DrugWise Daily |
11th November 2026 |
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UK news
Prevalence and correlates of daily cannabis use in Great Britain in 2023–2024: Results from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey
[Open access] In Great Britain, 1.2 million people are estimated to be using cannabis daily. Daily cannabis use is more common among people who are older, are less advantaged and smoke tobacco | Addiction, UK
Smoking banned in open prisons
When the tobacco ban was introduced in closed prisons, in stages across the estate but completed in 2018, open prisons were exempted because prisoners have access to outdoor areas. However, from 2 November all smoking is banned throughout all open prisons | Inside Time, UK
In the shadow of drug deaths, Scotland’s alcohol crisis persists
Scotland’s first Alcohol Action Day is on 12 November, and the theme is support. It's a chance to talk more openly about alcohol harm and about how people can get help. Last year, 1,152 people in Scotland died from conditions caused by alcohol. That’s 3% fewer than the year before. While the fall was welcome, every one of those deaths left a family grieving, and each could have been prevented with the right help at the right time | WithYou, UK
Celebrating 30 years of The National Specialist Family Service Sheffield
Thirty years ago, the doors opened on a bold idea: that parents struggling with substance use should not automatically have to choose between recovery and their children. Three decades later, after surviving funding crises, policy changes and even the threat of closure, the National Specialist Family Service remains the only residential rehabilitation service in England where parents can receive intensive treatment while continuing to care for their children | Phoenix Futures, UK
To the day I die, I will regret putting a cigarette in my mouth
These are the words of Joan McConville, who was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023. The former teacher believes her cancer may have been caught earlier if screening had been available in Northern Ireland. Despite growing evidence that early detection can significantly reduce death rates, Northern Ireland has yet to fund a targeted lung cancer screening programme | BBC, UK
Paracetamol and amphetamine caused woman's death
A 23-year-old woman who went missing died from "the effects of amphetamine and paracetamol", an inquest has heard. Jenny Hall, 23, from Tow Law in County Durham, disappeared on 18 February 2025 | BBC, UK
Drug Education Forum staff training #4 : Psychedelics – what do educators need to know?
Thursday, Nov 12, 3:30 PM - 5 PM.Free Online. This session will be delivered by Professor David Nutt, Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of Drug Science. It will cover latest developments, popular methods of consumption, well-established risks and myths around psychedelics. It will also explore some of the reasons why people take psychedelics and key considerations to be made when reducing its potential harms | DEF, UK
How Albanian coke gangs cracked Britain They thrive on mafia connections
Albania is one of Europe’s poorest countries — but you wouldn’t know that if you visited Blloku. Rolls Royces and Bentleys, €250,000 a piece, rock up outside the bars and cafés of this trendy Tirana neighbourhood. But it’s the drivers, not their growling, blinged-up chariots, that are most noteworthy. For when these tattoo-covered Albanians step out of their cars, they can often be heard barking orders into their iPhones in North London or Mancunian accents | UnHerd, UK
Dad high on cocaine who stole minibus, drove wrong way on A55 and hit a cyclist jailed
A dad-of-two high on drink and drugs who stole a minibus, hit a cyclist and drove the wrong way along a dual carriageway has been jailed | BBC, UK
Gang members jailed for plotting to kill drugs boss lose appeal
Last year, crime boss David Nisbet, 36, was jailed for 13 years and Declan McCuish for 11 years for conspiring to kill gangster Ryan Carvill in 2020. The assassination attempt failed when a potential hitman pulled out at the last minute and the group were caught after incriminating messages on the encrypted EncroChat phone network linked them to the crime | BBC, UK
International drugs
A retrospective cohort analysis of risk of drug overdose deaths among US Vietnam War-era veterans, 1979–2021
[Open access] United States military veterans who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War have a small increased risk of drug overdose mortality compared with veterans who did not serve in Vietnam | Addiction, UK
Fiji Readies First Needle Programme Amidst HIV Emergency
On 1 October, Fiji’s parliament passed an amendment to the HIV/AIDS Act of 2011, allowing its Health Minister to authorise the distribution of sterile injecting equipment. When the law is gazetted, Fiji will become only the second Pacific island nation, after Papua New Guinea, to embrace a formal needle and syringe programme | Talking Drugs, UK
Opioid use can become long-term following surgery
Opioids are effective medicines for severe pain following surgery, but prolonged use is associated with risks such as dependence and overdose. In his thesis, Claes Gedda at the Karolinska Institutet investigated how common it is for patients in Sweden to continue using opioids after surgery, which patients are at higher risk, and whether usage following major surgery can be reduced | Merdical Xpress, USA
Smoking linked to higher risk of dementia
A major review of more than 2 million people has found current smokers face a higher risk of dementia, with researchers calling for brain health to feature more prominently in antismoking campaigns | Medical Xpress, USA
Expressive writing may help reduce negative alcohol-related consequences among people prone to heavy drinking
Writing about a drinking experience that went badly and associated feelings of guilt was linked to reduced negative alcohol-related consequences over the next year in a trial involving college students | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Selena Gomez says vaping has changed her voice. Can e-cigarettes really affect your vocal cords – and is it reversible?
Experts say the practice can damage delicate tissues in the voice box and there is not yet sufficient data to say if people can recover | Guiardian, UK