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NEW GOVERNMENT DRUGS STRATEGY Ministers said pupils entering primary school should be told about the dangers of drug misuse in ''an age appropriate way". The idea is one of a range of proposals in a new 10-year drugs strategy that intends to place emphasis on early intervention and treatment. Kevin Brennan, the families minister, said young children should be taught about the drugs - legal and illegal - that they might find at home. This would include what drugs looked like, and advice never to open bottles, touch needles or swallow anything. Grandparents will be encouraged to care for the offspring of their drug-addicted children. It will be easier for them to win guardianship and receive grants for care, which will help to reduce the number of children of drug users taken into local authority care. The Government is also considering whether to link benefit payments to an agreement to discuss attendance on drug treatment programmes. Repeated refusal to take part could result in a financial penalty, although ministers could not say what the sanction would involve. The document said the Government was ''exploring" making the payment of benefits a condition of receiving treatment and getting a job. Gordon Brown told the Commons that it was right to look at reforms that would help 300,000 people on drugs and incapacity benefit get back to work. At present, nearly 50,000 people who claim incapacity benefit, income support or jobseeker's allowance give "drug abuse" as the primary reason for their inability to get work. Suggestions that drug users could end up losing benefits were played down. Vernon Coaker, the Home Office minister, said: "We are trying to see how we can do this in a reasonable and proportionate way. The intention is not to get to a situation where there is a complete withdrawal of benefits." David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: ''All they are talking about is requiring an addict on benefits to attend a 'discussion' with a treatment provider and 'encourage' closer links between relevant agencies to get drug users referred to specialist agencies." The strategy, which mainly affects England and Wales, received a mixed reception from drugs groups. Deborah Cameron, of Addaction, said: "Removing financial support risks leading drug users back into crime. "We agree that it is important to help drug users into training and employment, but coercing people into services with the threat of benefit cuts needs further explanation." Martin Barnes, the chief executive of DrugScope, said: "The emphasis on supporting families and improving outcomes for people in drug treatment is welcome. "However, while the strategy is strong on aspiration it is unclear how improvement will be delivered, particularly at a time of reduced funding for adult treatment and young people's drug services." It is estimated that class A drug abuse costs the country £15 billion in crime and health care every year. The document also says legislation will be introduced to give police the power to seize items on arrest that might be the spoils of drug dealing, such as the car in which a suspect has been caught. Police can only freeze assets during a criminal investigation on application to a judge. Mr Coaker said the change would prevent criminals hiding assets before trial. The items would be returned if found innocent. Main proposals
Alarm' over underage drink sales A total of 34 premises were tested in a six-day operation across the city, with police cadets aged between 15 and 17 being sent to try to buy alcohol. The cadets bought alcohol in 16 of the premises with each being fined £80. Trading Standards officers are also to offer free staff training all those premises which failed the test. "It is alarming that 47% of all premises tested did not think to challenge the young people they were serving," said Ch Supt Paul Pearce. "Alcohol is a major factor in the anti-social and sometimes violent behaviour that can blight our neighbourhoods. "We will do all we can to remind management and staff in all the licensed premises in the city that if they do sell to an under-18-year-old they may be fined." ‘STONED AGAIN?’ CANNABIS COURSES: DET will be holding more of our popular ‘Stoned Again?’ cannabis study days at the above venues between now and the end of June. The courses will be led by Mr.Liam Watson and will cover the latest research and guidance on cannabis useage. If you would like to receive information about a seminar near you, and a booking form, then please e-mail us at: office@drugstraining.com Drugs 'cost UK £110bn in ten years' The sum, which is the total health and crime costs of Class A drug use, is published in a new report by drug and alcohol treatment charity Addaction. The report claims that just 3% (£3bn) of total spending on drug-related issues has gone to actually tackling drug addiction in the UK. The report has been published days before the Government is due to unveil its new ten-year drugs strategy. It claims that since the start of the current