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January 2008

January 31, 2008: UK LOSES MUCH-NEEDED WOMEN-ONLY ADDICTION-TREATMENT CENTRE
Comments: 0 | Categories: News
Pierpoint’s Female Focus forced to shut down 29 January. “To my knowledge, we provided the only gender-specific service dedicated to women trying to recover from addiction, including detox,” sighed director John Grady, who runs Pierpoint treatment services including its Female...

January 26, 2008: TREATMENT-CENTRE LEAGUE TABLES
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Action plan by ‘healthcare watchdog’ will start 4 February “They are not league tables,” insists Peter Burkinshaw (pictured above with Marilyn Major of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse), when discussing joint reviews by the Healthcare Commission and the...

January 25, 2008: WOMEN'S DRINK DEATHS DOUBLE - AND MEN'S ARE DOUBLE AGAIN
Comments: 0 | Categories: News
Office for National Statistics shows 2,990 women and 5,768 men died last year from alcohol abuse. Criticism continues for ministers who extended licensing hours despite evidence warning of its damaging consequences (including from Addiction Today journal), and enabling of the...

January 24, 2008: DRUG OFFENCES SOAR 21% IN A YEAR
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Home Office figures show that drug offences leapt by over 60% since Labour relaxed the law on cannabis possession in 2004. Drug crime rocketed by 21% last year alone. And there were 55,700 drug offences in July-September last year –...

January 24, 2008: London loses out under new funding formula
Comments: 0 | Categories: Funding opportunities , News
Comment by the London Drug & Alcohol Network London boroughs are adversely affected by a new formula for allocating the pooled treatment budget based on numbers on treatment. London's overall budget for 2008/2009 drops £2million to £86million - and indicative...

January 24, 2008: NTA UPDATE ON COMPETENCE
Comments: 0 | Categories: Jobs, training, professional development
Targets will be scrapped As the new National Drug Strategy is being developed, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, in partnership with other central government stakeholders, has reviewed its approach to workforce issues. “We will not be setting new...

January 20, 2008: INPUT TO NIDA ADDICTION RESEARCH PLAN
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Deadline 6 February 2008 For the past three decades, NIDA – the National Institute on Drug Abuse – has led the way in supporting research to prevent and treat drug abuse and addiction and mitigate the impact of their consequences,...

January 17, 2008: RECOVERY MAPS: GUIDE CLIENTS...
Comments: 0 | Categories: Therapeutic Techniques
... on their life path by drawing relapse and recovery 'maps' Encouraging clients to draw ‘maps’ of their recovery can elicit information from the unconscious right side of their brains – Martin Weegmann steers us through This article originally appeared...

January 16, 2008: Self-help contact details
Comments: 0 | Categories: Self Help groups
Many of these resources are free or by donation - do check. Please feel free to send updates you come across. Addictions Anonymous 020-7584 7383 Adult children of alcoholics PO Box 1576, London SW3 1AZ www.adultchildren.org Al-aNOn... for families and...

January 16, 2008: NICE ALCOHOL GUIDELINES
Comments: 0 | Categories: News
Chair and Clinical Adviser - Alcohol Disorders The adverts for a Chair and Clinical Adviser for the Alcohol Disorders guideline are currently on the NICE website. The closing date for applications is 18 January 2008. Just click through on Chair...

January 15, 2008: The ACoA FACT FINDER
Comments: 0 | Categories: Families and children , Research
The UK's largest-ever survey into the extent and traits of children of alcoholics previewed its findings at Addiction Today's conference. It has even more impact than mental illness, concludes Professor Martin Callingham. This article was first published in Addiction Today...

January 14, 2008: NIDA INFOFACTS: MARIJUANA
Comments: 0 | Categories: Cannabis comment
The science of drug abuse and addiction Research overview from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and Addiction; current as at 2 January 2008 EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) acts in...

January 14, 2008: WE NEED A CAMPAIGN OF INFORMATION
Comments: 1 | Categories: Cannabis comment
Should cannabis be decriminalised or not? Should it be classifed as a class B or C drug? Debates are irrelevant while they are entrenched in misinformation and disinformation This article by Deirdre Boyd appeared in Addiction Today, November 2000 -...

January 14, 2008: THE GUIDE TO REHAB
Comments: 2 | Categories: Research , Therapeutic Techniques
WHAT REALLY WORKS 20 research facts everyone should know about rehab treatment for alcohol and drugs dependency This article first appeared in Addiction Today, January 2001 In late 1999, Dr David Best (who was working with the National Addiction Centre),...

January 14, 2008: PETITION: RESIDENTIAL & ABSTINENT TREATMENT
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Deadline 22 January 2008 Sign now to increase provision of residential and abstinent treatment in Scotland. Peter McCann, chair of Castle Craig Hospital, has initiated a petition calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish government to increase the...

