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Weekly news - 21st November 2025

 

In date order, Monday to Friday

 

The legacy of Leah Betts 30 years after her drug death

On the night of her 18th birthday party, Leah Betts put on her best outfit, gathered with friends and prepared to celebrate. She also took an ecstasy pill that would ultimately lead to her death. The image of the teenager clinging to life in hospital would become one of the most harrowing to be shown in the British media in the 1990s. Thirty years on from her death, what is the legacy of the tragedy and her parents' campaigning that followed? | BBC, UK

‘I’d run down the road thinking I was God’: a day at the cannabis psychosis clinic

Katie hears voices and has been sectioned 50 times. Isiah became paranoid and tried to kill himself. Both link their illness to cannabis – and the drug is getting more and more potent. Is a tiny London clinic showing the way forward? | Guardian, UK

Ending the cycle of reoffending – part one: rehabilitation in prisons (PDF)

Following growing concerns about persistently high reoffending rates and the ability of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to meet its rehabilitative duties, this report sets out the Justice Committee’s initial findings on rehabilitation within prisons, The inquiry has taken place against the backdrop of a prison capacity crisis, with overcrowding, staffing shortages, and deteriorating infrastructure undermining efforts to reduce reoffending | House of Commons, UK

Participant Experiences of a Collegiate Recovery Program on a UK University Campus

[Open access] How Britain’s first (and at the time, only) university-led recovery programme for addicted students was seen by participants in its third year of operation. Key to the group-based resource was “a feeling of instant connection and belonging which kept them coming back even if they were uncertain about the process” | Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, UK

Whistleblower claims stopping drug Scots deaths is impossible with staffing crisis

Drug worker walked out of key job, claiming many addicted Scots get "less than minimum" help | Daily Record, UK

Disposable vapes ban: a lot of hot air or a slow-burn success?

The sale and supply of single-use e-cigarettes has been illegal since June, with the government hoping it would reduce environmental damage and cut rates of nicotine addiction. We spoke to young people in Hull, who started vaping as teenagers, to find out whether the disposable vapes ban is changing their habits | BBC, UK

Do alcohol industry-funded organisations act to correct misinformation? A qualitative study of pregnancy and infant health content following independent analysis

[Open access] Access to reliable, accurate, and up-to-date health information is a crucial component of global population health. Like other health-harming industries, the alcohol industry is known to provide misinformation to the public, including on alcohol, pregnancy, and infant health. It is unknown whether industry information changes following independent public health analysis | Globalisation and Health, UK

Training the police on legalized medical cannabis: lessons in building public trust, reducing harm, and avoiding reputational damage

[Open access] The paper reports on a knowledge exchange and training pilot with police officers. It highlights the work still needed to provide training for police on the post-2018 cannabis prescribing regulations. It offers insights for improving police operational practice to reduce harm to medical cannabis patients and avoid police reputational damage | Policing, UK

Contingency management interventions for substance use and addictive behaviours: Review of the United Kingdom evidence base

[Open access] Contingency management programmes typically reward patients for complying with treatment or not using drugs. The 29 UK studies uncovered by this review suggest they work, but also that the barriers to incorporating them in routine practice are many and substantial | Addiction, UK

How social media is fuelling a drug crisis in UK schools

When teachers confiscate a vape from a student, they often assume it contains nicotine or perhaps even cannabis. What many don’t realise, is that some of these vapes contain Spice, a dangerous synthetic drug that young people often mistake for cannabis. As a scientist working at the University of Bath, I have been analysing vapes seized from English schools. Over the past two years, our team has found alarming levels of Spice in vapes that young people often believe to be cannabis (THC) vapes | Drug Science, UK

Press release: Government unveils England's first ever Men's Health Strategy

The government launches bold plan to tackle physical and mental health challenges faced by men and boys, and reduce inequalities. Men can be less likely to seek help and more likely to suffer in silence. This, combined with a higher propensity to smoke, drink, gamble and use drugs, means men’s health is suffering, having a significant impact on families, workplaces and communities | Department of Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, UK

New men’s health strategy will tackle suicide, alcohol abuse and problem gambling

The strategy aims to set out plans for dealing with the physical and mental health challenges specifically facing men | LBC, UK

Fast drug testing to tackle unsafe drugs and vapes

A new drug testing contract has been handed out to tackle potentially lethal drugs and dangerous vapes. Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton councils jointly funded the contract given to Teesside University to speed up testing. The councils were told substances contained in some illegal vapes were an area of concern after a number of cases involving youngsters being hospitalised | BBC, UK

Urgent warning over ketamine 'contaminated' with super-strength vet sedative being sold in Manchester

Several batches of ketamine tested in recent days were found to contain medetomidine, a potent veterinary anaesthetic commonly used on large animals | Manchester Evening News, UK

Irish government approves plans to ban disposable vapes

The Irish government has approved plans to ban the sale of disposable vapes and introduce new restrictions on other nicotine products. The move in the Republic of Ireland comes after the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Northern Ireland was banned back in April 2025. Anyone found guilty of stocking or supplying single-use vapes in Northern Ireland could face a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to £5,000 | BBC, UK

UK government will not change law for more legal drug rooms

In January, The Thistle in Glasgow became the UK's first facility where people could inject heroin or cocaine while under medical supervision without being prosecuted. The Scottish Affairs Committee recommended that the UK government should change reserved legislation to create a new legal framework for similar facilities to open across Scotland, but this has been refused. However the Home Office granted a licence to legally test drugs for dangerous contaminants at the same site as The Thistle, making Glasgow the first city in Scotland to offer this | BBC, UK

“You’re not informed unless you make it your business”: insights from a Scottish national study exploring attitudes towards residential rehabilitation

[Open access] Despite Scotland’s commitment to patient-centred substance use care, little is known about how individuals learn of residential rehabilitation. This study explores whether national policy goals of informed decision-making translate into on-the-ground practice | Harm Reduction Journal, UK

Addiction Awareness Week 2025 – supporter toolkit (PDF)

This Addiction Awareness Week (23-30 November), we are on a mission to get the nation talking about addiction by demonstrating the power of conversation. This toolkit provides guidance on how you can get involved | Forward Trust, UK