ten-year plan, which began in 1998, the cost of drug related crime has risen to £100bn, with health costs contributing a further £10bn to the total. It suggests that last year alone, these costs came to £16.4bn, with each person who remained dependant on illegal drugs costing the UK around £44,000. This includes the costs of providing medical treatment and crime-related problems. The document concludes that the total cost of providing medical treatment to Class A drug users in the last 12 months was £560m while the cost of processing drug users through the criminal justice amounts to £2.6bn a year. Addaction chief executive Deborah Cameron said: "Illegal drug use is costing the UK taxpayer £16.4 billion a year, which is more than one and a half times the cost of holding the Olympic Games in 2012. "Many of the millions spent by the Government on dealing with the consequences of the hugely profitable drugs trade in this country could be recovered if drug users were given a better route out of a life dependent on drugs." Drink and drugs can damage men's sperm, study suggests Scientists found that toxic chemicals can damage sperm, which then pass altered genes onto babies. In experiments on rats Matthew Anway of the University of Idaho found that some garden chemicals caused problems such as damaged and overgrown prostates, infertility and kidney problems, all of which were present up to four generations later. Cynthia Daniels, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, an expert in the relation between a father and child's health, said: "If I was a young man I would not drink beer, I would not be smoking when I'm trying to conceive a child." It is well known that a mother's health is critically important in the resulting health of her baby, but there is now a growing body of evidence from both animal and human studies that paternal exposure to toxins can also adversely effect the development of a foetus, and that this can be passed down the generations. Daniels, who led a seminar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston, said: "Historically it has been assumed that exposures to the male will not affect his ability to pass defects on to children." Scientists at the seminar listed problems including pregnancy loss, low birth weight, increased birth defects and childhood cancers in children fathered by men who were exposed to toxins, from pesticides and prescription drugs to wartime chemicals. Vietnam veterans exposed to agent orange, for example, have been shown to have children with increased rates of spina bifida. "Men who drink excessive amounts of alcohol produce higher rates of sperm with abnormalities," said Daniels. "There are many potential sources of harm to foetal health that remain unexamined. When 60% of birth defects are of unknown origin, why are we not examining one obvious potential source of harm?" In a study presented at the same seminar, Anway described how his team exposed pregnant rats to the fungicide vinclozolin and found that the sperm of males had been affected. Anway explained the reason behind the changes as epigenetic, where chemicals in the environment can switch genes in the body on and off. Epigenetic changes are not usually passed to children unless they happen in germ cells such as sperm. Daniels' advice to young couples trying for a baby is to think about both parents' exposure to chemicals. "If you minimise your exposure to toxic substances then you might minimise your risks of reproductive harm." The good news for men is that sperm is produced continuously in a 74-day cycle, so the body does clean itself over time. Sharp rise in cocaine use by workers Employers conducting random drug tests found a 34 per cent increase in positive tests for cocaine in 2007, according to Concateno, the UK’s largest drug and alcohol testing company. Last year one in 145 employees tested positive for cocaine, meaning they had consumed it in the previous two days. In 1997 the figure was one in 1,000. The new data suggest cocaine use is no longer limited to bankers working long hours. Suspicions of widespread drug use in the City are common, but few firms conduct random drug tests. Iain McNicol of the drugs charity Druglink said: “Cocaine is now the recreational drug of choice . The cost has come down dramatically in the past few years. “Whereas people might have previously smoked a joint at the weekend to relax, they now go for coke on a Friday night.” Positive test results for other drugs and alcohol are also on the rise, albeit at a considerably slower rate. About 5 per cent of workers tested positive for drugs and alcohol last year, a 5.4 per cent increase on 2006, according to Concateno. Testing positive does not necessarily indicate that employees were incapacitated at work. Most drugs are eliminated from the system within two days, but cannabis use can be detected for up to one month. The proportion of employers testing staff for drug and alcohol use is also rising, according to a survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Some 22 per cent of employers test