January 14, 2008: CHAMP AWARDS
Comments: 0 | Categories: Funding opportunities , News
Deadline 20 April 2008 Diageo has sponsored the Champ Awards, a biennial scheme aimed at recognising projects in England, Scotland and Wales which help prevent children aged 14 years and under from misusing alcohol - both now and in the...

January 13, 2008: Evening Standard Comment
Comments: 0 | Categories: Cannabis comment
Cannabis haze The politics of cannabis lags behind the scientific findings about the damage it can cause. This week the prime minister made clear that he favoured the relcassification of the drug from class C to class B. This change...

January 11, 2008: 5th UK/EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON ADDICTIVE DISORDERS
Comments: 0 | Categories: Diary
5th UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders 8-10 May 2008, Kensington, London SW7 The most popular event in the UK and European addiction-treatment calendar returns with 60 prestigeous presenters and about 40 presentations - including Baroness Massey of the NTA, Professor...

January 11, 2008: RECLASSIFY CANNABIS BACK TO A CLASS-B DRUG
Comments: 13 |
"The government made a serious mistake on cannabis." Make your views known before the ACMD takes evidence in February By DEBRA BELL, chair of the Talking About Cannabis Parental Action Group Figures published today [11 January 2008] showing a 50%...

January 11, 2008: WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE RESEARCH
Comments: 0 | Categories: Research , Therapeutic Techniques
Project Match 3-year outcome results for alcoholism treatment Project Match is the world’s most expensive research into the effects of treatment for alcohol dependency, examining Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy and 12-Step Facilitation Therapy. These news reports by DEIRDRE...

January 11, 2008: THE BEST TREATMENTS
Comments: 1 | Categories: Research
Projec Match one-year outcome results The world’s most expensive research into the results of alcohol treatment is Project Match. It took eight years and spent about $27million trying to match alcoholic clients to best treatments... We analysed it to see...

January 11, 2008: MISUSE & ADDICTIONS WEEK: where to get help
Comments: 0 | Categories: Diary
Misuse & Addictions Week: where to get help 24-30 June 2008 A chance to see how ALL types of treatment for alcohol and drug misuse and dependencies can work, and to meet future partners across the spectrum of care.

January 11, 2008: ACCESS ALL OPTIONS - so people can access help more easily
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About one in 13 adults in the UK need help with alcohol dependency – but there are less than 1,000 beds dedicated to treating them. Is it possible to help the medical profession and people suffering from this disease or...

January 11, 2008: CAPE COD SYMPOSIUM ON ADDICTIVE DISORDERS
Comments: 0 | Categories: Diary
Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders 4-7 September 2008 This 'sister' symposium to UKESAD is the most popular in the US and a fantastic opportunity to exchange international expertise.

January 11, 2008: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN 2008?
Comments: 2 |
by Paul Hayes, chief executive of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, which oversees implementation of the government drugs strategy across England and Wales. CHALLENGING TREATMENT. The consensus that ‘treatment works’ is being overtly challenged in the media for...

January 10, 2008: System reform: "Think family" to help vulnerable parents and children
Comments: 1 | Categories: News
Cabinet minister Ed Miliband and Children,Young People & Families’ minister Beverley Hughes have launched a new approach to local services, drawing together nine government departments - with the aim of improving support for the most disadvantaged families and prevent problems...

January 10, 2008: "Funding for drug treatment moves towards a fairer system"
Comments: 1 | Categories: Funding opportunities , News
... states the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. The government’s has maintained ‘Pooled Drug Treatment Budget’ funding for drug treatment in 2008/9 at the 2007/08 record level of £398million. “This, combined with local efficiency savings of £50million a year...

January 9, 2008: NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
Comments: 1 | Categories: Partnerships
1. Avoid entering “right or wrong” debates (very desirable); 2. Avoid starting “right or wrong” debates (essential); 3. ... but (highly probable) ask why change the habits of a lifetime! by JOHN TROLAN, programme director of the Nelson Trust It...

January 8, 2008: What can we expect in 2008? 2nd of 3 expert views
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Karen Biggs is chief executive of Phoenix Futures, a £14million-turnover provider of care and rehabilitation services for people with drug and alcohol problems in the UK. Columnist: Karen Biggs WATCHING THE PROPOSED STRATEGY. The impact of the new 10-year national...

January 2, 2008: What can we expect in 2008? 3rd expert view
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Columnist: Martin Barnes OPPORTUNITY AND THREAT. In 2007, the prime minister promised a “radical review” of drugs policy. The next drug strategy might contain few surprises but, 10 years on – not least in the more febrile political environment –...