DrugWise Daily |
14th October 2026 |
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UK news
Tackling stigma - EDM (Early Day Motion)905: tabled on 12 October 2026
Motion text: That this House commends Drugs: It’s Complicated, the series of short films produced by Dr Adam Holland at the University of Bristol and funded by the Medical Research Council; welcomes this exemplary intervention as an effective contribution to understanding drug use and users, challenging prevalent negative stereotypes... | UK Parliament, UK
“The killing of Harry Webb wasn’t just another statistic”: London’s gas-and-drive crisis
In September 2023, Mike and Pat Webb drove their only child Harry from their home in the Welsh town of Crickhowell to his new student accommodation in east London. That evening, as Harry cycled to London Fields Lido for an evening swim, he phoned his dad to thank him for helping him to move. It was the last time Mike would hear his son’s voice | The London Centric, UK
September Newsletter - Red Rose Recovery
Catch up with all the latest news from Red Rose Recovery and the Lancashire User Forum | Red Rose Recovery, UK
Inside the secret factories making Britain's fake cigarettes - Behind The Investigation - video
One in every six cigarettes smoked in the UK is counterfeit. In this episode of BBC News Behind the Investigation, Melanie Stewart-Smith talks to File on 4 Investigates reporter Jane Deith about how the team uncovered the global criminal networks flooding Britain with fake cigarettes, and the human cost behind every cheap pack | BBC, UK
Criminal defence solicitor jailed for supplying cocaine
A criminal defence solicitor who became involved in supplying cocaine and steroids while representing a client caught up in a drugs investigation has been jailed for three years and six months | Legal Cheek, UK
International news
CVS agrees to pay $315 million to settle Justice Department case over opioid prescriptions
CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries have agreed to pay $315 million to resolve a Justice Department case alleging it unlawfully dispensed medically unnecessary prescriptions of highly addictive opioids, officials said Tuesday | Mail Online, UK
How Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker turned Sierra Leone into the world’s first true narco state
Drawing on dozens of interviews with intelligence and police officers across two continents, a Guardian investigation reveals the murderous cost of our insatiable appetite for cocaine | Guardian, UK
New national drugs strategy pledges raft of actions to prevent drug use
The Government’s new national drugs strategy has acknowledged that inadequate focus and resources has been placed on prevention, treatment, community services, and recovery. The National Drugs Strategy 2026-2030 outlines commitments to address these shortcomings and invest in other areas | Irish Examiner, Ireland
National Drugs Strategy 2026-2030 [Ireland]
Published yesterday - the National Drugs Strategy 2026-2030, The strategy Action plan, and the Government response to the recommendations of the recent Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use | Gov.ie, Ireland
EUDA webinar: Building local partnerships for community health and safety: a whole-of-society approach - video
Recording of the webinar which explored how whole-of-society partnerships strengthen local response systems for community health and safety | EUDA, Portugal
EUDA launches new EUDA4Peru cooperation project in Lima
This month, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) marked an important milestone in its cooperation with Peru with the official launch of a new EUDA4Peru project in Lima. At the inaugural Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting on 7 October, the project partners came together for the first time to review priorities, agree next steps and support the effective implementation of the new bilateral cooperation project | EUDA, Portugal
Anabolic steroids linked to serious heart damage in weightlifters, stopping them may aid recovery
Long-term use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) has serious consequences for the heart, according to a new study that has been following weightlifters for nearly 10 years | Medical Xpress, USA
Trend Reports - Benzodiazepines, Opioids, Stimulants & Hallucinogens, Cannabinoids, and Miscellaneous in the United States
The CFSRE is developing quarterly trend reports associated with NPS occurrence in the United States. These trend reports are intended to provide near real-time information regarding NPS prevalence, positivity, and turnover. Testing was performed using toxicology samples and drug materials | CFSRE, USA
Alcohol and the brain interact through immune cells, new research shows
A Cleveland Clinic research team studying alcohol and the brain discovered a new way that alcohol abuse can cause brain dysfunction and damage: through immune cells called microglia. The research also identified a potential new treatment target | Medical Xpress, USA
Arizona's controlled substances law worked, research finds
In 2018, Arizona lawmakers began requiring clinicians who prescribe high doses of opioids to also prescribe naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication commonly known by the brand name Narcan | Medical Xpress, USA
Ketamine relieves pain without 'disconnecting' consciousness, study finds
An imaging study in humans led by Tel Aviv University's Institute for Psychedelic Research, in collaboration with TAU-affiliated Tel Aviv Medical Center (Ichilov), found that the pain relief provided by ketamine does not result from the sense of dissociation | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol in A&E: the impact our data can’t see
A new analysis of a year of emergency department attendances suggests that routine data captures only a fraction of alcohol’s real footprint in A&E, and points to how that might change | SHAAP blog, UK
Clozapine and smoking cessation: why joined-up care matters
The death of Jack Burton from clozapine toxicity after he suddenly stopped smoking, highlighted in a recent Prevention of Future Deaths report, is a deeply sad reminder that smoking cessation must always be accompanied by careful medication monitoring | ASH blog, UK
Completing the evidence jigsaw: how evidence can drive regulation of unhealthy commodities
When we look at some of today’s biggest public health threats (such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer), a substantial proportion of the burden is linked to products sold by unhealthy commodity industries. Alcohol, tobacco, and unhealthy foods contribute to millions of preventable illnesses and deaths each year. For example, according to the WHO, around 2.6 million deaths were caused by alcohol consumption globally in 2019 | IAS blog, UK
One million adults in Britain who have never smoked now vape, data suggest - rapid response
Dear Editor, New data from the Office for National Statistics show that more than one million adults in Great Britain who have never smoked now use e-cigarettes, while smoking prevalence continues to fall. These trends raise an important question about the public health implications of vaping among never-smokers. The answer depends, in part, on what these people would otherwise be doing | BMJ Letters, UK
Yes, Britain’s railways are a mess. But is anyone sober enough to care?
Prosecco for the birthday party, Pimm’s for the horsey bunch, some cheeky Stellas for the short-haul crowd: it was all going down on my train the other morning | Guardian, UK
More rehab centers should mean fewer overdoses. In one California region, we found the opposite
At 24, Boyd was living in Chicago when he decided to get help. He had been drinking alcohol since a young age, but more recently he’d been drinking far more often – and dangerously | Conversation, USA
Nicotine pouches, vaping or cigarettes: Which nicotine product is actually the least harmful?
“Do you smoke cigarettes?” I asked my patient succinctly in a recent clinic appointment. He matter-of-factly responded, “Not anymore, I use Zyn pouches now.” | Conversation, USA
Study of 20,000 Nigerians explores the links between drug use, climate change and poverty
For years, the world has understood climate change as an environmental problem – melting glaciers, rising seas, extreme weather. But what happens in people’s minds when their world becomes unstable? What do they do when the only life they’ve known – farming, herding, providing for their families – becomes impossible? | Conversation, Nigeria