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Weekly news - 12th September 2025

 

In date order, Monday to Friday

Scottish Government invests in drug support services

The Scottish Government has announced over £2 million in funding to support women affected by substance use and prevent drug misuse among young people. The investment was revealed by Minister for Drugs Policy Maree Todd during a statement to the Scottish Parliament, following the latest National Records of Scotland statistics showing a 13% decrease in drug-related deaths, down to 1,017 in the past year | PSE, UK

Collective Voice to hold webinar to share challenges and promising practice in supporting people who use ketamine

One of the reasons Collective Voice exists is to improve practice – by sharing promising practice and building connections across the addictions field and beyond. That’s why we’re working with a range of organisations, including the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance and the English Substance Use Commissioners Group, to establish a network of people looking to improve identification, access and support for people who use ketamine. Our first step in creating this network is to host a webinar on Tuesday 14 October 2025, 2pm-3.30pm | Collective Voice, UK

A Systematic Review of Substance Misuse Treatment Processes and Outcomes as Implemented in Prisons for Men in the UK

Four key themes emerged from research on substance use treatment in men’s prisons since the turn of the millennium: “the power of purposeful activity, strengthening support systems, bridging patient needs with treatment plans and, for those in opiate programmes, experiences and engagement with opioid substitution treatments” | CBMH, UK

Scotland faces growing nitazene threat as it grapples with drugs deaths crisis

Scotland is fighting to lose the unwanted title of Europe's drug deaths capital. But a new threat from synthetic opioids is making it harder to save lives | Big Issue, UK

I ordered drug-laced vapes on Snapchat. It was as easy as picking up pizza

It is a sunny spring afternoon in Warwickshire and I'm parked up in a nondescript hatchback with my cameraman, poised to meet a drug dealer. He has agreed to sell what he claims to be THC vape liquids - an illegal substance which is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis - to a reporter he believes to be a schoolgirl | BBC, UK

Food industry lobbying is leading Labour to drop public health plans, experts say

Inaction on ill-health prevention after pressure from junk food and alcohol firms ‘could cause NHS collapse’ | Guardian, UK

Consensus approach on prevention of substance use harm among children and young people

Public Health Scotland set out to establish consensus and describe the key themes that contribute to a national approach to substance use harm prevention among children and young people in Scotland | Public Health Scotland, UK

FASD Month: Balance supports proposals for mandatory health warning labels

Balance, the North East alcohol programme, is marking Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Month by supporting proposals nationally for the introduction of mandatory alcohol health labels, which include warnings around the risks of drinking during pregnancy | Balance, UK

What can Boomtown 2025 teach us about responding to drug use?

In 2013 Wendy Teasdill’s daughter, Ellie Rowe, died at Boomtown festival as a result of taking a combination of ketamine and alcohol. Neither were taken in excess but the combination was fatal. She did not know what she was doing. Wendy has always contended that, had the drug checking services of The Loop been available at Boomtown in 2013, as they were in 2017 and 2018, she would be alive today | Drug Science, UK

Exploited to exploiter? Preventing the unjust criminalisation of victims of child criminal exploitation in the transition to adulthood

This is the third in a series of three policy briefings on critical issues faced by young people in contact with the justice system as they transition to adulthood, as part of a project funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust. The briefing examines how current policy and practice in response to child criminal exploitation across safeguarding services, police, prosecutors, and courts is leaving young adults vulnerable to continued exploitation and criminalisation. | AYJ, UK

Academics launch new study into how people with drug or alcohol dependence can be supported in care homes

New research led by the University of Bedfordshire, in partnership with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will explore how people with drug and alcohol dependence are supported in care homes. In the last 20 years, the number of people over 50 receiving drug treatment has increased seven-fold and the number receiving alcohol treatment has increased four-fold. In 2024, nearly 90,000 over 50’s received drug or alcohol treatment, with over a quarter aged over 60 | Bedford Today, UK

Consultation outcome: Response to brand advertising exemption from advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink

This document sets out the government’s response to the consultation on draft advertising regulations, which was held between 16 July and 6 August 2025. This consultation response highlights the main themes identified through the responses to the consultation and provides an analysis of the responses to each question. It sets out the government’s response to the issues raised in the consultation, the changes made to the draft regulations and the next steps | DHSC, UK

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