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Contents
editor’s letter
ON THE COVER
Is crack becoming more socially acceptable? p6
4 NEWS
£1bn in tax from legal cannabis; success for community hep C pilot
6 CRACKS IN THE MIRROR
Is crack use losing its stigma, asks Kevin Flemen.
8 A PATIENT WORTH SAVING?
It’s time to get real about service user involvement, says Nick Goldstein.
10 NEWS FOCUS
With MUP finally in place in Scotland, what does the future hold for alcohol policy?
14 POST-ITS FROM PRACTICE
Shared care is far too valuable to lose, says Dr Steve Brinksman.
14 CLINICAL EYE
Could better networking be key to keeping nurses engaged, asks Ishbel Straker.
CENTRE PAGES: PULLOUT ON ALCOHOL AND HEALTH
16 DRAWING ON EXPERIENCE
CPD is a vital tool whatever your qualifications, says Kate Halliday.
18 LETTERS AND COMMENT
20 EXCELLENCE IN COMMISSIONING
Join the expert faculty for their first congress on opioid use disorder.
23 DYING WITH THEIR RIGHTS ON?
Should we be intervening more to protect harmful drinkers, asks Mike Ward.
24 BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
The Drugs, Alcohol and Justice cross-party group considers the latest prison plans.
25 A WINNER’S TALE
Kelly Judge, last year’s Recovery Street Film Festival winner, tells her story.
Reporter: David Gilliver
e: [email protected]
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‘There was no suggestion
of being silenced’
W
e could be about to see a big upsurge in crack use – but
are we ready for it? How seriously should we treat the
reappearance of ‘crack horror’ warnings? In this month’s
cover story, Kevin Flemen suggests a pragmatic response.
With so many different drugs in circulation and symptoms to look
out for, we’ve been developing our DDN ‘Wider Health’ series,
beginning with a centre-pages pullout on alcohol. As Steve
Brinksman points out in his latest Post-it, many patients present with
health issues that are not obviously linked to drug or alcohol use. Our
at-a-glance guide will help to understand conditions in which alcohol
is a contributory factor and is designed with non-specialists in mind,
to create better pathways across all branches of healthcare. Please
pass it to colleagues where you can – the pdf is freely available on our
website. We are very grateful for Alcohol Research UK for supporting
us to develop this resource.
In creating advice pages, let’s not forget that most crucial part of
the equation – service user involvement. When we started DDN
nearly 14 years ago ‘Nothing about us without us’ was an essential
theme. When Alan Joyce wrote his piece in 2006 (page 9) there was
plenty to campaign for, but no suggestion of the patient voice being
silenced. So Nick Goldstein’s questions on page 8 about the health of
service user involvement deserve our full attention. We may need to
consider a different model, but the need for a clear and challenging
voice has never been greater.
Claire Brown, editor
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June 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 3