A fourth incident in the Leicestershire area of heroin being contaminated by heroin has come to light after another young man died after taking the drug. The Health Protection Agency is making a full investigation and a further post mortem of the victim is set to take place. Meanwhile heroin users are being urged not to take the drug.
A poll of the general public has shown that 64% of those polled believe that mentally ill people who commit minor offences that do not pose a threat to others should not be given custodial sentences. Instead treatment should be combined with community service. The poll comes in the wake of the Justice Minister's call for reform in this area.
A study in Psychological Medicine journal refutes previously held ideas that intense religious experiences will result in serious mental problems. The evidence points to the fact that even the experience of brief pyschosis will be limited. 
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), following a survey, shows that seriously ill people earn up to a third less than their healthy counterparts. The research discussed in the British Journal of Psychiatry explains that unlike previous surveys that targeted high income countries, the data included in this one was also from low and middle income countries
The new draft of the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has numerous new conditions which begs the question what makes a person normal. In the wake of this eagerly awaited publication the latest edition of the Journal of Mental Health concentrates on diagnosis in mental health with articles written by celebrities and experts. One contributer is Sir Terry Pratchett who gives his personal view of Alzheimer's
Researchers in Florida have found a major difference in the dementia of people who also suffer from diabetes from that of non-diabetics. The most likely cause of dementia in diabetics appears to be vascular disease of the brain whereas in non-diabetics it is a build up of plaques
The chairman of the Bar Council which represents the UK's barristers has put forward the view that personal drug use should be made legal. Nicholas Green argues that this would save the British economy billions of pounds. Drug crime alone reaches 13 billion per year. Benfits to public health would also be achieved.
The National Autistic Society has published a report following a survey carried out on 450 parents of autistic children. The society is, as part of its campaign: You Need to Know, lobbying the government to improve Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for autistic children
In the wake of the clubbing high mephadrone being made a Class B illegal drug, comes the news that toxicology tests have proved that the two teenagers thought have died as a direct results of using mephadrone, died from other causes. However expert opinion maintains that the ban was based on research rather than two isolated incidents.
