DrugWise Daily |
27th July 2026 |
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UK news
Open consultation: Regulation of drug testing devices
This consultation seeks comments on 4 documents intended for inclusion as a new forensic science activity in the Forensic Science Regulator’s code of practice version 3. Responses are encouraged from law enforcement, forensic drug testing laboratories, organisations with experience in scientific validation or certification, and any other organisations who have experience using rapid drug testing devices. This consultation closes at 11pm on 25 September 2026 | Forensic Science Regulator, UK
World Cup: Domestic abuse reached record high in UK
The number of incidents spiked at about 300 on the night of the England v Norway game, when pubs were allowed to stay open until 2am, figures released by the UK Football Policing Unit show | Sky News, UK
'I would've relapsed without the Amy Winehouse rehab clinic'
In a part of east London that remains a secret, a drug rehab clinic for women has been quietly saving lives for ten years, having been set up by the family of the late singer Amy Winehouse | BBC, UK
Hard-hitting campaign on the dangers of ketamine, launched in North Wales
Initiative launched in response to sharp rise in local emergency department admissions linked to the drug | North Wales Live, UK
Students star in film to discourage youth vaping
A group of Bradford students have starred in a new campaign film to tackle rising rates of vaping among children and teenagers. It is the latest video from the Catch Your Breath campaign, a project run by Bradford City FC Community Foundation and Bradford Council to reduce the number of youths using e-cigarettes | BBC, UK
Restore wants to bring back smoking in pubs
It has now been 19 years since smoking was banned inside English pubs, and over that time support for the measure has only increased. According to a 2024 poll, 88% of the British public say they back the public health measure – including 70% of smokers | Metro, UK
Almost £20m of cocaine seized at Portsmouth Docks
Almost £20m worth of cocaine has been found, hidden in crates of bananas. The drugs were seized by the UK Border Force after a cargo ship docked in Portsmouth. It had set sail from South America via the Caribbean | ITV, UK
'Off the scale' haul of nitrous oxide cans found
A voluntary litter-picking group has uncovered what it believes is one of the largest hauls of discarded nitrous oxide canisters it has ever found in a single day, collecting 82 | BBC, UK
International news
SOFTPEERS: feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a peer-led intervention to prevent binge drinking in adolescents. Results from a mixed-methods pilot cluster-randomized controlled trial
[Open access] In randomly selected schools, teachers helped prepare French high school pupils who volunteered to act as peer educators to contain the rise in binge drinking among their schoolmates. Over the next six month binge drinking rates rose significantly less than in comparison schools, ending in a 13.5% difference | Frontiers in Public Health, UK
Intranasal oxytocin for alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and multilevel, bayesian, and variance meta-analyses of randomized clinical trial data
[Open access] If people drink to feel better, it seems to make sense to try nature's 'feel-good' hormone to reduce the desire to drink. Disappointingly, across the six relevant randomised trials there were no consistent alcohol-related benefits relative to a placebo | Psychoneuroendocrinology, UK
Surge in cannabis imports from the US and Canada
Ireland is experiencing a significant rise in cannabis importation, with more than 3.5 tonnes of the drug confiscated to date this year | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Discordant Drug Checking Results and Risk Reduction Behaviours: Findings From the ChecKnow Study in France
[Open access] People in France who use services to check the contents of their illegal drug purchases really do take notice and reduce their risk when the sample departs what they expected | DAR, USA
Removing registration holds reduced alcohol prevention program completion without improving college student retention
[Open access]How to you get university students to complete on-line alcohol education? One answer is to prevent continued enrolment unless they complete, a tactic tried and then reversed at a US university, offering an evaluation opportunity. It emerged that requiring completion modestly improved completion rates without the adverse impact of more students leaving college | Frontiers in Public Health, USA
Rates of opioid toxicity deaths highest among construction and trades workers, study finds
Between 2018 and 2024, those who worked in construction and trades made up approximately one-third of deaths from opioid toxicity in Ontario where occupation was known, according to a report released this week by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN). In addition to highlighting the toll of opioid toxicities in this sector, the report also draws attention to their impact among people across various occupations | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
What I Wrote to Medical Students About Recovery
My friend, a doctor, reached out to me recently and asked if I would write a few words for her annual address to medical students at a fairly prestigious school. The topic was “opioids”, but she wondered what a recovering person would say if they had a few moments with a future physician departing into their career | Recovery Review blog, USA