The UK Government body, the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs will hold its next meeting on December 1st and is inviting members of the public to attend.  The subject matter for discussion is the harms of cocaine use.

Those wishing to attend the Central London event must first register.  Successful applicants will receive an email to confirm admission to the meeting which will also include a short question and answer session.

The Home Office has confirmed that the UK Border Agency has made one of their biggest seizures at Harwich this year. Officers seized heroin, cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis worth an estimated £4.1 million from a ferry coming from the Netherlands.  The cocktail of drugs were found by officers in pallets containing Christmas decorations.

The total haul was 235kg of amphetamines, 85kg of cannabis resin, 18kg of cocaine, 17kg of herbal cannabis and 15kg of heroin.  An arrest of a 53 year old Belgian man has been made in connection with the seizure.

On behalf of the officers involved Malcolm Bragg, Assistant Director of the UK Border Agency’s Criminal and Financial Investigation team said “You would not expect to find a haul of illegal drugs underneath a Christmas tree, but our officers are trained to expect the unexpected.”

As the festive period approaches new figures suggest that nearly a quarter of young people have got in a car after the driver has consumed either drugs or alcohol.  The joint survey by road safety charity Brake and QBE Insurance was based on 8,110 people aged 15-25.  82% of those questioned said they would support a zero-tolerance limit on young drivers.

In 2010 there were 250 deaths caused by drink driving and 1,230 serious injuries.

This week the Home Office and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) agreed and published their new working protocol. Increased emphasis has been placed on the advisory process to use the temporary control power, in particular “legal highs”. An announcement has been made to temporarily control Diphenylprolinol (D2PM) and diphenylmethyl-pyrrolidine. The substances are closely linked to chemicals found in the “legal high” Ivory Wave.

The ban is for a period of up to one year. During that time the ACMD will access the harm the substances pose so they can advise the government.

The Home Office has published new figures on seizures of all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.  This relates to class A, B and C substances. The statistics are based on 2010/2011 in England and Wales.  The measurement is refers to the amount seized and the number of seizures made by the police and UK Border Agency (UKBA).

The figures released this week record the number of seizures during this period as 212,784 which reflects a 5% decrease from 2009/2010.