DrugWise Daily |
12th September 2025 |
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UK news
Up to 1 in 4 vapes confiscated in schools contains spice - and these are pushed on social media
Up to one-quarter of vapes confiscated in secondary schools in England contain the dangerous synthetic drug ‘spice’, according to a new study led by Bath | University of Bath, UK
'Ketamine needs to be a Class A drug'
"I feel like I'm going to die, but I don't want to." The desperate words of Tracy Marelli's daughter Sophie Russell are still etched in her mind. Sophie was two years deep into a ketamine addiction before she died in September 2024. Tracy, from Lincoln, is campaigning for the substance to be reclassified as a Class A drug and has met with the government to drive change | BBC, UK
Women in Residential Treatment: Time Held Gently - webinar
19th September 2025. Online. The Time Held Gently report looked at the experiences of women in treatment, women who had completed, as well as staff and professionals from across the sector. It highlights the barriers women face, the challenges of beginning recovery, and the systemic changes needed to improve support. This webinar will look at the report’s findings and examine potential steps that can be taken to improve outcomes | DDN, UK
The journey to graduation: Level 2 Recovery Worker Qualification - video
The Level 2 Recovery Worker Qualification aims to equip people with the relevant skills to become the next generation of recovery workers. Follow the volunteers on their learning journeys, and witness their resilience, growth and achievements | Change Grow Live, UK
Forward’s Employment Directorate Responds to the Latest Report from the Work and Pensions Committee
Asi Panditharatna, Executive Director of Employment Services at Forward, issues our response to the latest report from the Government’s Work and Pensions Committee, outlining its priorities for reform and investment to improve employment support across the UK | Forward Trust, UK
Cannabis: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle cannabis use on streets | They work for you, UK
Vapes (Synthetic Drugs)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that the synthetic drug, spice, has been found in vapes that are being sold to schoolchildren | They work for you, UK
'It's getting harder and harder to run a pub'
A landlady has said it is "becoming harder and harder" to run a pub, as she calls on the government to provide more support | BBC, UK
Ringleader and drug smuggling gang jailed
An organised criminal gang which smuggled millions of pounds worth of cannabis from the US into south Wales through the post have been jailed | BBC, UK
THC 'drugs lab' uncovered in Barnsley garden shed
Police have uncovered a "drugs lab" being used to create cannabis THC-laced vapes in a garden shed in Barnsley | BBC, UK
Six shops closed in illegal vape and tobacco raids
The six mini-market shops in Torquay and Paignton will be closed for three months after a major operation by police and trading standards | BBC, UK
International news
Alarm as WHO accepts increasing amount of dark money from corporate donors
Experts say millions in corporate funding and concealment of donors’ identities raises key conflict-of-interest concerns | Guardian, UK
‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational – podcast
Alberto Varela claimed he wanted to use sacred plant medicine to free people’s minds. But as the organisation grew, his followers discovered a darker reality | Guardian, UK
Treating opioid addiction in jails improves treatment engagement, reduces overdose deaths and reincarceration
A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD. The study also found that receiving MOUD in jail was associated with a 52% lower risk of fatal opioid overdose, a 24% lower risk of non-fatal opioid overdose, a 56% lower risk of death from any cause, and a 12% lower risk of reincarceration after release. These outcomes underscore the importance of providing MOUD treatment during incarceration | NIH, USA
Buprenorphine linked to lower preterm birth and lifetime costs for mothers and infants with opioid use disorder
Over the last 20 years, substance use-related deaths have more than doubled for women of reproductive age. Overdose deaths are now a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S., and in some states, the leading cause | Medical Xpress, USA
Driving performance unaffected in regular cannabis users after 48 hours of abstinence
Scientists from the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that, in the largest such study to date, frequent cannabis users did not display impairments in driving performance after at least 48 hours of abstinence. The new findings have implications for public health as well as the enforcement of laws related to cannabis and driving | News Medical, USA
How the myth that nicotine causes cancer is hurting public health
Researchers worry that popular misconceptions about nicotine are keeping smokers away from products that pose less risk | STAT News, USA
Analysis of 'magic mushroom' edibles finds no psilocybin but many undisclosed active ingredients
"Magic mushroom" edibles sold at smoke shops and convenience stores are likely to contain no psilocybin but instead a range of undisclosed active ingredients, a study led by an Oregon State University College of Pharmacy scientist shows | Medical Xpress, USA
Learning to Love My Track Marks
When you have been injecting drugs for a long time, it tends to show on your body. After more than a decade, I’ve experienced many things that you wouldn’t know just by looking at me, like overdoses and hepatitis C, but I’ve also had some serious injection-related infections. And I definitely have some serious track marks | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
What are you having? Drinkaware reveals the nation’s drinking habits in its annual survey
New research from Drinkaware’s Annual Monitor – the UK’s only nationally representative survey on drinking habits – reveals what drives people to reduce their drinking and how social connection can influence their own relationship with alcohol | Politics Home blog, UK
900 cigarettes a second: the Bill that could stub out the harms of smoking
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a historic chance to protect future generations from deadly, costly addiction. Parliamentarians must act now to pass this worldleading legislation and secure a lasting legacy for the nation’s health | Politics Home comment, UK
The rise of no/lo: How the alcohol-free and low-alcohol market has developed in Great Britain
Alcohol-free and low-alcohol (no/lo) drinks are defined, in Great Britain, as beers, ciders, spirits and wines containing no more than 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV). These drinks are becoming increasingly popular, with around a third of adults saying they have consumed no/lo drinks before and around a third saying they do on a weekly basis. Currently, however, there is still a lot that we don't know about the no/lo market. When did it start to appear? Has the market finished developing or is there more to come? What role have industry, retailers, or the government played in developing the market? | SARG blog, UK
Drugged driving – including under the influence of cannabis and prescription drugs – is quietly becoming one of the most dangerous road hazards
In October 2023, an unthinkable tragedy unfolded in Coleman, Wisconsin: An 8 month old girl lost her life when a driver, impaired by cannabis, ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle. In February 2025, the driver pleaded guilty to negligent vehicular homicide and drugged driving with a minor passenger – and now faces up to 10 years behind bars | Conversation, USA
The three pillars of recovery when navigating social situations
Navigating social situations in recovery can be one of the more challenging yet empowering changes towards healing and strong recovery. During this time, individuals are faced with important changes that are key to building social success | Loma Linda University Health, USA
Medicinal cannabis concerns include psychosis and child poisonings. We’re not the only ones worried
The ABC this week revealed more than 600 side effects have been reported in three years to the medicines regulator after Australians took unapproved medicinal cannabis | Conversation, Australia