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Daily news - 23rd May 2025

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Have a good Bank Holiday Monday. See you again on Tuesday.

 

UK news

Semi-synthetic cannabinoids related to tetrahydro-cannabinol and cannabidiol

ACMD review into the use and harms of SSCs and THCA to identify compounds causing harm which are not captured by the current generic definition for cannabinoids | ACMD, UK

Independent Sentencing Review: Final report

The Independent Sentencing Review sets out proposals to address prison and probation challenges and support victims | MoJ, UK

Gauke review signals shift away from short prison sentences

Custodial sentences of less than 12 months should only be used in exceptional circumstances and use of community punishments should be increased, says the long-awaited final report of former justice secretary David Gauke’s Independent sentencing review. Suspended sentences should also be allowed for up to three years, the document states, including for low-risk offenders with substance use issues | DDN, UK

Number of vape shops in England rises by almost 1,200% in a decade

Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streets | Guardian, UK

Drugs 'ruined our lives' as calls made for support

More funding is needed to support centres in Wales helping people with addiction, sector leaders have said. One service user at Penrhyn House in Bangor, Gwynedd, which helps people battling addiction said they were now 90 days sober from cocaine thanks to its help, describing the centre as a "life-saver" | BBC, UK

New addiction rehabilitation centre opens

A new hub offering support to anyone affected by addiction has opened in Blackpool. The Recovery Hub, on Church Street, is designed to "promote wellbeing, build resilience and support reintegration into the community", the council said. The team aims to provide practical support and guidance through counselling and sessions including IT and creative activities | BBC, UK

Brothers' mission after dad's struggle with alcohol

Two brothers are cycling nearly 500 miles (804 km) in memory of their father, who died from health complications linked to alcohol use | BBC, UK

SARG Heads to Glasgow for 50th Anniversary KBS Symposium

A team of twenty researchers and PhD students from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) will be participating in the landmark 50th Anniversary KBS Symposium for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol next month | SARG, UK

Alcoholic Drinks and Tobacco: Smuggling

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) calls and (b) online submissions have been made to HMRC fraud hotline in relation to (i) illegal tobacco and (ii) illegal alcohol in each of the last five years | They work for you, UK

Scotland’s first alcohol-free music festival announces 2025 line-up

Queens Park Arena in Glasgow on Sunday, July 6. Scotland’s first alcohol-free music festival has announced its line-up for this year’s event, with two big names from the 90s headlining. Recovery Connects, a unique event bringing together people recovering from addictions to drugs and alcohol | Abbeycare et al, UK

130. Psychedelics and Women's Health with Dr Grace Blest-Hopley - podcast

Join us in the latest episode of the Drug Science Podcast, where we talk with Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley, Director of Research for Heroic Hearts Project UK, Chief Scientific Officer of NW PharmaTech, and founder and CEO of Hystelica. In the episode, she explore where psychedelic studies have largely ignored women’s physiology, particularly in failing to acknowledge and control for hormonal fluctuations | Drug Science, UK

 

International news

The people trying to help cocaine users give up in a new way

We live in a world where cocaine is both everywhere and nowhere. Cocaine trafficking is surging globally, according to the UN, with cultivation up 35 per cent from 2020 to 2021. According to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, the UK has the second-highest rate of cocaine users in the world | Independent, UK

Poland’s lower house of parliament approves ban on selling vapes to minors

Poland’s lower house of parliament has backed a comprehensive ban on the sale of vapes to minors, including both disposable and reusable e-cigarettes, irrespective of their nicotine content | TVP World, UK

Most teenagers who vape had never smoked cigarettes before, and 14 is the most common age to start

Meanwhile, there’s been a significant reduction in the amount 15 to 16-year-olds are drinking | Journal, Ireland

This report provides new information regarding comprehensive drug testing of clinical toxicology specimens collected after suspected opioid overdoses in cities across the United States | CFSRE et al, USA

Vaping cannabis found to expose lung cells to toxic and cancer-linked substances

Is vaping cannabis less harmful to your health than smoking it? Many people seem to think so. However, two studies conducted at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (The Institute) suggest that vaping cannabis may (also) pose risks to lung health | Medical Xpress, USA

Can a text-messaging intervention help young adults reduce cannabis use?

Young adults have the highest rates of cannabis use disorder but are the least likely to receive treatment. At the same time, their smartphone use is nearly universal. This study exploited this common use among young adults to test a text message-delivered intervention to reduce their cannabis use | Recovery Research Institute, USA

Cultural barriers to treatment: Differences between Latino and White Americans

Latino Americans with alcohol use disorder are less likely to attend treatment than White Americans. To inform strategies that address this disparity, this study examined whether beliefs that would interfere with getting specialty care for alcohol use disorder were more common in Latino compared to White individuals | Recovery Research Institute, USA

Music Festival Attendees Embrace DIY Drug Checking Despite Barriers

As temperatures rise and music festival season kicks into gear across the United States, hundreds of thousands of people will flock to fields, deserts and forests for days of dancing, connection and, for many, drug use. Harm reduction organizations have long advocated for increasing the presence of drug-checking tools, like fentanyl test strips and reagent test kits, at music festivals to help attendees navigate an unregulated supply | Filter Magazine, USA

Connecticut Psilocybin Decrim Bill Advances to Senate

The Connecticut House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would decriminalize possession of small quantities of psychedelic mushrooms. On May 19, representatives voted 74-65 to send House Bill 7065 on to the Senate, where similar proposals have died in previous legislative sessions. If enacted, it would take effect October 1 | Filter Magazine, USA

Researchers prolong ketamine’s antidepressant benefits to two months

Roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population is afflicted with major depressive disorder at any given time, and up to 20 percent will exhibit MDD symptoms over their lifetimes. Yet despite its prevalence, methods to treat MDD often fall short for a not-insignificant portion of the population. Antidepressants-the standard of treatment-don't work for 30 percent with MDD | News Medical, USA

FDA and border officials join forces to seize vast quantity of illegal e-cigarettes

In February this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 2 million units of unauthorized electronic cigarette products in Chicago | Medical Xpress, USA

 

Blogs, comment and opinion

Collective Voice responds to the Independent Sentencing Review

We are undoubtedly facing a crisis in the criminal justice system, which needs urgent action, so the simple fact that the Government commissioned a review of sentencing is welcome.  Now the final report has been published, there’s lots to welcome for our field relating to alcohol and other drugs, and the criminal justice system generally | Collective Voice blog, UK

Harper House – a centre for learning

Since opening Harper House in November 2022 we’ve been keen to develop the service into a centre for learning about the impact of substance use on the whole family. Harper House in Scotland builds on the work we started in England through the National Specialist Family Service in Sheffield | Phoenix Futures, UK

4 years of sobriety: “I no longer have the fear”

After years of struggling with addiction behind the appearance of a stable life, Rob, who now works as the Programme Manager at Montrose Health Group, reached a turning point that led him to seek lasting recovery | Montrose Health Group, UK