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Daily news - 27th August 2025 |
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A BIG thank you to WithYou for kindly renewing their sponsorship to DrugWise Daily and helping to keep this free service running for all.
UK news
Cannabis users who are self-medicating run higher risk of paranoia, study finds
Those who take drug because of pain, anxiety or depression found to be more likely to develop paranoia than recreational smokers | Guardian, UK
Ending HIV transmission in Scotland by 2030 - HIV transmission elimination delivery plan 2023-26: progress report to March 2025
This publication provides an update on the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan (2023-26). The update outlines: 1) the collective progress and achievements across key actions 2) the current epidemiological context including, what has changed and what stakeholders know now that they did not know in 2023 3) the pillar interventions that require to be implemented in 2025-26 and 4) changes and updates for consideration in plans from 2026 | PHS, UK
Edinburgh identifies two potential sites for new drug consumption room
A report released by the city’s Integration Joint Board (IJB) revealed the facility could open on the Cowgate or on Spittal Street, both in the city’s Old Town | Daily Record, UK
Londoners could be fined £1,000 for vaping at bus stops under new rules
Under the new legislation, transport authorities will be able to impose fines of up to £100, which could increase to up to £1,000 if the fines remain unpaid | Standard, UK
WithYou in North East Lincolnshire celebrates hepatitis C micro-elimination milestone
Chaired by clinical lead Yvonne Ward, the event brought together key partners and stakeholders who have been instrumental in achieving this significant public health victory. Public health programme manager for North East Lincolnshire Council – which commissions WithYou to deliver the service – Sarah Lumley delivered a keynote speech thanking staff for their incredible work. She presented operations manager Fiona Wilkinson with a special recognition award, acknowledging her leadership and the team’s dedication in reaching what she described as ‘not just a public health milestone’ but also ‘a deeply human achievement’ | DDN, UK
NSP Direct (Needle Exchange Service)
If you live in East Kent, did you know you can get needle exchange supplies posted directly to you for free? | Forward Trust, UK
Drugs arrest after drone spotted flying over prison
Police in Leyland said they responded quickly and stopped a car, which contained a drone, a "significant" quantity of drugs and other items, including a weapon | BBC, UK
International news
Vienna after consensus: Report of the 68th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
The 68th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was marked by two parallel and overlapping crises that exacerbated each other. First, the ongoing breakdown of the ‘Vienna spirit’ – the set of practices that created for decades an appearance of universal support for the global drug control regime. Second, the emergence of the new Trump administration, which came to power just before the CND | IDPC, UK
US Coast Guard makes record seizure of illegal drugs off Florida coast
The coast guard said it had interdicted 61,740lbs of cocaine and 14,400lbs of marijuana with a street value of $473m | Guardian, UK
Monitoring the Future Panel Study annual report: National data on substance use among adults ages 19 to 65, 1976–2024 (PDF)
The percentage of young and midlife adults using nicotine pouches significantly increased last year, while cannabis use, vaping and the use of psychedelic drugs are at or near all-time highs, according to the latest data from the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Panel survey | University of Michigan, USA
Parental liver disease death more than doubles risk of alcohol-associated hepatitis in next generation
Research scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute have found that individuals with a parent who died from liver disease face more than double the risk of developing alcohol-associated hepatitis, one of the deadliest forms of alcohol-related liver disease, compared with similar heavy drinkers without that family history | Medical Xpress, USA
How alcohol opens the floodgates for harmful bacteria to reach the liver
Scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that chronic alcohol use impairs the production of a key cellular signaling protein that helps keep gut bacteria within the gut | Medical Xpress, USA
Study reveals beneficial effects of diet and exercise on alcohol-related adverse liver health
The findings from this comprehensive study in the Journal of Hepatology, use data from a large multi-ethnic US cohort and highlight the importance of considering other lifestyle behaviors when estimating the risk of death from alcohol-related liver disease at a population level | Medical Xpress, USA
High-Dose Buprenorphine Treatment in the Setting of Fentanyl
In the USA emergence on the illicit market of dangerously potent synthetic opioids has raised questions about recommended low-dose starts to buprenorphine treatment. Concern to avoid precipitating withdrawal may for some sacrifice treatment engagement and retention. A close look at the research offers what answers there are to uncertain clinicians | JAMA Network Open, USA
Linkage to Outpatient Methadone Treatment From the Emergency Department and Hospital (Revision 1)
[Open access] Philadelphia hospitals demonstrate how modest investment in practical and psychosocial support from peer case managers, coupled with a strong relationship with a local methadone service, could engineer treatment (re)entry for over half the referred patients. A major feature was to initiate methadone treatment at the hospital | AEM, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Why England and Wales need a lower drink drive limit
In mid-August, news emerged that the UK government is considering reducing the drink drive limit in England and Wales from 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood to 50mg*. This would bring them in line with Scotland, which reduced its limit in 2014, and with every other European country, all of which have limits of 50mg or less | IAS blog, UK
Alcohol, Class and Cash: The Real Game Behind the Push to Bring Alcohol Back to Football Grounds
Efforts to change Scotland’s long-standing policy on alcohol in football stadia have gathered pace this summer. In what has been misleadingly been billed as a ‘pilot’ (implying robust, independent design and evaluation), several SPFL clubs, backed by the governing body, have applied for licensing exemptions in order to expand the sale of alcohol in stadia to very small numbers of fans | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
Drug dealers are plundering people’s homes into ‘trap houses,’ driving up homelessness and violence in Thunder Bay
Public concerns about fentanyl’s proliferation across Canada have focused on overdose deaths and drug-related disorders. However, in addition to these pressing concerns, our recent research in Thunder Bay, Ont., unmasks additional impacts of Canada’s street-based drug economy | Conversation, Canada