Press release from the Burnet Institute:

Introducing the NHMRC-funded Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use (CREIDU) and the new website:  http://creidu.edu.au/

CREIDU is a collaboration between the Burnet Institute, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, the Kirby Institute, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, the National Drug Research Institute, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, Anex, Harm Reduction Victoria and Hepatitis Victoria.

CREIDU brings together researchers, policy-makers and community-sector representatives working in the fields of alcohol and illicit drugs, blood-borne virus transmission, justice health, mental health, and policy research.  CREIDU’s vision is to improve the health of people who inject drugs by generating new knowledge and effectively translating this into policy and practice. CREIDU also aims to build capacity in the sector through education and training for students, early-career researchers and community sector workers.

The Centre currently supports six PhD students and conducts regular colloquiums and training activities. CREIDU also provides seed-funding for research and other projects on an annual basis. Recent events detailed on the website have included:

• What’s new in viral hepatitis and injecting drug use? (2012)
• Prisoner health is public health (2012)
• Suboxone in Australia: The path ahead (2012)
• Improving drug policy & practice through research (2011)

CREIDU has also developed a series of policy briefs on topics that require policy attention, including:

• Safe injecting facilities: reducing harm and improving public safety and amenity – Prof Robert Power.
• Future directions in hepatitis C treatment: closing in on a cure for the vast majority – Prof Greg Dore.
• People who inject drugs can be successfully treated for hepatitis C (HCV), and treatment has the potential to reduce the community prevalence of HCV –Prof Margaret Hellard.
• Improving responses to opioid overdose through naloxone – Prof Paul Dietze & Prof Simon Lenton.
• Increasing hepatitis B vaccination in people who inject drugs – Prof Lisa Maher.

These and other resources can be found on the CREIDU website.  We encourage you to utilise this resource.

ADIS, Alcohol and Drug Information Service, is the NSW statewide service providing 24/7 anonymous, confidential telephone service for anyone affected by someone’s use of alcohol and other drugs. ADIS is available to substances users, their family and friends, health professionals and the community at large. Staffed by experienced counsellors and health professionals, and with an excellent database of services and agencies across NSW. ADIS is a non-judgemental low threshold gateway to education, support and treatment.

ADIS offers education, information, referrals, brief interventions and crisis counselling.

ADIS can be found on Twitter www.twitter.com as @ADIS_NSW . ADIS will be tweeting about substance use, seeking information and support, facts and research, and latest news, and seeking to connect with other health agencies and experts in the field.

ADIS will be tweeting from APSAD this week, using the hashtag #APSAD.

Closing date for abstract submission is today Friday 9 November

6th Australasian Drug and Alcohol Strategy Conference 19 – 22 March 2013
Luna Park, Sydney

NSW Police Force and the Australian Federal Police are hosting the 6th
ADASC 2013 in March 2013.

This conference has been running in Australia since 1999 and provides an
opportunity to share experiences between policing jurisdictions, showcase
research and foster effective inter-agency partnerships.  The conference
program will consist of an historical reflection on the launch of the
National Drug Strategy and look to the future with emerging psychoactive
substances and technology enabled drug crime receiving particular
attention.

Conference themes include, but are not limited to, the following:

1.  Alcohol licensing
2.  Case studies/investigations
3.  Drug diversion
4.  Policy issues
5.  New technologies/new approaches
6.  Aboriginal and diverse communities
7.  Pharmaceutical drugs
8.  Illicit drugs
9.  Emerging drugs
10.  Prevention
11.  Young people, drugs and alcohol
12.  Drugs and organised crime

To submit your abstract please visit
www.adasc2013.com today. Don't delay. We would like to welcome you to Sydney.

ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUG STUDIES

 Fast-track your career – enrol in these Summer Semester courses as part of the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Public Health or Master of Public Health (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs) You can undertake these from anywhere in the world, icorporating full electronic materials and support.

HPRM7004 – Introduction to Substance Use and Misuse – external

Introduction to Substance Use and Misuse is a core course in the ATOD program. This course provides a general base of understanding for the core concepts surrounding alcohol and drug use. The concepts and behaviours associated with drug use are described including drug actions and styles of use. The course links drug use and its consequences with aspects of government policy, health initiatives, policing and media. Stereotypical views and images are challenged as students undertake exercises and review key articles.

PUBH7028 – Alcohol in Contemporary Society – external

This course will examine patterns of alcohol use from a national and international perspective, social and community factors influencing alcohol use, legislation to control the distribution and sale of alcohol and population efforts to limit the harms associated with alcohol use/misuse.

