Category: Drugs & Substance Misuse

The American Journal on Addictions

Editorial: Challenges to opioid use disorders during COVID-19

COVID-19 brings an opportunity to learn as well as a responsibility to prevent and treat. Clinical scientists must learn from early experience and communicate to the global community as well as adapt local health care to emergencies such as the COVID-19 epidemic. This adaptation to COVID-19 must include paying attention to pre-existing medical and mental disorders and understanding the interrelationship of these comorbid disorders in drug-dependent populations.

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Drugs policy: First Report of Session 2019–20: Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report

House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, October 2019

The United Kingdom has some of the highest drug death rates in Europe, particularly in Scotland. This Report shows how the rate of drug-related deaths has risen to the scale of a public health emergency. It recommends a radical change in approach to UK drugs policy, moving from the current criminal justice approach to a health approach, with responsibility for drugs policy moving from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care suggesting a health focused and harm reduction approach would not only benefit those who are using drugs but reduce harm to and the costs for their wider communities.

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Drug-related harms in homeless populations and how they can be reduced

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, September 2019

This report finds that there is increased risk of problematic drug use associated with people who experience homelessness. There is a higher rate of drug-related deaths, infections among people who inject drugs, and multiple morbidities. People who experience homelessness and use substances have particularly complex circumstances and additional risks which require intensive long-term support. An integrated health, social care, and community care approach to the recovery and housing needs of people who are homeless would provide the optimal model of service delivery. This must include a focus on safe, stable housing and evidence-based harm reduction initiatives.

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Ageing cohort of drug users

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, June 2019

This report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) explores the specific issues for older people with a drug problem focusing on those who have had a drug problem for an extended period of time. It describes the health and social care needs of this population, and identifies effective services responses and best practice. It finds that the past decade has seen a shift in the age profile of those seeking treatment for drug use. An ageing cohort, who have survived lengthy histories of heavy drug use, now account for an increasing portion of the treatment group in the UK and Europe.

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Social reintegration and employment: evidence and interventions for drug users in treatment

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, September 2018
In order to help drug users become full members of society following treatment, measures are needed that address the issues of housing, education, vocational training and employment as part of their recovery. This report considers existing interventions targeting this vulnerable social group. It also provides a set of conclusions targeted at policymakers and drug practitioners, in order to help them develop coherent and comprehensive social integration strategies. Examples of ‘what works’ in practice are a vital first step in developing evidence-based guidelines for future interventions.
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