is more coherent, waiting times are down and there is a clearer understanding that all steps in the recovery journey need to be supported.

Commissioners and services are focusing on raising standards at a time when resources are at a premium. SDF’s Big Lottery-funded National Quality Development Programme has helped in excess of 80 projects to implement changes aimed at improving recovery outcomes – often identifying ways to make better use of existing resources.

This is an evolving process. Needs identified by managers and frontline workers have led to the development of SDF’s well-received Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative and intensified our focus on New Psychoactive Substances through training, events and collaborative working at local and strategic level.

We hope to attract further funding for our Quality Development initiative to help services implement the recommendations in the Opiate Replacement Therapies Review and the new Quality Improvement Framework, both of which underline the need for the wider psycho-social supports.

Scottish Drugs Forum: Annual report 2012/13

Latin America is confronted with astonishing levels of organised and interpersonal violence, much of it connected to illicit narcotics production and trafficking and the so-called “war on drugs”. There is evidence, however, of mounting resistance to the global drug control regime and its narrow emphasis on suppressing supply, chiefly through enforcement measures. This report considers how changes under way in Latin America are challenging the foundations of this regime. Over the past decade two independent commissions – the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy and the Global Commission on Drug Policy – have broken the taboo on debating alternative drug policies. Both commissions have emphasised a paradigm shift from repressive approaches to more preventive interventions that focus on harm reduction and citizen security. Emboldened by these commissions’ recommendations, Latin American leaders from across the political spectrum are currently discussing a more balanced approach to drug policy. Some governments are experimenting with legislation and regulatory models that are tailored to their countries’ local realities and needs. These and other efforts have potentially dramatic implications not just for drug policy in Latin America, but globally.

Latin America awakes: A review of the new drug policy debate

The aim of the guide is to make practical information on prevention quality standards available outside the European Union. It includes a description of the eight stages involved in the drug prevention cycle, along with a self-reflection checklist that can be used when planning and implementing prevention activities. It has been designed for practitioners and those working in the field.

The European drug prevention quality standards, published as Manual No 7 by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), provide the first European framework on how to conduct high quality drug prevention.

The standards contained in the manual were developed during a two-year project with co-funding from the European Union under the Programme of Community Action in the field of Public Health (2003–08) (Project No 2007304). The project was carried out by the Prevention Standards Partnership, a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration of seven organisations across Europe, led by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. The EMCDDA supported the Partnership throughout the development process and has also funded the publication of the standards as a manual as well as the production of this quick guide.

European drug prevention quality standards: A quick guide

Inhalant misuse is one of many alcohol and drug problems that occur within Australia. Inhalants are easily obtained and are predominantly misused by young people and by people who are socially or economically marginalised. Inhalant misuse can result in impairment and death and can be very distressing for families and communities. This publication aims to assist local communities to address inhalant misuse.

The first edition of the booklet has been used by communities and community workers across Australia. This second edition contains updated advice. I recommend it to you and commend Sarah MacLean for her work.

Developing an inhalant use community strategy

Of the treatment episodes closed in 2011–12, nearly all (96%) were for clients receiving treatment for their own drug use. Around two-thirds (68%) of these episodes were for male clients, while the reverse was true for episodes provided for someone else’s drug use (63% of these were for female clients).

Episodes for someone else’s drug use tended to be longer than those for the client’s own drug use. More than one-third (35%) of episodes for someone else’s drug use lasted 1–3months, while over half (53%) of episodes for the client’s own drug use ended within 1 month.

As in previous years, alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern (46%), followed by cannabis (22%), amphetamines (11%) and heroin (9%). Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in all states and territories, while cannabis was the second most common principal drug in all states and territories except South Australia, where amphetamines were more common.

Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia for 2011–12

There has been an increasing cognisance of female drug use in India, but there are low levels of intervention. This population has never been systematically and adequately mapped, therefor the intervention size is considerably lower than for any existing male injecting cohorts.

The objective of the consultation was to arrive at a problem statement, that would focus on the most in mediated needs for evidence based programming.

Women who inject drugs and HIV

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) believes that while it is important to utilise NSPs to provide additional health services, education, and referrals to people who inject drugs, the provision of sterile injecting equipment should remain a primary focus. We believe that it is appropriate for Australia to aim for 100 per cent coverage of injections with sterile equipment, and for its NSPs to operate in ways that facilitate this aim.

Needle and syringe programs in Australia: ANCD position

This Library Note provides background reading for the debate to be held Thursday, 17 October on the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee on drugs policy (HC 184, session 2012–13) and the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform, published in January.

This Note examines the ongoing debate on drugs policy in the context of the above two reports. It explores the scale of drug misuse and harm in the UK, and the international context of efforts to tackle the supply and trade in illicit substances. The UK policy response in accordance with the Government’s current Drugs Strategy is then examined. Finally, the paper explores the debate on the future of drugs policy in light of recent international and domestic calls for reform.

UK House of Lords debate on 17 October: Drugs Policy 

This new resource from PRI and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) - Women in detention: a guide to gender-sensitive monitoring - is designed to help bodies monitoring places of detention incorporate a gender perspective into their work and to address the problem of violence against women and girls in detention.

This guide introduces the UN Bangkok Rules and other relevant sources of international law to bodies monitoring places of detention, including National Preventive Mechanisms, and provides guidance on assessing risk factors and making recommendations to improve the protection of women against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

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