Some may have been aware of the Harm Reduction Works Campaign which has been in development for a while. It was commissioned by us at the NTA on behalf of the Department of Health and designed by Exchange Supplies, with whom many of you will be familiar. A range of free materials (well, free for those in England - Devolved administrations at cost) are now available from here, with more planned for the next few months. Any questions feel free to ask.

The materials I have seen are excellent-so please pass on the news to others.
We had a good launch in the West Mids region-with a particular emphasis on peer led campigns!
Promise not to order extra materials for colleagues in Cardiff!

Heaven forbid our celtic colleagues would get hold of them (said Hugo 'blind eye' Luck)

We will be hoping to extend the campaign next year, so any additional areas upon which we need to focus, primary care or otherwise, happy to hear them

Well they do get free prescriptions so can't have everything!

The groin injectors one looks like it ewill be great, and covers DVT in great detail - we've been needing this for a long time. For the future I suggest you have something on:
* teeth
* crack-related emphysema
* cocaine powder and risk of heart attacks
* steroids and injectable self-tanning agents (seem to be getting v popular in Bradford in kids as young as 13 - some sharing needles)

susi,
that is a brilliant list of titles. i hope hugo will imediately hop off and ask someone to design all of those..

but "injectable self tanning agents" ..goodness me. I am amazed at what you get up to in Bradford. the pharmacists will have to look out for people with a tan but no watch strap mark? ?

"hop off"? Have you ever dealt with European tendering? AS ever, the issue is finding the evidence. I find this a perennial problem ith Harm reeduction - so much of what we know to be true remains annecdotal while we wait for the evidence to catch up.

I have heard of increased use of self tanning drug, Melanotan or Melanotan II, also in conjection with Cocaine - Go orange and up for the party at the same time.

Seems a lot of people in Barnsley are going Orange too. I know the needle exchange were giving out needles to them.

I think this might be conflating two things here. I know people are using needles for injectable self tan, however these are often supplied with the products.

The use of it in conjunction with cocaine is something I've not picked up at all. However I am aware of a number of people using cocaine and other stimulants who are using MELATONIN in order to attempt to re-regulate their sleep patterns. I'm not aware however of this being injected ....

Easily confused, but quite different substances.

S

No, I wasn't confused, it is Melanotan. It's been reported annecdotally in conjunction with cocaine a number of times, particularly in the north east. I was using it to illustrate teh point that the research takes a while to catch up what we are being told.

For those who have an interest in such things, there was a very good presentation (IMHO) on melanotan at the NICDU by Martin chandler, which is on the exchange supplies website here.

That's really weird - given that people are going to be skin popping melanotan - does this mean they're skin popping their coke too? That would be really odd. Or do you just mean at the same time rather than in the same way?I can easily believe that people using melanotan maybe using coke too, but the "in conjunction" thing just doesn't sound right to me.

Sara - I think we've gone rather off the point here - I was using this as an example of research taking time to catch up and either confirm or deny anecodtal rumours. By inconjunction I meant association - as in benzo users who use alcohol, rather than in the same preparation. My understanding on malanotan is that it's injected IM.

Hi Hugo, yes I got where you started out - just wasn't quite sure where it was taking us! I've been doing quite a bit of work up in the North East and hadn't come across this at all. Will keep my ears open and report back if anything crops up. All the best, Sara

Melonotan is used alot round here, cos we are the grim north!!
As a Pharmacist it is hard about supplying. I have been told that needles are not supplied when they get the product so they come to us.. do we supply??... is it any different to steroids.. still the same vein damage if used more than once, still the same chance of sharing(and I vaguely remember those girlie nights when you shared EVERYTHING!!)
I understand that the NTA was not set up for this.. but by providing clean/new equipment we are hepin public health... but PLEASE argue with me!!

Nothing to argue about here Claire, they need the needles, same as anyone else at risk of sharing. Either a) the NTA asks to be formally given the remit of prevention of BBV transmission by injection and extra funding to go with it or b) the HPA puts its hand in its pockets and contributes to the pot

Some harm reductionists favor outright legalization of cannabis, allowing its sale e.g. through Dutch-style "coffee shops". Others think the best option would be some degree of decriminalization, such as allowing the possession of small amounts of cannabis and possibly its cultivation for personal use, while concentrating law-enforcement resources on more serious crimes, e.g. crimes that have victims instead of an individual breaking a law of prohibition.
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kelvin
Drug Treatment