Prison drug testing has been revealed as seriously flawed in the Police Oracle. It reports that “drug free” certificates are being issued incorrectly after voluntary urine tests because – unlike hair drug tests - the system only picks up one or two drugs (from a potential nine) and the tests are taken too infrequently. Certificates, from now on, will not be worth the paper they are written on because of disclaimers highlighting the flaw.

Watch out in tomorrow’s Queens Speech to see if Family Courts will be making evidence such as expert witness statements available for public scrutiny. For anyone who’s interested and hasn’t seen one before, here’s what a sample Hair Drug Test statistical analysis looks like. These are presented, often by an expert witness, to magistrates presiding over child custody cases.

Cocaethylene - a highly toxic chemical formed in the liver as a result of mixing cocaine and alcohol – is making the news… and not before time. Our Hair Drug Testing database shows cocaethylene is – on average - the fourth highest substance recorded in the UK after cocaine, benzos and THC. However Londoners take note, this heart-attack inducer has overtaken cannabis in the Capital and now takes third place.

Italy is to introduce voluntary hair drug testing for its MPs according to the Mail on Sunday. Could this be a trend that is set to spread to other EU countries? Furthermore Rome’s mayor is making it mandatory for all government officials under its jurisdiction. Step forward Boris Johnson… we’d be happy to come and collect some samples from the London Assembly!

Prof Nutt’s three main factors that determine how much harm a drug can cause includes:

a) the physical harm to the individual user caused by the drug; b) the tendency of the drug to induce dependence; c) the effect of drug use on families, communities and society. His controversial new ranking of harm is published here

It is the third of these factors that is least understood and perhaps what the Government finds so hard to swallow. Later this month the Schools & Safeguarding Children Bill will grant media access to medical evidence in child care hearings (including hair alcohol tests and hair drug tests) and may help in broadening understanding.