Cincinnati/USA. Seven Days of Heroin - This is what an epidemic looks like (Pulitzer Prize 2018 in the local reporting category)
The Enquirer sent more than 60 reporters, photographers and videographers into their communities to chronicle an ordinary week in this extraordinary time. (Enquirer and Media Network of Central Ohio staff, 10.09.2018)
https://www.cincinnati.com/pages/interactives/seven-days-of-heroin-epidemic-cincinnati/
USA. Trump Backs State-Level Marijuana Regulation, Lifting Pot Stocks
President Donald Trump endorsed letting states decide how to regulate marijuana, in a major boost for the legal pot industry. (bloomberg.com, 13.04.2018)
USA. Das Mittel hinter Amerikas Schmerz
In einigen Gliedstaaten nimmt der Heroinkonsum rasant zu. Am Anfang der Epidemie standen verschreibungspflichtige Schmerzmittel wie Oxycontin der US-Pharmafirma Purdue. Wie kam es zu dieser Entwicklung? (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 10.03.2018)
https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/das-mittel-hinter-amerikas-schmerz-ld.1364683
Association Between US State Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Prescribing in the Medicare Part D Population.
Bradford AC, Bradford WD, Abraham A, Bagwell Adams G.
JAMA Intern Med. Published online April 02, 2018. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.0266
Abstract
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2676999
26.Juni 2018: Global Day of Action - Support. Don't Punish (Video)
26th June 2018 will be the 6th Day of Action organised so far. Last year, thousands of people across 205 cities in 93 countries took part in the fifth global day of action for the Support Don't Punish campaign to call for better drug policies anchored in public health and human rights. This video celebrates their enthusiasm and commitment, and invites you to join in to demand and end to the senseless war on drugs. (Support. Don't Punish und International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), Video, 02:46)
USA. As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom
MCARTHUR, Ohio — The opioid epidemic has affected nearly every aspect of life in Vinton County. Teachers buy shoes for students whose addicted parents send them to school in footwear held together with tape. Overdose deaths have surged. Foster care is overwhelmed. The jail is bursting at the seams.
The expenses related to caring for the children of drug abusers and locking up drug offenders here eat up about 25 percent of the Ohio county’s $4 million annual budget, a hole that it can’t plug. Now, Vinton officials think someone should help foot the bill: Big Pharma.
“It almost feels like Vinton County was preyed upon,” said Lily Niple, who got addicted to prescription opioids here but managed to push through, having been clean for more than two years. “It’s like a huge exploitation of the people here. And it was negligent. Just complete disregard for the future.” (Washington Post, 07.04.2018)
On the Opioid Crisis and the Future of Pain Treatment: An Interview with Bertha K. Madras, PhD.
Ogawa LM.
Yale J Biol Med. 2018 Mar 28;91(1):73-78. eCollection 2018 Mar.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872645/
USA. Hospitals are confronting a new opioid crisis: an alarming shortage of pain meds
The incident command system kicked in at Brigham and Women’s Hospital about a week ago. A large team of doctors, pharmacists, and nurses began assembling every morning to confront an emerging crisis with the potential to severely undermine care for patients.
The challenge was different than it was during the Boston Marathon bombing, another event that triggered the command response. This one wasn’t rushing toward caregivers as fast. But it was similarly daunting and logistically demanding: Amid a nationwide crisis caused by too-easy access to medical painkillers, hospitals are now struggling to find enough of that same class of drugs to keep their patients’ pain controlled. (statnews.com, usa, 15.03.2018)
https://www.statnews.com/2018/03/15/hospitals-opioid-shortage/
USA. The Health 202: Opioid company blames government for Native American crisis
A top U.S. opioid distributor is pointing fingers at the government for the deluge of prescription painkillers that have poured into Native American communities at alarmingly high rates. (Washington Post, 02.04.2018)
USA. Drogenepidemie: 5 Fakten zur Opioid-Krise in den USA
So schlimm war es noch nie: Die USA werden gegenwärtig von der tödlichsten Drogenepidemie ihrer Geschichte heimgesucht. Eine Schlüsselrolle spielen dabei verschreibungspflichtige Medikamente. Wie konnte es dazu kommen? (spektrum.de, 20.02.2018)
https://www.spektrum.de/wissen/5-fakten-zur-opioid-krise-in-den-usa/1544581
USA. Experts React to Trump’s Plan to Escalate Drug War and Impose Death Penalty for Drug Offenses
Trump’s Misguided Approach Will Worsen the Overdose Crisis. (DPA – Drug Policy Alliance, 19.03.2018)
WHO. Universal Health Coverage
At least half the world’s people don't receive the essential health services they need. (WHO, 06.04.2018)
Experience shows that universal health coverage happens when political will is strong – it’s time to make history.
