Substance abuse

Pharmacy workers lose right to tattoo without licence in Wales

Pharmacy technicians, students and pharmacists are among those who are no longer free to practise tattooing or body piercing without a licence, while exemptions around take-home naloxone have expanded.

Coroner: Patient overdoses after ‘excess’ bank holiday diazepam and codeine scripts

A 78-year-old woman has overdosed after being given excess diazepam and codeine she was “addicted to” ahead of an Easter bank holiday weekend, a coroner has found.

Man farming cannabis in ex-Lloydspharmacy dealt 12-month jailtime

A 27-year-old man has been jailed for 12 months for cultivating cannabis plants in a former Lloydspharmacy in Pembroke with an estimated street value of up to £500,000.

Devon pharmacy pilot launched to reduce opioid drug-related deaths

Pharmacies in Devon are taking part in a new pilot service that aims to reduce the number of drug-related deaths in the county and trains staff to recognise and respond to the “symptoms of opioid overdose”.

Superintendent’s FtP restored after ‘home brew’ drunk delivery van crash

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has found that the fitness to practise (FtP) of a pharmacist who “crashed” her company Citroen Berlingo van after drinking “six large drinks of her husband’s home brew” is “no longer impaired”.

Cannabis farm-acy: Police raid uncovers 600 cannabis plants in ‘old pharmacy’

A 27-year-old man has pleaded guilty of producing cannabis after nearly 600 plants were found at an old pharmacy building in Pembroke last week, local police have revealed.

Fentanyl trafficking: Cartel-owned pharmacy sanctioned by US government

A pharmacy in Mexico owned by a leading Sinaloa cartel family is facing sanctions, according to the US government.

‘Sniffer dog’: Pharmacy technician who took cocaine ‘every morning’ suspended

A “brazen” pharmacy technician has been suspended after telling his workplace that he was late to work because he had “used a line of cocaine”. 

‘Zombie drug’ used to stretch out opioid doses banned as opioid costs down 34%

A “high-strength veterinary sedative” and 21 other “dangerous” drugs will be banned by the government, it has announced.   

‘No role for pharmacists’ in UK’s first safe drug consumption room

There are currently no plans to employ pharmacists at the UK’s first legal supervised healthcare setting, where people “can inject drugs obtained elsewhere”, C+D has learned.