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Home secretary ‘minded to’
explicitly exempt poppers from
Psychoactive Substances Act
The home secretary,
Priti Patel, has written
to the ACMD seeking
its advice on formally
exempting alkyl
nitrates – or ‘poppers’ – from the
2016 Psychoactive Substances Act.
There has long been confusion
about the exact legal status of the
substances, and as the lawfulness
of their supply remains uncertain,
the home secretary is “minded
to remove this uncertainty
by explicitly exempting” the
substances from the act, she states.
Although an initial proposed
amendment to exempt alkyl
nitrates from the Psychoactive
Family focus
Substances Bill was defeated, the
ACMD later advised then drugs
minister Karen Bradley that in
their view the substances would
still fall outside of the scope of the
act as they did not have a direct
effect on the central nervous
system (DDN, April 2016, page
4). A 2018 Court of Appeal ruling,
however, stated that substances
that only have an indirect
psychoactive effect could still be
covered by the legislation.
The home secretary’s letter
also seeks the ACMD’s advice on
the drivers of increasing powder
cocaine use among young people
and drug sales on the ‘dark net’.
THE THEME OF THIS YEAR’S #STOPTHEDEATHS initiative is the role
families can play in saving the lives of people at risk of overdose.
The campaign, which was launched three years ago (DDN,
September 2018, page 5), encourages people across Scotland
to understand their role in helping to prevent overdose deaths.
Although the figures are yet to be released, there are fears that
2019’s drug death toll for Scotland could once again be the highest
ever. ‘The focus on families for this year’s Stop the Deaths initiative
is welcome and timely,’ said CEO of Scottish Families Affected by
Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD), Justina Murray. ‘We know families play a
vital role in preserving and
saving the lives of those at
high risk of overdose and
death, but this is often
overlooked. This includes
everything from meeting
their basic needs for food
and shelter, to supporting
them to engage with
treatment and recovery, and
continuing to offer them
enduring love, hope and
connection.’
‘Every fatal overdose
can be prevented,’ added
Scottish Drugs Forum
CEO David Liddell. ‘With
training and support,
families can learn how
best to support people
when they are most at risk.’
www.stopthedeaths.com
‘We know families
play a vital role
in preserving and
saving... lives.'
JUSTINA MURRAY
The ACMD later
advised... the
substances would
still fall outside of
the scope of the act
as they did not have
a direct effect on
the central nervous
system.
Hep C world first
NHS TAYSIDE has become the world’s first
region to effectively eliminate hepatitis C, with
90 per cent of patients diagnosed and 80 per
cent of infected cases treated by the end of
last year. NHS Tayside has diagnosed almost
2,000 people since testing began, and treated
more than 1,800 – more than 90 per cent of
the estimated prevalence of hep C, meeting
the WHO’s elimination target 11 years early.
The NHS Tayside project, which was developed
in partnership with the University of Dundee,
began in a single needle exchange and
eventually led to a redesign of services with a
focus on testing people who use drugs before
they enter treatment.
‘If you can offer treatment at a very early
stage, while people who are infected are still
actively injecting – when they have contact
with other people who inject and share
equipment with other people – their chances
of transmission disappear because they’re not
infected any more,’ said consultant hepatologist
Professor John Dillon. ‘It’s the idea of treatment
as prevention.’ Getting such a high proportion of
people treated was a ‘huge achievement,’ added
Hepatitis C Trust chief executive Rachel Halford.
‘People who inject drugs often struggle to access
treatment due to barriers like stigma around the
virus and drug use. NHS Tayside has shown that
it doesn’t have to be this way and that everyone
can be treated for this virus. If services adapt to
patients, everyone can clear the virus and we
can make sure we leave no one behind.’
Local News
Powerful pop-ups
A series of pop-up
performance videos
have been created to
mark International
Overdose Awareness
Day by BDP, Outside
Edge, small performance
adventures and Theatre
Royal Plymouth’s ‘Our
Space’ project. ‘Overdose
has touched many lives,’
said Theatre Royal’s Sara
Rhodes. smallperformance
adventures.com/workprojects/internationaloverdose-awareness-day
Joining up
Phoenix Futures has
launched a research
partnership with Liverpool
John Moores University. The
aim is to ‘facilitate a more
symbiotic relationship
between research and
practice’ and integrate
emerging evidence into
service delivery, says
Phoenix.
London calling
Outside Edge Theatre
Company is starting a
free weekly drama group
in Southwark for anyone
affected by addiction
issues. ‘You don’t need to
have any experience of
drama, you just need to
be abstinent on the day
of the workshop,’ say the
organisers. http://edgetc.
org/drop-in-drama/
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SEPTEMBER 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 5