their employees for drug and alcohol use, either randomly or when hiring new recruits. A further 9 per cent said they were planning to introduce testing. According to the same survey, 31 per cent of employers had dismissed staff because of alcohol abuse in the past two years and 15 per cent because of drug problems. The steady increase in the number of positive drugs tests – up by a fifth over a decade – will encourage opponents of random testing, who say it does little to dissuade workers from taking drugs. Hugh Robertson, a health and safety policy officer with the Trades Union Congress, said: “There’s no evidence at all that drugs testing makes the workplace any safer or healthier. “We don’t condone people putting themselves at risk because they’re impaired by drugs, but we don’t see what someone’s Saturday night habits have to do with their employers.” Most drug testing in the UK is conducted in safety-critical industries such as shipping, railways and construction, where pre-employment and random drug testing is mandatory. Surge in skunk adds to pressure for reversal of cannabis downgrading The soaring popularity of skunk, which is – on average – three times more powerful than cannabis resin and herbal cannabis, emerged as the Government considers whether to reverse the downgrading of the drug from a class B to class C substance. The increase, alongside mounting evidence of a link between regular cannabis use and psychosis, further raises the likelihood that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will back the reversal. Skunk now accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of the cannabis taken in England and Wales, according to an analysis of drug samples seized in recent months. That compared with just 15 per cent in 2002. The drug was virtually unknown in Britain in the early 1990s. Cannabis resin represents 20 per cent of the market, while herbal cannabis has almost disappeared. Les King, an adviser to the Home Office Scientific Development Branch, told a public hearing of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that skunk contained 14 per cent THC, the ingredient that produces the "high", while herbal cannabis had a 5 per cent content. But he said: "It's the same as saying wine is twice as strong as beer. It is not only what you drink but how much. "Regular statements are made that cannabis is ten, 20 times stronger than it used to be. It is misleading and it is wrong." The Association of Chief Police Officers and magistrates told the committee, whose conclusions will be handed to Ms Smith in April, that they want the drug reclassified. Motorists to face roadside tests for drugs Police could be using a device within the next year to detect illegal substances in saliva. With random breath tests for alcohol already being considered by the Government, spot checks for illegal substances could also be introduced. Ministers are hoping the new equipment will help them tackle the growing menace of "drug-driving". In addition to their own drug detector, the Home Office will also announce a deal in the next fortnight with a private contractor to develop a roadside device that is also capable of detecting legal drugs, such as sleeping tablets, which can impair driving. At present, officers can stop a motorist who they believe may have taken drugs. The normal procedure is to carry out a "field impairment test", which measures co-ordination by a variety of exercises including standing on one leg, walking in a straight line and counting out 30 seconds. A motorist who appears incapable of performing these tasks faces arrest. The driver is taken to a police station where a police surgeon takes blood samples after agreeing that the motorist seems impaired. The results of these tests lead to a prosecution. The Home Office, which regards the present roadside co-ordination tests as crude, believes that technology will provide more accurate results. Its scientists have been working on a device which can detect a number of drugs, including cocaine and amphetamine, in saliva. It is understood to be near completion and ready to be brought before international experts for verification. A motorist failing a "drugalyser" would automatically be taken to a police station for a blood test. The extent of drug-driving is difficult to estimate, but in 2005, the last year for which figures are available, 363 motorists were convicted of driving while under the influence of drugs. Another 28 were found guilty of being in charge of a vehicle while impaired through drugs. However, it is believed that these figures grossly underestimate the number of drivers who get behind the wheel after taking illegal substances. A Scottish Executive survey of drivers aged 17 to 19 found that nine per admitted having taken drugs in the previous 12 months. Six per cent admitted having driven while under the influence. "Recognising drug-driving is a big problem," said Robert Gifford, of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. "Firstly we don't have the technology which can identify all drugs. Also drivers who are under the influence will often try to disguise it by having a small amount of alcohol. "That means that when they are stopped and an officer smells alcohol, they take a breath test, which they pass." Even with a Government-approved drugalyser, other obstacles remain. There is no legal limit for drug use, but setting a zero level could present other problems. While cannabis can stay in the blood for several weeks, a defence lawyer could argue that an illicit joint smoked a fortnight previously could not be held to have had any impact on a motorist's behaviour. Growth in legal form of GHB drug The Tictac drugs database says about 60% of suspected GHB samples are in fact legal gamma butyrlactone (GBL), found in nail varnish remover. