LETTERS AND COMMENT
per cent of young people now wrongly believing it to be as, or more, harmful than smoking, and this year’ s DDN conference sees another day of debate, networking and powerful presentations in Birmingham.
AUGUST
Public Health Scotland issues another urgent nitazenes alert, as WEDINOS says that more than 20 per cent of the samples it’ s identified across Scotland were bought as oxycodone and 17 per cent as benzodiazepines.
SEPTEMBER
Deaths involving ketamine have increased twenty-fold in a decade according to new research, with the fatalities‘ increasingly occurring in complex polydrug settings’, while a disturbing report from King’ s College London concludes that deaths involving opioids are more than 50 per cent higher than official figures show – the result of ONS not having access to post-mortem reports or toxicology results when classifying polydrug use deaths. In some rare good news, the goal of national IPS coverage in community drug and alcohol treatment is now‘ very close’ to being met.
OCTOBER
More bleak nitazenes news as the number of deaths involving them in England and Wales quadruples in a year, while deaths involving cocaine show their 13th consecutive increase – as the Border Force says
it’ s seized more of the drug in three months than in the whole of 2022-23. Meanwhile, our article on the importance of nutrition in harm reduction generates a bulging readers’ letters bag.
NOVEMBER
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan – which had already plummeted by 95 per cent a year after the Taliban introduced its ban – falls by another 20 per cent, fuelling fears of a European drug supply dominated by easy to produce, highly potent synthetic opioids. A landmark shift in UK smoking habits sees vaping overtake cigarette use for the first time, while the House of Commons Justice Committee issues a damning report on the‘ dangerous culture of acceptance’ around‘ endemic’ drug use in prisons. Without urgent reform and investment prisons will remain‘ unstable, unsafe and incapable of gaining control over the drugs crisis’, warns committee chair Andy Slaughter MP.
LANGUAGE DOES MATTER
I agree with the headline‘ Language matters’( DDN, November, page 13). It does indeed matter, especially if we overstep what the evidence says. The article states,‘ in much of the UK, what’ s sold as“ heroin” is no longer heroin at all.’ Much of the UK? No longer heroin at all?
Sadly we do lack a proper countrywide monitoring system to look at drug potency and composition. But a look at recent samples from Wedinos shows that there is still a great deal of diamorphine present in samples purchased as heroin. There are nitazenes present in some samples. But saying‘ much of the UK … no longer heroin at all’ is overstating the situation.
Looking at the submissions from the Wirral, where the article author was based, there were no recent heroin submissions on Wedinos – highlighting how little we know about the local pattern of heroin contamination.
Yes, nitazenes are a present and increasing risk in the UK. But stating much of the brown powder sold as heroin contains no heroin but instead contains nitazenes needs to be evidenced by lab testing – not test strips that may or may not have been used correctly.
Language really matters – and unfortunately the article needs to reflect this point. Kevin Flemen, KFx, www. kfx. org. uk
TEAM SPIRIT
I was interested to read Rough justice( DDN, October, page 14). Women are underrepresented in substance misuse treatment, comprising only 33 per cent of service users here in Portsmouth. Many face unique challenges such as trauma, caregiving responsibilities, stigma, and involvement with the criminal justice system.
So we’ ve developed Project W, a pioneering women-only substance misuse service, to address the complex and often overlapping challenges faced by women affected by addiction, violence, and social exclusion. Commissioned by Portsmouth City Council and supported by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant( DATRIG), the service is delivered collaboratively by multiple partners, including Ambition Portsmouth, Stop Domestic Abuse, The Society of St James, and public health. It was codesigned with women with lived experience, ensuring the service is re sponsive, accessible, and empowering.
Operating every Wednesday and Thursday from Ambition Portsmouth, a LERO, Project W offers a safe, trauma-informed space for women with substance misuse needs or a history of rough sleeping. Services include domestic abuse support, health clinics, acupuncture, childcare, arts and crafts, peer support, and employment assistance.
With evaluation showing strong outcomes and high attendance, we feel that Project W is demonstrating how coproduction, peer support, and multi-agency collaboration can transform lives. Katie Wood, development manager( substance use), Public Health Portsmouth, Portsmouth City Council
DDN welcomes all your comments. Please email the editor, claire @ cjwellings. com, join any of the conversations on our Facebook page, or send letters to DDN, CJ Wellings Ltd, Romney House, School Road, Ashford, Kent TN27 0LT. Longer comments and letters may be edited for space or clarity.
/ ddnmagazine @ ddnmagazine www. drinkanddrugsnews. com
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