Drink and Drugs News December 2020 – January 2021 ISSN 1755-6236 A FRAGILE PICTURE Commissioning in an age of cuts GOING VIRAL A look back at a tumultuous year FACING UP ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL MISUSE ON VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES UPFRONT IN THIS ISSUE Drink and Drugs News is published by CJ Wellings Ltd, INSIDE Romney House, School Road, 4 NEWS HAT success; risky drinking Ashford, Kent TN27 0LT t: 0845 299 3429 6 13 LETTERS Let’s stay positive Editor: Claire Brown 13 PARLIAMENT Tackling homelessness e: [email protected] Advertising manager: Ian Ralph 14 REVIEW OF THE YEAR Looking back e: [email protected] over an extraordinary 12 months Reporter: David Gilliver 15 BILL NELLES on a small ray of optimism e: [email protected] Designer: Jez Tucker 16 I AM A... detox manager e: [email protected] 17 BOOK REVIEW The Wild Remedy Subscriptions: e: [email protected] 17 GYPSY COMMUNITY Support from EDP website: 18 CHRISTMAS REHAB Phoenix’s good cheer www.drinkanddrugsnews.com ON THE COVER: Alcohol and veterans Website support by 19 MY WISH for meaningful support wiredupwales.com Printed on environmentally Commissioners friendly paper by the Manson must adapt to Treating school Group Ltd an increasingly Alcohol education children as criminals Cover by: Eden Breitz / Alamy 10 fragile picture for the over-50s is a recipe for disaster CJ Wellings Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers. The contents of this magazine 8 12 are the copyright of CJ Wellings Ltd, but do not necessarily represent its views, or those of its partner organisations. PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK! ‘There are much-needed ‘DDN has its finger on the pulse of glimpses of hope’ drug and alcohol treatment and the Our news in this issue leads with the positive results of the heroin wider context... keep on keeping on!’ assisted treatment pilot in Middlesbrough – a scheme whose dramatic impact has resulted in funding to evaluate it, and which We love reading your feedback and will hopefully encourage further roll-out. These are the moments suggestions – please fill in our readers’ we must look for in a terribly difficult year. Our review of the last survey at www.drinkanddrugsnews. 12 months (p14) reminds us of the painful decisions and swift adaptations we all had to make – but it also tells the story of services com/ddn-readers-survey-2020/ rising to the challenge and gives much-needed glimpses of hope. There are many opportunities ahead, particularly through DDN is a self-funded independent publication. Our bespoke partnership packages provide partnership working. Adfam and the Forces in Mind Trust have an opportunity to work closely with the magazine. Please get in touch to find out more. been finding ways to support veterans and their families (p6), answering a massive need that’s been flagged up for so long in our sector. Alcohol Awareness Week has galvanised services from all over the country to educate and inspire for the common cause (p8). And a parent’s concern about a school’s approach to drugs is an invitation to comment on this fundamentally important matter (p12). We’ve also focused on the vital process of commissioning (p10), with an invite to join the debate. A heartfelt thank you to those of you who have already completed our readers’ survey. If you haven’t yet, please do! Season’s greetings and all the very best. Claire Brown, editor Keep in touch at www.drinkanddrugsnews.com and @DDNmagazine WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 3 NEWS ROUND-UP Middlesbrough HAT pilot has ‘dramatic impact’ he Middlesbrough of diamorphine under supervision, heroin assisted and have access to agencies that treatment (HAT) pilot can help with health, housing and launched last year financial issues. Analysis of six (DDN, November 2019, participants who have spent at Tpage 5) has had a ‘dramatic impact’, least 30 weeks on the programme according to the programme’s found a 98 per cent attendance rate clinical team lead Daniel Ahmed. for the sessions, even throughout Teesside University has now lockdown, while offending been given a £60,000 grant to levels have plummeted. The six independently evaluate the scheme participants had committed more and its results. than 540 detected crimes before The HAT pilot, the UK’s first, was joining, which has since fallen to a launched to tackle high rates of combined total of three lower-level street drug deaths and drug litter, offences. remove the health risks associated The scheme, which has been www.gazettelive.co.uk with street heroin, and divert licensed by the Home Office, was people from acquisitive crime launched and partly funded by of Teesside University, Professor ‘This is not a soft and offending