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is investigating and is due to report back to the Home Office shortly. Like GHB, an overdose of highly toxic GBL can lead to coma or death. GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, occurs naturally in the brain in tiny quantities, but when taken as a drug induces euphoria and reduces inhibitions. It is a banned class-C drug and anyone found in possession of it faces up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine. Dealing can result in a sentence of up to 14 years. According to Tictac, more than half of the samples of suspected GHB seized in clubs now contain GBL - an industrial solvent used in the plastics industry and items as diverse as nail varnish removing pads and motorcycle chain cleaner. GBL turns into GHB once it passes into the bloodstream. Both are usually found as clear liquids, but GBL is legal to purchase and possess. John Ramsey, from Tictac, which is based at St George's Hospital in South London, said: "What we actually find in the clubs is a whole range of containers containing liquids... one contains GHB, but there's an identical bottle that contains GBL. "When we first started collecting data a couple of years ago we were seeing largely GHB with a small amount of GBL, whereas now about 60% of what we are finding is GBL." Mr Ramsey added: "GBL is completely uncontrolled." People who use the substances cannot tell the difference between GBL and GHB and both can cause blackouts and other serious problems including suppression of breathing and coma. Graham Johnson, a consultant in Emergency Medicine at Leeds General Infirmary, says he is seeing between three and five cases each week of poisoning caused by the compounds. "Some people require intensive care and nationally, there have been deaths associated with abuse of GHB," Mr Johnson said. GHB abuse started mainly on the gay club scene, but there is some evidence that this has widened out to more mainstream use. It has also been associated with drug-assisted sexual assault. Although the evidence for this is relatively limited, Pc Russell Pritchard, from the Metropolitan Police, believes it can make people a target even when self-administered. "People are intentionally taking significant amounts of GHB or other recreational drugs and are then putting themselves at risk of either sexual assault or robbery," Pc Pritchard said. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs could recommend GBL be classified an illegal substance just like GHB. Alternatively, it could call for tighter voluntary codes for industries who use it or for an unpleasant tasting chemical to be added to it to discourage use and make it easier to identify. The council's advice is due to be published in the New Year and it will then be up to the government to respond. Liver drug could benefit heavy drinkers To their surprise the drug not only slowed progression of the disease but also reversed damage to the organ. The drug could have a profound impact on public health if it is proven to work in wider clinical trials. In Britain the rise in binge drinking has led to soaring rates of liver disease since the 1960s, with doctors warning cirrhosis is commonplace among men and women in their 20s and 30s. Liver disease is the fifth largest killer in Britain, with cirrhosis alone claiming the lives of around 3,000 people each year. Worldwide the disease kills nearly 800,000 annually. The liver is usually one of the body's most resilient organs and is the only one capable of regenerating after damage or injury. But excessive alcohol intake, hepatitis and damage from burns triggers the growth of fibrous scar tissue inside the liver which spreads and eventually destroys its ability to carry out crucial tasks such as combating infection and breaking down toxins. Researchers led by Dr Martina Buck at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, found that damage to the liver, such as cirrhosis from heavy drinking, caused a specific group of cells known as hepatic stellate cells to go into overdrive and churn out large amounts of collagen, a tough connective tissue. At normal levels collagen helps to heal wounds, but too much causes excessive scarring. The scientists then found that the cells only overproduced collagen in response to a chemical signal carried by a protein