PUBH7124 – Tobacco Cessation and Control – external

This course describes the history of the 20th century tobacco smoking epidemic and the consequences for population health and public policy. It equips students to carry out detailed analyses of the prevalence of tobacco use and tobacco related harm in Australia and other countries, as well as tobacco control policy and programs at the regional, national and international levels. The course enables students to assess the effectiveness of tobacco cessation strategies. These processes of analysis and assessment are critical to developing effective responses, at population and individual levels, to the considerable burden of tobacco related illness.

How to Apply

Contact QADREC for more information or to obtain an application form. Applications are invited for either of the three university semesters (beginning March, July, November) each year.

Email: addictions@sph.uq.edu.au

Website: http://www.uq.edu.au/qadrec

Phone: 07 3365 5189

A suite of training videos demonstrating screening for co-occurring mental health-substance use concerns has now been posted athttp://www.youtube.com/user/DualDiagnosisANZ

 

Developed by Greg Logan with the Victorian Dual Diagnosis Initiative the videos demonstrate the use of the

• ASSIST screening tool to screen for problematic substance use.
• K10 screening tool  to gain an indication of a client’s level of psychological distress
• Modified Mini screening tool to assess a client’s need for further assessment in regard to any mood, anxiety or psychotic disorder
• PsyCheck screening tool to detect a client’s mental health symptoms
• Sensitive questioning to detect any co-occurring mental health concerns

From the Victorian APSU:

In recognition of the increasing addiction to benzodiazepines, and the insufficient available support for people struggling with such addiction, as well as with the difficult and long withdrawal, we are establishing the Peer Support Group for Benzos.

The aim of this group is to provide an additional support to people who are going through benzo withdrawal, but it does not replace professional treatment.

The Peer Support Group for Benzos will meet fortnightly at SHARC – 140 Grange Road, Carnegie starting from Friday 12 October at 3pm.

 

The flyer with the further information is available at http://www.apsuonline.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/flyer.pdf.

Dr John Herron, Chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD)  extends an invitation to people working within the alcohol and other drugs sector to attend a:

Consultation on Drug and Alcohol Issues in Fremantle on:

Tuesday 30 October

9:00 – 11.15am

(Arrival tea and coffee from 8.30am, morning tea provided at 10.45am)

To be held at The Esplanade Hotel

Cnr Marine Terrace and Essex Street
Fremantle, WA

The ANCD is seeking views from non-government, community based, government, education, health and law enforcement staff on alcohol and other drugs issues in Western Australia.

This is your chance to have your voice heard on issues that are important to you, your organisations and your community. The forum aims to be a collage of opinions, ideas and resolutions across a range of areas. The conclusions from the forum will be reported in the ANCD Communiqué which is sent to a number of key decision makers and stakeholders and placed on the ANCD website.

The Australian National Council on Drugs is the principal advisory body to Government on drug policy and plays a critical role in ensuring the voice of the community is heard in relation to drug related policies and strategies.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to other relevant people.

RSVP by Monday 22 October 2012

Tel: (02) 6166 9600    Fax: (02) 6162 2611    Email: ancd@ancd.org.au

2012 National Drug Trends Conference

National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney

8.00am – 4.00pm

Tuesday 9^th October 2011

Drugs, crime and the front line: Australasian Perspective

The National Drug Trends Conference will present recent findings in illicit drug use, markets and related harms across Australia. Convened by Australia’s largest drug monitoring systems, the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS), the one day conference will include the first release of the 2012 findings.

We are also delighted to announce that there will be presentations from a number of distinguished international and national guest speakers, including Dr Chris Wilkins (SHORE, Massey University, NZ), Dr Malcolm Dobbin (Dept of Health, VIC), Dr Marianne Jauncey (MSIC), Dr Alex Wodak (St Vincents Hospital), Mr Peter Bowron (Toxicology Unit, Macquarie Hospital), Dr David Bright (UNSW), Ms Claire Rickards (NSW Police), Ms Annie Madden (AIVL), Dr Raimondo Bruno (UTAS), and Ms Amanda Roxburgh (NDARC).

Please visit the Conference website (link below) for the full event agenda.

Registration

To register please see the conference website http://www.cvent.com/events/national-drug-trends-conference-2012/invitation-ee34d144a427422d943081a00893db7b.aspx

Registration Cost

The IDRS and EDRS are funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

We look forward to seeing you in Sydney!