UNODC/CND. Empowering women and girls when tackling drugs and crime: UNODC, United Nations in Vienna launch new gender equality strategy
Drugs and crime continue to affect societies all over the world but their impact on women and girls can be different. This is being addressed in the new Strategy for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for UNODC and the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), which has been presented at a side-event of the 61st session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. (UNODC, 13.03.2018)
Open letter on the UNODC/WHO International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders
We, the undersigned civil society organisations working at the national, regional and international level on issues related to drug use, drug treatment, harm reduction and drug policies, are writing to you today regarding the joint UNODC and WHO publication entitled International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders.
The ‘Draft for Field Testing’ of this document (March 2017) raises serious concerns and contains significant omissions and misrepresentations. We request your urgent action to prevent these Standards being released in their current state. (Unterzeichnet von 188 Organisationen, 08.03.2018)
UNODC/CND. Statement submitted by the International Drug Policy Consortium
(Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Sixty-first session, Vienna, 12–16 March 2018)
http://undocs.org/E/CN.7/2018/NGO/2
Indonesien. Indonesia criminal code overhaul a step backwards for drug policy
Sweeping criminal sanctions proposed in Indonesian parliament could worsen the country's drug problem. (Al Jazeera, 30.03.2018)
UNODC/CND. Conference room paper submitted by the Federal Republic of Germany on the importance of harm reduction for people who use stimulant drugs
(Disclaimer: This report summarizes the discussions and conclusions of the Expert Group Meeting, but does not necessarily reflect the positions of the German government). (Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Sixty-first session, Vienna, 12–16 March 2018)
http://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND/CND_Sessions/CND_61/E_CN7_2018_CRP5_V1801268.pdf
UNODC/CND. 61st session of CND, video message by Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (Video)
(United Nations Secretariat to the Governing Bodies UNODC, 13.03.2018, Video, 00:59)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF-6t0FdYG0&feature=youtu.be
UNODC/CND. Consensus key to advancing balanced action on drugs, says UNODC Executive Director
Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director, highlighted the importance of consensus in addressing world drug challenges at the conclusion of the 61st session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) today in Vienna. (UNODC, 16.03.2018)
Schweiz. Suchtmediziner Thilo Beck: «Ich bin für die Legalisierung von Kokain»
Psychiater Thilo Beck betreut in Zürich Drogensüchtige. Er setzt sich gegen die Stigmatisierung von Abhängigen ein und fordert die Regulierung aller psychoaktiven Substanzen. Ein Interview. (Swisscom/bluewin, Schweiz, 13.03.2018)
USA. AMA – American Medical Association Themenseite: End the Epidemic
https://www.end-opioid-epidemic.org/
Niederlande. GESELLSCHAFT: Legales Marihuana für die Niederländer
Den Haag. Schon seit Jahren wird in den Niederlanden über die Regulierung des Cannabisanbaus diskutiert. Der Verkauf von Marihuana wird zwar geduldet, der Anbau und der Handel sind aber verboten. Bisher hatten die Kunden von Coffeeshops häufig keine Kontrolle darüber, welche Inhaltsstoffe in ihren Produkten vorhanden sind. Nun soll in einem Experiment Cannabis unter staatlicher Kontrolle angebaut und verkauft werden. (NiederlandeNet, 03.04.2018)
https://www.uni-muenster.de/NiederlandeNet/aktuelles/archiv/2018/0403Cannabis.html