As we head into the winter months, plans for this year’s conference are well underway. We are excited at being able to combine with the Western Australia Drug and Alcohol Office for what promises to be a well-run event. Contributions from members to the program are anticipated with great interest as we look forward to building on the clinical, research and policy themes delivered at last year’s conference in Adelaide. The call for Abstracts is now open and closes on the 29 May. For further information visit the Conference website. The various committees that make APSAD happen are always busy beyond the scenes, contributing to make our Society one that is responsive to the wants and needs of our members. I would encourage you all to consider your potential involvement in the future, every little bit counts and it is a good way to be sure that the organisation continues to meet the needs of our members. APSAD committees include the Scientific Program Committee (SPC), Early Career Researcher Committee (ECR), the Indigenous Sub-Committee, and the APSAD Policy Advocacy Committee (APAC). Any member interested in finding out further information or to express interest in joining any of these committees please contact the APSAD Office via email or phone: 02 9252 2281 March has been a busy month and I have been fortunate to attend the Medicine in Addictions Conference held in Melbourne. This was a great event co-organised by the Chapter of Addiction Medicine, the College of Psychiatrists and the College of General Practitioners. The three day conference was tightly packed with clinical and research evidence, presented by local and international speakers, and was well worth attending. We are fortunate to count many of these speakers amongst our members. In addition, I have attended Hepatitis B training delivered by The Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM). ASHM is a great organisation that provides training and information which is enormously helpful in holistic management of many of the clients attending ATODS clinical services and I would recommend their training to anyone with an interest in this area.
IN THIS ISSUE
Click on the headings listed below to go directly to the article of interest.
The Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research (CYSAR)
Associate Professor Leanne Hides Deputy Director, The Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research (CYSAR) and Queensland Representative APSAD Council, has put together information on CYSAR as well as their current research and research projects.
The Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research (CYSAR; www.cysar.health.uq.edu.au/) seeks to promote the health and wellbeing of young people by increasing Australia’s capacity to respond effectively to the harm associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse. It is only Australian research centre to exclusively focus on youth substance misuse. CYSAR was established in 2008 with the support of a philanthropic contribution from the Graeme Wood Foundation and is a jointly funded initiative of the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The Centre’s philanthropic and university funding is augmented by ARC and NHMRC grants, as well as other competitive grants and industry tenders.
CYSAR Its mission statement Finding Solutions, Improving Futures, Advocating for Young People underpins a commitment to:
be at the cutting edge of research into new and innovative ways of preventing and treating substance misuse among young people
make significant and tangible improvements to youth service provision
positively influence state and national approaches to youth substance misuse prevention and treatment through information dissemination, policy refinement and public advocacy, and
ensure youth have a voice and input into the research directions of the Centre
Synthetic cannabinoid withdrawal: A new demand on detoxification services
Between July 2013 and May 2014 the New Zealand Government legalised the sale of 40 synthetic cannabinoids via 156 licensed retail outlets. McFarlane and Christie† reporton 47 synthetic cannabis presentations at a medical detoxification service in Auckland during this period. This represented 4% of presentations (cf. 1.4% for natural cannabis).
Synthetic cannabis products are marketed as smoke-able herbal mixtures that contain inert vegetable matter infused with various psychoactive chemicals that mimic the effects of natural cannabis. McFarlane and Christie found that patients reporting smoking about five grams of synthetic cannabis per day, and smoked a variety of brands.
Around half of the patients (25 of 47) required medically supervised withdrawal. The most common withdrawal symptoms were agitation, irritability, anxiety and mood swings. Almost half reported nausea and vomiting.
Withdrawal symptoms were managed using diazepam initially (5–25 mg/day) and if this was unsuccessful, quetiapine (with doses ranging from 25 to 475 mg/day, for a mean of 8 days). Both patients and staff reported that quetiapine was more effective than diazepam at alleviating agitation, irritability and anxiety.
The observations of McFarlane and Christie suggest that synthetic cannabis use can bring about a withdrawal syndrome that may place additional demands on medically supervised withdrawal services. They point out that, at present, there is no clear evidence base for a pharmacological treatment of cannabis withdrawal.
To read more visit the full paper on the Wiley Online library.
A complimentary PDF of the article is available to APSAD members by emailing dar@apsad.org.au.
†Macfarlane V, Christie G. Synthetic cannabinoid withdrawal: A new demand on detoxification services. Drug and Alcohol Review 2015;34:147-53.
Wiley, along with many of its publishing partners, is proud to present this collection of recent papers on the theme of ‘Research on Indigenous Australia’.
The First Peoples and Early Career Keynotes to be announced shortly. Visit the APSAD Conference website for all the details.
APSAD Early Carer Networking conference event
We are happy to confirm plans are well on the way to hold another exciting networking event for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) attending this year’s APSAD Conference. We have been delighted by the positive feedback received from early career and senior researchers who attended our first networking event at last year’s conference. Plans are on the way to make this even better.
The APSAD ECR sub-committee extends an invitation to ECRs in the Alcohol and Other Drug sector who are attending this year's APSAD conference to register their interest for the ECR Networking evening to be held Monday 9 November in Perth. Details for this event will be added to the APSAD Conference website in the coming weeks. For further information Email Deborah Dmoch Administration Officer
Call Out to Member to contribute to the bi-monthly APSAD Newsletter we want to hear from you! For all contributions and suggestions contact Deborah Dmoch admin.officer@apsad.org.au| Ph: (02) 9252 2281
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Mental Health unSILOed
28 May | Sydney
A practical approach to supporting people with mental illness in non-mental health settings. A collaboration between the Health Education & Training Institute, the NSW Mental Health Commission and the NSW Institute of Psychiatry.
77thAnnual Scientific Meeting - College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
(In conjunction with The International Narcotics Research Conference)
13-18 June | Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Arizona
The annual meeting brings together basic scientists and clinical investigators from academia, government, and industry. The meeting will contain a balanced mix among state-of the-art symposia, special lectures, workshops, oral presentations, and poster sessions, all designed to present the latest research findings related to drugs of abuse and drug dependence.
For further information visit their website The Australian Winter School (AWS) Conference
22-24 July Brisbane
The Australian Winter School (AWS) is a national drug and alcohol conference presented by Lives Lived Well. Now in its 28th year, AWS aims to support health care professionals in developing skills and knowledge in responding to and treating alcohol and drug related issues, including mental health. It brings together practitioners, researchers, policy makers and workers from across the sector including community and private practice and all levels of government and provides a forum for cross-disciplinary dialogue.
For further information visit their website2015 Primary Health Care (PHC) Research Conference
29-31 July | Adelaide
The PHC Research Conference is the key national opportunity for knowledge exchange and the fostering of integrated networks across the breadth of the health system. At the core of successful integration is effective face to face communication and this conference is the place to commence, develop and continue purposeful conversations to improve PHC outcomes.