behaviour. Since its Cleveland PCC Barry Coppinger Graham Towl of Durham University launch, 14 people for whom all using money seized under the and Dr Magdalena Harris of the option, it’s a smart other treatment had failed and Proceeds of Crime Act, with London School of Hygiene and were causing ‘most concern’ to further funding from Durham Tees Tropical Medicine. Of the original option.' criminal justice and health and Valley Community Rehabilitation 14 participants, one left voluntarily DANIEL AHMED social care agencies have been Company. The new research will and two left after committing a accepted on to the programme. look at the experiences of people crime, while treatment had to be Some had been using heroin for who have ‘completed, discontinued stopped in four cases for medical more than 20 years. or refused to engage’ with the reasons. The remaining seven are said Ahmed. ‘What we are doing is Participants visit a clinic twice programme, and will be carried still receiving treatment. ‘This is not following an evidence base that is a day to receive a prescribed dose out by Professor Tammi Walker a soft option, it’s a smart option,’ producing results.’ A week’s units for ‘Historic victory’ in Oregon THE DIVISIVE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION tax and savings from not processing ‘price of a coffee’ also saw Oregon become the first state people through the criminal justice to vote in favour of decriminalising system. Anyone arrested for offences DRINKERS IN ENGLAND can consume their entire weekly possession of small amounts of all drugs related to drug dealing will still be subject guideline amount of alcohol for the price of a coffee, for personal use. to criminal prosecution. according to research from the Alcohol Health Alliance. The state’s electorate voted ‘yes’ to The initiative had been launched by The alliance visited shops and supermarkets across Oregon Measure 110, which supports advocacy group the Drug Policy Alliance, the UK and found that the cheapest drinks were all making ‘personal non-commercial which called the result a ‘historic victory’, a in England, where no minimum unit price has been possession of a controlled substance’ ‘monumental night for drug policy reform’, introduced. ‘It is possible to drink the low-risk weekly – including heroin, cocaine and and ‘arguably the biggest blow to the guidelines of 14 units for just £2.68 – about the price of methamphetamine – subject to no more war on drugs to date’. The vote confirmed a cup of coffee in many high street chains,’ the alliance than a $100 fine, as well as establishing ‘a substantial shift in public support’ in states. Beers, wines and spirits were all on sale in London a treatment and recovery programme favour of treating drug use as a health branches of Aldi and Lidl for between 31 and 38p per financed in part by the state’s marijuana rather than criminal issue, it said. unit, while cider remains the cheapest product – available for as little as 19p per unit. The minimum unit price in OREGON is the first US State to decriminalise drug possession. Measure 110 makes Scotland and Wales is 50p. it a noncriminal violation (similar to a traffic offence) to possess: A YouGov survey carried out in October found that 56 • Less than 1 gram of heroin • Less than 40 units of LSD per cent of the public would support an increase in alcohol • Less than 1 gram, or less than 5 pills, • Less than 12 grams of psilocybin taxes if the money was used to fund services impacted by of MDMA • Less than 40 units of methadone alcohol, such as the NHS and police. While alcohol duty • Less than 2 grams of • Less than 40 pills of oxycodone raises between £10bn and £12bn per year, PHE estimates methamphetamine • Less than 2 grams of cocaine the annual cost of alcohol-related harm at £27bn. 4 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021 WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM News DDN EVERY DAY All the news, updated daily www.drinkanddrugsnews.com More than half of over 50s Local News drinking at risky levels ore than 50 per of at least one parent since March. cent of over 50s ‘We know that life changes such as are drinking at bereavement, retirement and a lack levels that ‘could of purpose have led to older adults cause health drinking more in recent years while Mproblems now or in the future’, younger generations are drinking Higher learning according to research commissioned less,’ said head of the Drink Wise, RCPsych’s ‘higher trainee of by With You (We Are With You), Age Well programme at With You, the year’ award has gone to while almost a quarter are classed Julie Breslin. ‘Nearly 80 per cent Dr Emmert Roberts at the as ‘high risk or possibly dependent’. of over 50s we work with drink at National Addiction Centre.