www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Manchester is set to become the worldwide centre for excellence in hair testing for alcohol and drug abuse with the launch of a new laboratory at the Hexagon Tower science park in Blackley.
The state-of-the-art facility, being opened this week (w/c 22.3.10) by London-based Trimega Laboratories, will test hair samples from around the world to provide accurate historical records of someone’s intake of drink or drugs up to 12 months prior. The technique is already widely used throughout the UK to help Local Authorities and family lawyers diagnose forms of dependency among adults involved in child care orders. The number of these applications has leapt 46%* nationwide in the wake of the Baby P case with hair test requests in the North West and Wales, for example, increasing from an average of 40 to 70 a month in the past year (out of around 800 a month nationwide). (Source: Medical News Today, 3/23/10)

For the first time a made in Europe youth drug prevention project was developed and tested thanks to funding from the European Commission. After six years the European Drug Addiction Prevention Project has ended and has left behind an effective program to prevent the use of drugs. In short, EU-Dap developed and tested a school-based alcohol, tobacco and drugs prevention program in seven European countries. The drug prevention program named Unplugged is still being used today by not only the EU-Dap study group but also many other countries beyond Europe.
The EU-Dap school materials named Unplugged are available free of charge. The materials involve a 12-lesson teacher manual, a student workbook and two card games for youth. Please visit www.eudap.net to download these free materials.

18 November 2009 marked the start of the EU-SPR. A Meeting in Rome founded the Society. See Website

New CASA* Report Finds: In 2006 65 percent of all U.S. inmates meet medical criteria for substance abuse addiction, only 11 percent receive any treatment.
Drugs, alcohol implicated in 78 percent of violent crimes, 83 percent of property crimes, 77 percent OF weapon, public order, other crimes.
Of the 2.3 million inmates crowding our nations prisons and jails, 1.5 million meet the DSM IV medical criteria for substance abuse or addiction, and another 458,000, while not meeting the strict DSM IV criteria, had histories of substance abuse; were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of their crime; …
The new 144-page report also reveals that alcohol and other drugs are significant factors in all crime.
Press Release: Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population

African-Americans are less likely to drink alcohol than other adults — and have lower rates of binge drinking — but their rate of illicit-drug use is higher, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (Source: Join Together, 2/25/10)

In his latest Chairman’s Corner CASA Chairman and President, Joseph A. Califano, Jr. talks about how to reduce the US deficit by addressing substance abuse and addiction. In fiscal year 2010 federal and state government spending on this problem accounts for more than $500 billion to taxpayers and almost all goes to shovel up the consequences of our failure to prevent and treat it. chairmanscorner.casacolumbia.org, 2/1/10

Older teenagers and young adults who are out of work face poorer health and lower happiness, with one in 10 claiming that unemployment drove them to drugs or alcohol, according to new research. A Princes Trust study, based on interviews with over 2,000 unemployed 16 to 25 year olds, also found out-of-work young people were more likely to feel ashamed, rejected and unloved. If the current economic downturn mirrors previous recessions these could become ‚permanent psychological scars‘, the charity warned. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/28/10)

More than one in four girls ages 12-17 was involved in fighting within the past year, according to new survey data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
HealthDay News reported Jan. 15 that a SAMHSA survey of more than 33,000 adolescents found that 19 percent of the girls surveyed reported involvement in a serious fight at school or work, 14 percent took part in group fights, and about 6 percent said they attacked someone else intending to cause serious injury.
Girls who avoided alcohol or other drug use, got good grades and came from higher-income families were at the least risk of involvement in violence, researchers found. (Source: Join Together, 1/21/10)

Researchers who surveyed drug users in the U.K. found a high level of awareness about the harms associated with use of various substances, Medical News Today reported Nov. 26. Asked to rank 20 drugs based on their harms, 1,500 drug users placed heroin, crack and cocaine as the top three most dangerous drugs; alcohol was ranked fifth, and tobacco ninth. Marijuana was ranked 18th. (Source: Join Together, 12/2/09)

College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The study, of 234 male athletes at one university, found that those who used performance enhancers — ranging from steroids to stimulants to weight-loss supplements — were more likely to admit to heavy drinking and using drugs like marijuana and cocaine. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/12/09)