Here’s a summary of some of the more interesting drug testing news stories and articles from around the UK this week. As always, if drugs are a concern for you, your family or your organisation, Zoom Testing is here to help. Contact us with all of your drug testing requirements.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines belong to a group of drugs known as depressants. Unfortunately, benzodiazepines have an extremely high rate of abuse. In the UK, the most common benzodiazepine is Valium. Slang names for the drug include benzos, temazies, jellies, eggs, moggies and vallies. A benzodiazepines drug test will detect BZD in urine within hours of using the drug and possibly up to 2 – 14 days after use.
What are Benzodiazepines?
Benzodiazepines are classified into three types – short, intermediate and long-acting. It is the shorter acting type that are hardest to “come down” from. They also tend to be more addictive than the longer acting Benzodiazepines | Zoom Testing, UK
Cannabis
Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in the UK. At Zoom Testing we offer a very wide range of drug testing kits for cannabis. This week, there were a number of cannabis related news stories that caught the eye:
Marlboro maker plots medical ‘cannabis inhaler’ with UK pharma firm
Philip Morris wants to develop ‘cannabinoid products’ following its purchase of Vectura | Telegraph, UK
Gummies: Woman dies after eating ‘cannabis’ gummy sweet
The woman and her friend, aged 21, ordered the sweets – also known as gummies – to her Ilford home via a messaging app last Tuesday | BBC, UK
Hanley cannabis farms: Hundreds of plants found
Officers found 295 plants growing on several floors of a property in Old Hall Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday morning | BBC, UK
Cocaine
Cocaine worth £302m found in Southampton is ‘largest in UK’
A “monumental seizure” of cocaine found in a shipment of bananas has been called the UK’s biggest since 2015 | BBC, UK
Heroin
Heroin is a pain-killing drug, which is derived from the dried milk of the opium poppy. Heroin belongs to a group of drugs known as opiates, other opiates include morphine and methadone. Heroin is also known as smack, H, junk, brown, skag and gear. Zoom Testing is a leading supplier of drug testing kits for Heroin.
Man who killed stepdaughter with heroin and hid body in ditch jailed for life
Hadsell, 50, was sentenced to life in prison plus 15 years, after being convicted of first-degree murder, concealing a body and possessing drugs in jail | Sky, UK
MDMA
The common name for the drug MDMA is Ecstasy which is a controlled substance. Ecstasy Drug Test Kits are available from Zoom Testing. We can also supply party drugs test kits.
Scarborough ecstasy dealer jailed in York
Deiniol James Luke Thorpe, 27, from Osgodby, was sentenced eight years and four months’ imprisonment at York Crown Court yesterday (April 5). A long-running police investigation included a warrant being executed at his home address in November 2019 | The Press, UK
Other Drug News in the UK
Also in the news this week:
How fentanyl flooded the US – and sent opioid deaths soaring – podcast
During the coronavirus pandemic, drug overdose rates in America surged. In 2020, overdoses were up by 31% in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The death rate increased most dramatically among Black and Indigenous Americans – rising by 49% and 43% respectively in just one year | Guardian, UK
Six men jailed after ‘major’ South West drugs operation
Six men have been jailed after nearly 4kg (9lbs) of drugs were seized during a police operation | BBC, UK
Royal Marine Commandos admit £300k drugs operation
Grant Broadfoot, 29, and Stuart Bryant, 31, were caught using a Ministry of Defence-owned van to transport cannabis from England to Scotland in June 2020 | BBC, UK
‘Cuckooing’: Birmingham family fearful living next door to drug den
A mother and daughter from Birmingham say they have been left in “fear of their lives”, accusing the police of failing to tackle a drugs gang operating in a neighbouring property | BBC, UK
Germany shuts down darknet platform specialising in drugs
German investigators on Tuesday shut down a Russian-language darknet marketplace that they say specialised in drug dealing, seizing bitcoin worth 23 million euros ($25.3 million) | Washington Post, USA
End of the line for random drug tests in prisons
Random drug testing in prisons may be scrapped, according to a senior Prison Service official. In normal times, more than 50,000 random mandatory drug tests (MDTs) are carried out each year on prisoners in England and Wales. Around one in six test positive, and those who fail or refuse to provide a urine sample can face punishment | Inside Time, UK
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
