DrugWise Daily |
22nd July 2026 |
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UK news
Why Ending Rough Sleeping Matters for Recovery
Andy Burnham's pledge to end rough sleeping across the UK has reignited an important conversation about homelessness and housing. While housing is often discussed as a social issue, our recent Footprints surveys suggest it should also be recognised as a recovery issue. For people seeking to overcome drug or alcohol problems, stable housing is often the foundation upon which recovery is built | Phoenix Futures, UK
Study links prenatal opioid exposure to long-term challenges in children’s vision and behaviour
Children exposed to opioids before birth may face increased risks of difficulties with vision, attention, behaviour and learning during their school years, according to a new study | University of Glasgow, UK
More than 1.3 million banned vapes seized since disposable ban
New Freedom of Information (FOI) data, analysed by the alternative nicotine product experts at Northerner, reveals the scale of illegal vape seizures across the UK since the disposable vape ban came into force in June 2025 | Talking Retail, UK
Call for cannabis to be taxed 'like alcohol' [Guernsey]
Medicinal cannabis should be taxed in the same way as tobacco and alcohol to move away from "inconsistent" regulation, a Guernsey politician has said | BBC, UK
One of county's largest-ever cannabis farm uncovered
Cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £500,000 have been seized after one of the largest-ever drug farms in Wiltshire was uncovered, police say | BBC, UK
Gang sentenced over bulk supply of cannabis
Humberside Police said the organised crime group used encrypted messaging platforms to hide their county lines drugs operation, and fake vehicle insurance policies to travel across London, Rugby, Sheffield and Middlesbrough | BBC, UK
International news
Association between GLP-1 receptor agonists and alcohol-related hospitalisations among adults with alcohol use disorder: multi-target trial emulation study
Use of newer GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide or tirzepatide) for obesity or diabetes among people with alcohol use disorder was associated with a reduction in alcohol-related hospital admissions | BMJ Open, UK
Cocaine in more than half of positive roadside tests last year
The director of the National Bureau of Road Safety said: 'The frequent finding of combinations of drugs and drugs with alcohol remains of enormous concern' | Irish Examiner, Ireland
One of the oldest psychedelics meets modern brain imaging
For millennia, people have used the psychedelic mescaline as a spiritual and religious tool. Mescaline is a naturally occurring chemical found in cacti, mainly peyote cacti, that are located in the Southwest United States and Mexico. The drug has been used for 5,700 years, according to archaeological evidence, making it one of the oldest hallucinogens | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol, crime and public judgements: what shapes the public’s view on punishment?
Public debate about alcohol-related offending sits at the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and moral judgement. Questions about intoxication, dependence, and treatment are frequently raised in discussions of culpability and sentencing—but how the public actually weighs these factors is less well understood | IAS blog, UK
Personality, not cognition, sets long-term drug users apart
Over the last two decades, research into psychedelic and cannabinoid-based treatments for mental health disorders has rapidly expanded | Mental Elf blog, UK