England and Wales are also at their
highest ever. Meanwhile, Trump
instructs his administration to use ‘all
appropriate emergency and other
authorities’ to respond to opioid crisis
in the country, which has seen
overdoses quadruple since the turn of
the century. ‘Not coincidentally’ the
level of opioid prescribing has
quadrupled over the same period,
points out the interim report from his
own Commission on Combating Drug
Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
purgatory. Release marks its 50th
anniversary with a powerful pop-up
exhibition, ‘The Museum of Drug
Policy’, while Russell Brand’s interview
with DDN proves divisive.
All things NOVEL
Global Drug Survey 2018 – the latest
version of the world’s largest drug survey
– has just been launched.
Prof Adam Winstock asks for your help in
assessing the new drugs on the block
NOVEMBER
SEPTEMBER
Hot on the heels of last month’s bleak
drug death figures and the King’s
Fund’s worrying study from July, a
report from the government’s own
advisers, the ACMD, warns that
funding cuts are now the single
biggest threat to drug treatment
recovery outcomes. A lack of spending
on drug treatment is ‘short sighted
and a catalyst for disaster,’ states its
recovery committee chair, Annette
Dale-Perera, while new figures from
PHE map out the disproportionate
impact problem drinking has on
deprived communities.
‘We constantly need to be saying, “Is
our service right? Is it fit for
purpose?’” Haringey’s Sarah Hart says
in our comprehensive look at the
commissioning landscape. ‘And I’m
not sure that without a tender
process people would do that.’ To
illustrate the ever-changing nature of
the challenges she describes, the
latest NDTMS figures show a 23 per
cent increase in the number of
people seeking treatment for crack,
along with a 12 per cent increase in
those presenting with combined
crack and opiate problems. And
Scotland’s minimum pricing plans
finally get the go-ahead after five
years of legal wrangles, as the UK
Supreme Court’s ‘landmark’ ruling
rejects the Scotch Whisky
Association’s final appeal.
DECEMBER
OCTOBER
The Welsh Government introduces a
bill to create a minimum unit price for
alcohol, despite the Scots’ attempts to
do the same still languishing in legal
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
As another year comes to an end,
plans are well underway for the 11th
annual DDN service user involvement
conference, your chance to have your
say on the future of the sector. See
you on 22 February in Birmingham!
Can you help us define and describe the new drugs on the block?
Your experiences will help us to share information with others on what
drugs are worth a mention, what’s best avoided and how to stay safe.
With over 500 new drugs being identified in the last five years, we’re known for
having our ear to the ground and learning, before others, about drugs that come
onto the market.
Our global drug survey helps us gain a unique understanding of new drugs:
• form (eg pill, powder, liquid)
• how people take it
• what type of other drug it most resembles
(eg cannabis, trips, stimulants, opioid)
• how long it takes for the effects to come on
• how long a single dose lasts
• intensity of effect
• positive and negative effects
Most research on drugs is based on toxicological analyses, web scrapings of user
forums and emergency department presentations, whereas our research come s
straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. That’s 100,000 horses in fact; all
sharing their personal stories with us, in depth and in their own way –
something we’re really proud of. And since we started, we’ve produced some of
the most highly cited papers on mephedrone, synthetic cannabinoids, DMT, the
NBOMe series, methoxetamine and LSD analogues (and we have a new one on
ayahausca coming soon).
In previous years, drugs were designed to mimic cannabis (the synthetic
cannabinoid receptor agonists or SCRAs) and stimulants (cathinones like
mephedrone and methylone), however, last year we found that new drugs were
commonly being produced to mimic psychedelics. With the rise of fentanyl
analogues and other depressant drugs, GDS aims to get a better insight into
how they are being used and who is using them. That way we can share
information and help support people to stay safe.
If you’ve tried a new drug in the last year and want to share your
experiences and opinions anonymously, please take 15-30 minutes to
contribute to the world’s largest drug survey
www.globaldrugsurvey.com/GDS2018
Prof Adam Winstock is founder and CEO of GDS, consultant psychiatrist and
addiction medicine specialist, GDS2018 #KnowYourDrugs
December/January 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 17