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JUNE
Global drug markets are being transformed by ‘ cheap and easy ’ synthetic drugs , warns UNODC ’ s latest World drug report – with ‘ lethal ’ results . Synthetic opiates mean lower costs and fewer risks for traffickers , the report points out , with more and more now likely to enter the market as a result of the Taliban ’ s opium ban in Afghanistan .
Some good news , however , in an update to the HIV action plan for England , which states that new HIV transmissions have fallen by a third since 2019 . This means the country is on course to meet the target of an 80 per cent reduction in new transmissions by 2025 , and an end to them by 2030 .
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JULY
Treatment agencies begin issuing warnings about unusually strong opioids , with clusters of fatal overdoses around the country . Drugs sold as heroin , oxycodone and ‘ street benzos ’ are being found to contain fentanyls and nitazines , the organisations point out .
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DDN heads to Birmingham for its 15th annual service user conference , Many Roads . While it ’ s no longer socially acceptable to stigmatise people with mental health issues , Phoenix Futures chief executive Karen Biggs tells delegates , attitudes to people who use drugs still haven ’ t changed . |
AUGUST
OHID issues updated guidance for commissioners and services on preparing for incidents involving fentanyl and nitazenes , telling local areas that they need to plan how to ‘ rapidly understand and assess ’ the risks and minimise the impact – including by improving drug information systems and naloxone supply . Scotland ’ s latest drug death figures show a 21 per cent reduction , however , although the figure is still almost quadruple the level of 20 years ago .
A report from the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee , meanwhile , says the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act is outdated and in need of reform . ‘ Whilst the drug strategy is moving in the right direction , it requires much more meaningful action to tackle the broad range of drug-related problems ,’ says committee chair Dame Diana Johnson .
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SEPTEMBER
Scotland ’ s lord advocate says it would ‘ not be in the public interest ’ to prosecute people for possession offences committed in a pilot drugs consumption room , opening the door for the introduction of legal pilot schemes . Two weeks later Glasgow approves the plan for a facility in the city ’ s east end , while Scotland also consults on raising the minimum unit price for alcohol to 65p – despite ongoing controversy over how effective the intervention has been so far .
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OCTOBER
The National Audit Office warns that the government will need to address a lack of focus on intervention , uncertainties around future funding , and gaps in the evidence base if it is to achieve its drug strategy ambitions . While more than 1,200 new drug and alcohol workers have already been recruited against a target of 950 by 2024-25 , there are still delays in distributing drug strategy funding and implementing new projects .
The government also announces ‘ the most significant public health intervention in a decade ’, with plans to raise the smoking age year-by-year to prevent anyone now younger than 14 from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes .
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NOVEMBER
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has plummeted by 95 per cent since the Taliban ’ s opium ban , says the latest analysis by UNODC , fuelling fears of yet more fentanyl and nitazenes entering the drug market , while the Metropolitan Police recovers 150,000 nitazene tablets – the UK ’ s largest ever seizure of synthetic opioids – that are destined for sale on the dark web .
The government ’ s controversial nitrous dioxide ban comes into force , while New Zealand ’ s plan to ban smoking for future generations – the model for the UK ’ s projected legislation – is promptly scrapped by the country ’ s new government .
Meanwhile , new public health guidance from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ( ECDC ) and EMCDDA classifies consumption rooms as one of the six key interventions to prevent infections among people who inject drugs .
And finally , with a general election once again looming , Change Grow Live share their asks of a new government , including committing to sustainable three-year funding cycles , recognising the role of third-sector providers and publishing a comprehensive substance misuse workforce strategy .
DECEMBER
At the turn of the year we hope for continued investment alongside stability and progress in the sector – and look forward to its favourite magazine turning 20 years old !
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