in the body called RSK. This signal, they realised, was critical to the progression of liver disease. The scientists reasoned that if they could block the RSK signal they might be able to halt liver disease in its tracks. To test the idea the scientists took two groups of mice and treated both with a toxin that is known to cause liver damage. One group was then given a drug called a peptide to block RSK while still receiving the toxin. The scientists found that while all of the mice in the untreated group developed severe liver disease, all of those given the drug had minimal or no liver disease. Further investigation revealed that as well as blocking the formation of scar tissue in the liver, the drug was also killing off the overactive liver cells, allowing the organ to heal. "Remarkably, the death of [overactive] hepatic stellate cells may also allow recovery from liver injury and reversal of liver fibrosis," said Buck. "Our latest finding proves we can actually reverse the damage." The drug is particularly promising, because biopsies from people with liver disease have revealed that RSK triggers liver cells to produce scar tissue in humans too. Cirrhosis can occur without any symptoms, but when they do appear they can include jaundice, a loss of appetite, nausea, itchy skin and tiredness. The disease can lead to high blood pressure, liver cancer, malnutrition and liver failure. Most hospitals will not perform liver transplants on heavy drinkers who show no intention of cutting down their alcohol intake. A drug could potentially protect a patient's liver while they have treatment to wean them off alcohol. 'Injecting rooms' call to cut deaths The National Forum on Drug-related Deaths made a series of recommendations to ministers on how best to tackle the problem in Scotland. Figures earlier this year showed there were 421 drug-related deaths in 2006 - up from 336 the previous year. Last year's total also included 280 deaths that were later linked to drug abuse. The forum's annual report highlighted injecting clinics for drug users which have been set up in Australia, Canada and Switzerland. It stated that in one clinic in Vancouver none of the 500 overdoses that had occurred over a two-year period had resulted in a fatality. The report added: "If a scheme is evaluated and has proved to be effective, we should think about trying it in Scotland." As well as calling for consideration of injecting clinics, the forum also said a dedicated fund aimed at cutting drug-related deaths was needed. The forum was established as a result of an action plan aimed at reducing drug-related deaths and is made up of representatives from the medical profession, police, prison service, ambulance service, government and academia, among others. One of its main remits is to produce an annual report for Scottish ministers with recommendations for further action as required. This first annual report produced by the organisation made a total of 10 recommendations, including a call for the Scottish Government to consider allocating money specifically for initiatives aimed at reducing drug deaths. It wants ministers to consider extending a pilot scheme set up in Glasgow in February where drug users and their families were given the drug naloxone - which can be used to counter an overdose of drugs such as heroin. The forum also wants suicide prevention in drug users to be made a key priority, pointing out that approximately 23% of drug-related deaths were either intentional or of undetermined intent. A targeted, national information campaign to highlight dangerous combinations - such as methadone and alcohol - to drug users is also needed, according to the report. Army 'losing battalion' to drugs The Royal United Services Institute said the number of positive tests for illegal drugs, like ecstasy and heroin, rose from 517 in 2003 to 769 last year. Positive tests for cocaine use rose four-fold during the same period. A dishonourable discharge is likely after a positive test for illegal drug use. Unannounced compulsory drug testing (CDT) is carried out across the Royal Navy, Army and RAF. In the Army, which tests 85% of its personnel yearly, positive tests rose from 1.4 per 1,000 in 2003 to 4.0 in the first half of 2006 and 5.7 per 1,000 from January to June 2007. Professor Sheila Bird, a senior scientist with the Medical Research Council writing for the RUSI Journal, said the government had refused to say whether it had changed testing practices since 2003 "on the grounds of cost". More sensitive tests and more testing after weekends and home leave would "go a long way" to accounting for the rise in positive tests for cocaine, she said. Professor Bird analysed answers to Parliamentary questions to find out about army drug testing. She said that in 2003 cannabis accounted for 50% of all CDT positive tests and cocaine 22%, but by 2006 the figures were 30% for cannabis and 50% for cocaine. The switch could be the result of soldiers deliberately moving away from cannabis to "minimise their chance of testing positive" - traces of cannabis remain