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Daily news - 14th April 2026

UK news

Wastewater Analysis: Estimating drug consumption

These experimental estimates use a new analytical method, extrapolating data from 42 sites covering 28% of England’s population. Estimates suggest that cocaine had the highest consumption and market value, followed by ketamine. The report also presents trends in drug consumption in England and patterns of drug use in England and Scotland between 2021 and 2025. Over this period, consumption is estimated to have increased for ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine and cocaine and decreased for heroin and amphetamine | Home Office, UK

New toolkit launched for DClinPsy addiction placements

The British Psychological Society's Faculty for Addictions has launched a toolkit to help drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services and higher education institutions leading Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) training programmes to deliver high quality DClinPsy addiction placements. It includes guidance on core and specialist competencies that addiction placements can offer learners and a step by step guide to setting a placement. The toolkit has been developed to support ambitions in the 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce (2024–2034) to expand the psychological professional workforce in drug and alcohol treatment services | BPS, UK

Is the UK Sleepwalking into a Pregabalin Crisis?

Across the UK, a new pharmaceutical drug is slowly taking over the market. The illicit use of pregabalin has emerged as a significant and rapidly evolving public health concern, with particular impact in areas marked by high deprivation, poly-substance use, and entrenched opioid markets such as Teesside, Middlesbrough. Originally licensed as an anticonvulsant and prescribed for neuropathic pain and generalised anxiety disorder, pregabalin has increasingly become one of the most popular ‘street’ drugs locally | Talking Drugs, UK

Woman who drank two litres of gin a day set to run half marathon for charity

A 28-year-old woman who was told she had six months left to live after consuming two litres of gin a day, is running a half marathon to raise money for an alcohol harm charity | ITV, UK

Apply to present at the 2026 PhD Symposium

The PhD Symposium is a free annual event for PhD students or people who have recently submitted their thesis. Apply to be a speaker by 17:00 BST on 28 May 2026 | SSA, UK

No crime found over boy who fell ill after vaping

No evidence was found that the vape, which had been used by the boy as well as other children, had been laced with any other substance | BBC, UK

International news

Kratom poisonings soar in US as experts blame synthetic versions and caution against bans

Experts say natural kratom may offer benefits and blame synthetic derivatives for surge in poisonings noted by CDC | Guardian, UK

How Psychedelics Came to Be Placed Under the Strictest International Control

Psychedelics have once again come into focus in research and medicine. Their therapeutic potential is being explored in clinical studies, barriers to research are increasingly being questioned, and even within the UN system, the tone today is more nuanced than it was a few decades ago. Yet substances such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline remain subject to the strictest level of international control under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. But how did they end up there? | Drug Science, UK

Full alcohol marketing ban and adolescent drinking patterns: a repeated cross-sectional analysis comparing Lithuania with other EU countries

[Open access] What happens when in law and in practice, a European nation bans promotion of alcoholic beverages? In Lithuania "a large decline in the prevalence and frequency of alcohol intoxication among adolescents" resulted in the country going from the highest to the lowest on this measure among comparable nations | BMJ Public Health, UK

Effectiveness of the Components of a Digital Multiple Health Behavior Intervention Among University Students (Buddy): Factorial Randomized Trial

[Open access] University students in Sweden were offered access to variations on a phone app to improve health-related behaviours, including drinking and smoking. The results revealed that different components led to "notable improvements in health [behaviours], but also to notable harm" | JMIR, USA

Standard naloxone doses may not reverse newer synthetic opioid overdoses

A new study exposes challenges in reversing opioid overdoses with naloxone when potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl and sufentanil are involved, according to a study in the May 2026 issue of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). The findings raise important alarms for health care professionals and the public as the opioid crisis continues | News Medical, USA

Crackdown on vapes falling short, report finds

The report, from the Government Accountability Office, found that enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have been relatively lackluster, given how large the issue is | Medical Xpress, USA

People with chronic pain are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes

New research from the University of Kansas shows people who experience chronic pain tend to consume cigarettes and e-cigarettes at higher rates than others. The findings, based on analysis of the National Health Interview Survey from 2014-2023, should inform therapies for both chronic pain and smoking cessation | News Medical, USA

Peer-based models supporting testing and treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have been explored, but peer-led testing is less common. We examined HCV testing and treatment following a mobile peer-led intervention integrating incentives, peer-delivered point-of-care HCV RNA testing, and linkage to care | IJDP, USA

Overdoses Dip in Chicago, but Black Neighborhoods Still Pay the Price

Chicago is finally seeing some relief from fatal overdoses, but the good news comes with a catch: the drop in deaths is not reaching everyone. A new report finds that while overall overdose fatalities are falling, Black residents in Chicago and other major cities remain far more likely to die from overdoses than their neighbors | Hoodline, USA

Federal Bill Would Roll Back Modest Progress on Methadone Access

When it comes to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder, Representative Erin Houchin, a Trump–supporting Republican from Indiana, wants to gut the 2024 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) updated guidelines for clinics with her federal bill | Filter Magazine, USA

Opioid use stigma may underlie clinician biases towards patients with sickle cell disease

In season 1, episode 2 of the popular show "The Pitt," a Black woman with sickle cell disease arrives at the emergency department in acute pain, only to be initially dismissed as drug-seeking. "Unfortunately, this contemporary media portrayal is all too relevant," | Medical Xpress, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

When Grassroots Runs Ahead: What Cocaine Anonymous (CA) in Scotland Tells Us About Drug Policy

Throughout history, mutual aid societies have emerged to fill gaps left by formal institutions. From the Friendly Societies of the 19th century that pioneered worker welfare before the National Insurance Act of 1911, to the Temperance movements that established peer support for alcohol abstinence decades before NHS addiction services, civil society has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to identify and address problems faster than government can respond. Today, a similar pattern is unfolding in Scotland’s response to cocaine addiction | Recovery Review blog, USA

Cannabis legalization spurs innovation, but not always in ways that benefit patients or public health

Innovation in health care saves lives. But not all health innovations have enough evidence to actually benefit patients. Barriers to innovation are often higher in illicit or restricted markets, including cannabis, stem cells and cryptocurrencies. Researchers face higher costs, limited access to raw materials and data, and stricter regulations | Conversation, USA

The term 'alcoholic' conjures outdated stereotypes about an illness that afflicts 28 million Americans, says expert

The term "alcoholic" harkens back to an old model of substance use that sees it as a permanent feature of your personality or even a moral weakness. The term was used in the 1950s and '60s, in very early diagnostic systems for psychiatric disorders, when we didn't even have a way of measuring it | Medical Xpress, USA

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