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Daily news - 2nd March 2026 |
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UK news
Wellness peptide craze: Why people are injecting drugs 'not for human consumption'
Katie's been injecting GHK-Cu, a copper peptide, for several weeks now and she's confident it's making a difference to her skin. So much so, she says, the stretch marks she developed after having her two children have almost disappeared | BBC, UK
Woman's battle with alcohol prompts dry disco
A recovering alcoholic who battled addiction for years has organised what is believed to be Milton Keynes's first dry disco | BBC, UK
Substance Misuse in Prisons
I am very proud to open the debate on the Criminal Justice Committee’s report into the harm caused by substance misuse in Scotland’s prisons | They work for you, UK
Driving under Influence: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92911 on Driving under the Influence: Drugs, whether the figures for 2024-25 are the budgeted figures after the July 2024 reductions in communications spending | They work for you, UK
Clouds House Reunion 2026 – free tickets available to all alumni now!
It’s that time of year again: the Clouds House Reunion is back! All alumni of Clouds House are invited to reconnect, reflect and celebrate on Saturday 13 June 2026 at the Wiltshire homestead for the Clouds House Reunion 2026 | Forward Trust, UK
Pub offers free beer as 25p pint promotion vetoed
A pub which was told selling a pint of beer for 25p during a promotion was "irresponsible" and a breach of its licence has instead begun giving them away | BBC, UK
Cannabis worth an estimated £3m found at warehouse
Essex Police said the haul was discovered during a raid in the east of Basildon and had an estimated street value of up to £3m | BBC, UK
International news
European girls aged 13-15 have world’s highest rate of tobacco use for age group
World Health Organization report also finds one in seven adolescents across continent use vapes and e-cigarettes | Guardian, UK
Cannabis use, cognitive function and dementia risk in older adults: observational and genetic analyses
Cannabis use was not linked to longitudinal cognitive decline or dementia risk. Within the limits of these cohorts, we found no evidence that cannabis use contributes substantially to cognitive ageing or dementia risk in older adults. Further research with detailed exposure assessment and longer follow-up is warranted to confirm these findings | BMJ Mental Health, UK
Strong Link Between Borderline Personality Disorder and Alcohol Use
Alcohol use disorders affect more than half of people with borderline personality disorder, according to a major meta-analysis, highlighting an urgent need for integrated screening and treatment to improve long term psychiatric outcomes | EMJ, UK
Ultra-processed food addiction in older US adults with Lucy Loch - podcast
In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim speaks to Lucy Loch, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan, US. The interview covers Lucy’s research article on ultra-processed food addiction in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the US | SSA, UK
Yanis Varoufakis calls prosecution after admitting taking ecstasy 40 years ago ‘ridiculous’
Greek leftwing intellectual and former minister says his indictment is indicative of far-right turn in western politics | Guardian, UK
Strengthening EU preparedness for drug threats: EUDA sets course for 2026–2028
Preparing Europe for current and future drug challenges is at the heart of our mission. Our new Single programming document 2026–2028, sets out how we will enhance EU preparedness through better data, faster alerts, clearer insights and a strong focus on learning, innovation and collaboration | EUDA, Portugal
New Drug Trends: Insights from Focus Group Discussions. Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe 2025
Understanding substance use trends is vital to quickly respond to and reduce associated risks. This study contributes to such knowledge by qualitatively exploring drug use trends across 20 European cities between July 2024 and July 2025. It uses focus group discussions conducted with key informants who are directly or indirectly engaged in the dynamics of local drug markets, including people who use drugs | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
Do alcohol industry-funded organisations act to correct misinformation? A qualitative study of pregnancy and infant health content following independent analysis
[Open access] Analysis of social responsibility’ web sites funded by the alcohol industry (including in the UK) reveals that “misinformation about alcohol, pregnancy, and infant health continues”, often through omission and subtle ways rather than blatant errors | Globalization and Health, USA
Cannabis growers as gardeners: results from a survey among Italian and British small-scale growers
Studying individuals who combine cannabis cultivation with other gardening activities is valuable because it provides insights into the motivations and practices of cannabis growers as illegal drug market participants | IJDP, USA
Screaming, vomiting, and daily weed: The rise of 'scromiting' among chronic cannabis users
Kennon Heard, MD, Ph.D., was skeptical when he first heard about cases in emergency departments of severe, recurring episodes of nausea and vomiting associated with chronic use of marijuana. In 2004, Australian researchers were among the first to describe the phenomenon, labeling it cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS | Medical Xpress, USA
Recovery residences may help criminal justice system involved individuals gain recovery capital
Adults with criminal justice involvement can have high rates of substance use disorder, yet they often face greater barriers to accessing different elements of recovery capital when seeking support. Recovery residences may offer an important source of stability and access to recovery capital during community reentry. This study examined whether recovery capital accrued differently over time among recovery housing residents with and without recent justice system involvement | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Providing opioid use disorder medications in jails: Results from a randomized study in 67 communities
Initiating medication treatment for opioid use disorder in criminal justice settings and linking to medication services upon release can reduce overdose. However, less than half of jails in the US offer such medication treatment. This study investigated the impact of a large-scale intervention designed to support communities in implementing evidence-based practices, such as expanding medication treatment and linkage | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Bogs, comment and opinion
Report Stage for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill: What happened!
If you've been following the first day of Report stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Lords, you’ll know it was a significant moment for public health. Here’s our round-up of what happened- the wins, the sticking points, and what it all means for the road ahead | ASH blog, UK
Mike Salem: Parliament passes complex new laws – leaving councils with the burden of implementing them locally
When Westminster legislates, it considers political priorities, manifesto pledges, and Whitehall-centric perspectives. Take the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently in its Report Stage in the Lords. The Bill aims to ban cigarette (as well as a nicotine alternative, heated tobacco) sales to anyone born from 2009 and place heavy restrictions on vaping and other nicotine alternatives, such as flavours of vapes and nicotine pouches. While the intention may be public health, the real-world consequences on local authorities are significant | Conservative Home, UK
Against the vape ban
No sooner had I written last week’s column about how the government is undermining its goal of a “smokefree” England by going to war on vaping than the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced plans to ban vaping in every publicly accessible building in the land | The Critic, UK
Mexico is losing its battle with the cartels after years of flawed strategy
Crime is deeply entrenched in Mexico. The Global Organized Crime Index, a tool designed to measure levels of organised crime in a country, places Mexico third out of 193 nations in terms of criminality. At the core of Mexico’s struggle with organised crime is its network of powerful drug cartels | Conversation, UK
And finally...
Scientists say most chimpanzees would fail a breathalyser. Here’s why
A study has revealed that chimpanzees in the wild consume enough alcohol from fermenting fruits to be comparable to human light drinking | Independent, UK