in the urine for two to three weeks, while cocaine remains for two or three days after use. Major Chris Lincoln Jones, a former soldier, told BBC Five Live that he was aware that some of his former colleagues had taken drugs. "A little bit of experimentation goes on, I think, and people fall foul of that." Major Justin Featherstone, also a former soldier, said the figures did not surprise him because young people often came from a culture where drug use was common and they faced huge stress with tours of duty coming around every 18 months. But he said the Army's "zero tolerance" approach was not straightforward and that some soldiers shown to be suffering from combat stress and who used cocaine had been allowed to stay in the service. "Individuals are looked at case by case. It's not some draconian system," he told BBC One's Breakfast. However, a former chief of staff, Chris Parker, told BBC Radio Oxford that some soldiers who were "not stupid" took drugs to cut short their contract with the Armed Forces. "Young soldiers if they want to leave the Army have to give a year's notice, and if you take drugs, and you are basically found out by the Army's drug testing programme - which is a regular and random programme that's run - you could be discharged almost immediately," he said. But Colonel John Donnelly, head of drug policy for the Army, said it was important to "put these figures in context". A Ministry of Defence spokesman said drug misuse was "incompatible with service life" and was "not tolerated". Babies 'develop taste for alcohol in the womb' Children are more likely to become alcoholics if they have been exposed to alcohol in the womb and drink again in their early teens, according to Steven Youngentob, from the State University of New York Developmental Ethanol Research Centre. Mr Youngentob said: "There is a period during adolescence when if they get a second exposure to alcohol it reinforces the effect." The study found the propensity for alcohol addiction subsided as the adolescents matured into adults, if they did not drink when they were growing up. Mr Youngentob added: "There is no time during pregnancy when it is safe to drink." In the study, pregnant rats were given moderate amounts of ethanol, or grain alcohol. The baby rats that were exposed to ethanol in the womb consumed 50 per cent more alcohol than those not exposed before they were born. Susan Fleischer, the director of the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, said the study proved that children who are exposed to alcohol in the womb are more likely to drink. Stop smoking NHS clinics 'work' The study found 8.8% of smokers in poorer areas had quit at the four-week mark, compared with 7.8% elsewhere. The comparison is particularly relevant as smoking is a key factor in health inequalities with those from deprived backgrounds more likely to smoke. The Bath University-led team compiled the data from the 1.5m people using the clinics in England from 2003 to 2006. Smoking cessation clinics, offering counselling and treatment in the form of nicotine replacement therapy, were set up in 1999. Lead researcher Dr Linda Bault, who worked with experts from Edinburgh University, said: "Our study shows that the NHS stop smoking services are helping to reduce the health gap between rich and poor, which is good news for the overall health of the nation." But she added stop smoking services had to be accompanied by the continued successful implementation of smoking bans and rises in tobacco prices to have a wider effect. The study, published in the Tobacco Control journal, compared data from smokers who accessed services in officially designated disadvantaged areas, called spearhead areas which have received extra funds and cover just over a quarter of the population, and compared them with other areas of the country. The study found that quit rates were slightly lower for smokers from spearhead areas, at 53% at four weeks compared with 58% elsewhere. But it added the services were treating them in larger numbers as a proportion of overall smokers than their more affluent neighbours, 17% compared with 13% elsewhere. The overall effect was that a higher proportion of smokers in the more disadvantaged areas were successful in quitting. Although previous research has shown that of those who quit after a month, less than one in four were still not smoking by the year-mark. Tim Crayford, of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said |
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Alarm' over underage drink sales ‘STONED AGAIN?’ CANNABIS COURSES: Drugs 'cost UK £110bn in ten years' Drink and drugs can damage men's sperm, study suggests Sharp rise in cocaine use by workers Surge in skunk adds to pressure for reversal of cannabis downgrading Motorists to face roadside tests for drugs Growth in legal form of GHB drug Liver drug could benefit heavy drinkers 'Injecting rooms' call to cut deaths Army 'losing battalion' to drugs Babies 'develop taste for alcohol in the womb' |
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