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TAG CLOUD
May 24, 2013
DOVETAIL WEBINAR WED 5TH OF JUNE 10AM - 11AM: EMERGING DRUGS
Over the last decade, an increasing number of new drugs have been appearing around the world. Many of these new drugs are structurally similar to existing illegal drugs but their chemical make-up has been slightly altered in order to avoid legal restrictions. This free webinar will give workers an overview of the history of these emerging drugs, as well as providing an up to date overview of some of the products currently available in Queensland. The seminar will be held on Wednesday the 5th of June from 10am - 11am on level 4 of the Biala Building (270 Roma Street, Brisbane City), but it will also be broadcast through the Telehealth network (available at most Queensland Health facilities) or as a webinar through any computer with an internet connection running the Mozilla Firefox browser.
If you would like to attend via any of these means, please register on the Dovetail website.
Posted in: Training & Events
May 24, 2013
ILLICIT DRUG DATA REPORT 2011-12
The Australian Crime Commission have published their annual "Illicit Drug Data Report 2011-12". The report contains information on drug trends as seen by law enforcement. While these trends can reflect changes in police activity rather than actual drug trends, the report does contain some useful information for services. In this most recent report perhaps the most notable trend has been the increase in detections of performance and image enhancing drugs seized by Customs at the Australian border.
Read more of the Illicit Drug Data Report 2011/12 here
Posted in: Research
May 24, 2013
INVENTOR OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS SPEAKS ABOUT "HERBAL HIGHS"
The New Zealand Drug Foundation publishes a quarterly magazine titled "Matters of Substance" and the current issue contains an interview with John W. Huffman, inventor of drugs such as JWH-018 (the ingredient of Kronic). These drugs are designed to mimic the effects of THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) whilst skirting legal restrictions. In the article titled "Playing Russian Roulette" Dr Huffman describes his concerns about the use of the chemicals that he invented, stating in the article "The synthetics are harmful, they're dangerous."
Read the full article here.
Posted in: Research
May 17, 2013
HOW INTEGRATED ARE HOMELESSNESS, MENTAL HEALTH AND AOD SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) have published a report titled "How integrated are homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services in Australia?" The report is the final report of a project which has been looking at the most effective ways to integrate services to reduce homelessness in Australia. The report looks at services in Melbourne and Perth and considered different levels of integration between the various services. The report found that clients from more integrated services reported more positive outcomes than clients from less well integrated services.
Download "How integrated are homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services in Australia?" (2MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
May 17, 2013
CONSULTATION FOR THE NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES DRUG STRATEGY
The National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee are inviting submissions to assist in informing the development of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Drug Strategy. They have published a background paper to assist people wanting to provide written submissions, and they are conducting a consultation forum in Mt Isa on Thursday the 23rd of May. Written submissions need to be completed by Friday the 7th of June.
For more information or to make a submission go to the NIDAC Website.
May 17, 2013
NO MORE "ABUSE"
There's been a lot of media recently about the pending release of the DSM-5 - the manual which describes the criteria for various mental health conditions. While there has been a large amount of criticism of the new DSM there is one change which many think is a long time coming - the removal of the term "abuse" from substance related disorders. An article published on the American website "The Fix" provides an overview of this change explaining the negative impacts of terms like "abuse" on people with substance use issues. The author states that it's time that we banish once and for all terms like "abuse" from our language.
Read "No more Addict Abuse" here.
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR NEW PLAYERS 4TH EDITION
The Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) have published the latest edition of their "Tips and Tricks for New Players: A guide to becoming familiar with the alcohol and other drugs sector". This guide contains everything a new worker needs to know about the alcohol and other drug sector including information on the major organisations working in the area, definitions of key terms, acronyms and abbreviations, as well as some information on specific intervention areas such as therapeutic communities and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
For more information or to download electronic copies go to the ADCA website.
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
IDENTITY AND MEANING IN THE LIVES OF VULNERABLE YOUNG PEOPLE
The Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University have published a research report titled "Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people." The researchers interviewed 24 vulnerable young people in order to understand the role and potency of identity and meaning in their lives. The young people described experiences of trauma and loss and seemed to base their sense of identity and meaning around the things that had been lacking in their lives - including the importance of family and respect. This allowed the young people to re-frame their experiences into an identity of "survivor pride".
Download "Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people." (1.6MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
PLANNING FOR SAFETY WHEN WORKING WITH AT-RISK FAMILIES
The Australian Institute of Family Studies have published a resource guide titled "Planning for safety with at-risk families: Resource guide for workers in intensive home-based family support". This guide contains information that assists workers in developing safety plans when working with families including identifying safety concerns, understanding family strengths, setting goals and reviewing progress. This document provides a useful framework for working collaboratively with families to maximise safety and enhance engagement.
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
DRUG ACTION WEEK 2013
One of the biggest events in the AOD sector is Drug Action Week, which will be held from Sunday 16th of June to Saturday 22nd of June, 2013. This year's theme is "Drugs, Communities and Families" and event / activity registrations are now open on the Alcohol and Drug Council Australia's (ADCA) website. Last year saw a record of 914 events across Australia and ADCA would like to break that record this year with over 1000 events. So start planning now!
More information at the Drug Action Week Website
Posted in: Training & Events
