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Successful interventions with new psychoactive substances- by Katy McCleod
While conducting training on new psychoactive substances throughout Scotland, I often get asked which interventions are the most effective for users of these substances. I recently came across the paper by the fabulous Dr Adam Winstock: New recreational drugs and the primary care approach to patients who use them (Winstock and Mitcheson, 2012) which provides insightful guidance on working with users. The paper can be downloaded for free at- Global Drug Survey Academic Articles.
Dr Adam Winstock is involved in some rather exciting projects connected to new psychoactive substances, namely the Global Drugs Survey published in Mixmag in March of every year and the brand new drugs meter app, more info can be found at http://globaldrugsurvey.com/ You can even catch him speaking at Crew’s national event CREWSUS in Perth later this month! Read more
Ketamine & the bladder- by Dr. Angela Cottrell
It has only been apparent in recent years that the recreational use of ketamine can lead to problems with the urinary tract. Reports first emerged in 2007 from Canada and Hong Kong that the use of ketamine can lead to symptoms such as needing to pass urine frequently, passing blood, burning when passing urine, incontinence and bladder pain.
Up to a quarter of users may experience such problems and it appears that this is related to both the quantity used and the duration that it is taken for. Read more
Pow ! to Meow Meow ?
Mephedrone or ‘Meow Meow’ as the media labelled it, was banned in Britain in April 2010- lets look at the effects this had on use, quality and price.
According to last year’s Mixmag survey, 75% of people said they had taken mephedrone since the ban (April 15th 2010) with a third of them saying the ban had no effect. A mere 10% had said use had increased while others were using Cocaine and Ecstasy instead. Read more
Dangerous, Manageable or Hardcore?- by Monica Barratt
The unfortunate death of a 20-year-old Sydeny woman in 2007 provided a catalyst for an analysis of how online drug-using communities defined PMA and ecstasy. PMA or para-methoxyamphetamine is structurally similar to the phenylethylamines (MDxx) and mescaline. It is a hallucinogenic stimulant with a low threshold for overdose, making it definitively more dangerous than pure MDMA. Most, but not all, use of PMA is inadvertent, as the users believe they are consuming an MD derivative when they buy pills sold as ‘ecstasy’, but the pill actually contains PMA.
Annabel Catt’s death in 2007 followed her ingestion of ‘ecstasy caps’ which were later found to contain PMA. Her friends did call an ambulance but Annabel died later in hospital due to overheating and respiratory failure. Read more
Looking Out for your Mates – Top 10 Tips when communicating drug or alcohol worries
Recent media speculation around ecstasy deaths in the UK have caused unease amongst its users. Here at GDs we have created tips on how to look out for your mates.
The 2010/2011 MixMag survey identified that half of you have mates whose use of drugs and / or alcohol worries you. Those worries might have to do with what they are like when they are using, the impact upon their relationships with others, their preoccupation with use or the effect on their physical or mental health. What was really good to see was that you often spoke to your mates about your worries and although we cannot be certain what the worries were or exactly what you said to your mates, often your intervention seems to have helped them, while only rarely impacting negatively on your friendship. Mates are in good position to identify, support and motivate change in their friends because mates look out of each other. Read more
Welcome to the K-hole
Ketamine isn’t just for animals — it has been given to humans for over 40 years.It has a very good safety record when used as an anesthetic and pain killer in clinical settings, however over the last 20 years ketamine has left the operating theatres and vetinary surgeries to become an international party drug. It has spread through diverse cultures and populations from London and Read more