DrugWise Daily |
23rd July 2026 |
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UK news
Business rates to be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and music venues in England
Burnham says relief for vape shops and other ‘non-positive’ businesses to be reviewed as part of £100m plan to fund cut | Guardian, UK
Medicinal cannabis linked to fall in drug arrests [Jersey]
Fewer people are being charged with drug offences because islanders can now get medicinal cannabis legally, the police have said | BBC, UK
‘I’ve picked up 3,500 nitrous oxide canisters lying around – it’s an epidemic’
One man has taken it upon himself to rid his area of discarded nitrous oxide canisters. Retired teacher Tim Chapman says he’s collected thousands of the unsightly cans left lying around his neighbourhood | Metro, UK
The number of complaints about smoking in York
Figures from York Council obtained through a Freedom of Information request showed there were 99 complaints made over ‘smoke drift’ since 2025, including from neighbouring homes | Yorkshire Post, UK
Crime group smuggled £40m of cocaine they almost lost at sea
Eleven offenders guilty of plot to retrieve 500kg of cocaine from the ocean – as NCA releases bonus episode of podcast series Underworld exploring the chemical concealment of cocaine | NCA, UK
Drug dealer jailed over £4m cocaine haul
Police found 39 "blocks" of white powder - each weighing 1kg (35oz) - after stopping Courtney Gaston-Hird's car in Penrith in June | BBC, UK
International news
Relationships between cannabis use and mental disorders: assessing the coherence of evidence from studies with different methodologies
[Open access] Young people aged in their mid-teens to mid-twenties who engage in daily cannabis use and develop a cannabis use disorder have a higher prevalence of some mental disorders. We assessed the coherence of evidence from epidemiological, genetic, experimental, and preclinical studies to assess relationships between daily cannabis use and the increased incidence, prevalence, and persistence of psychosis, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviours | Lancet Psychiatry, UK
Discordant Drug Checking Results and Risk Reduction Behaviours: Findings From the ChecKnow Study in France
[Open access] Drug checking services (DCS) provide people with information about the contents of their drugs, reducing uncertainty about the composition of substances from unregulated markets. However, their impact on behaviour change has been sparsely evaluated. This study aimed to assess behaviour change following receipt of a drug checking result among users of French DCS | DAR, UK
Spain toughens its fight against tobacco: what does the new government law include?
On Tuesday, Spain took a fresh step in its strategy to reduce tobacco consumption. The Council of Ministers has approved the draft law that reforms the rules in force since 2005 to adapt them to new consumption habits and to the emergence of products such as electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches and shisha pipes | AOL, UK
New study links weight loss jabs to huge drop in alcohol-related hospital admissions
The analysis found GLP-1 drugs slashed the risk of alcohol-related hospital admission by 26% compared with other diabetes medicines | Independent, UK
Cocaine worth $370m seized in Liberia's biggest-ever drugs bust
A huge quantity of cocaine has been seized during a raid on a suspected illegal storage facility near Liberia's capital, Monrovia, in what authorities say is the biggest drugs bust in the country's history | BBC, UK
Two gardaí hospitalised after processing seized vape products
A Garda spokesperson said the two members were taken to hospital after becoming unwell while on duty. “The members were involved in processing vape products seized from a commercial premises during an ongoing investigation,” they said. “Both male members are currently in hospital under medical assessment | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Psychedelics: a science in adolescence
Watch Drugreporter’s short documentary, filmed at the seventh Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research (ICPR) 2026 in Haarlem, the Netherlands, exploring how psychedelic science is evolving through conversations on Indigenous knowledge, therapy, consciousness, culture and the future of the field | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Public Health Alerts: Many US accidental drug overdoses could be prevented if bystanders present
Of nearly 192,000 accidental or undetermined-intent drug overdose deaths in the United States from 2022 to 2024, 76% occurred when the decedent was alone, highlighting the need for targeted messaging and wider distribution of opioid antagonist medications, according to a Public Health Alert today | CIDRAP, USA
Agencies in New York and beyond pass the buck on opioid cash oversight
Companies accused of recklessly marketing and distributing prescription opioid painkillers are paying roughly $58 billion to settle lawsuits over their role in fueling the addiction crisis | Medical Xpress, USA
The Glas Ceiling: Gold, Sapphire and Vaping Surveillance
Long vilified by opponents of tobacco harm reduction, fruit-flavored vapes finally got the thumbs up from the FDA in May. The Los Angeles-based company Glas received permission to sell Sapphire (blueberry) and Gold (mango) vapes with age-gating technology—the first non-tobacco, non-menthol vaping products the FDA has authorized. Curiously, the authorization was not announced with a press release | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Guardian view on pubs: football gave them a boost – now they need another
Communal spaces where people can share big moments are a vital part of our shared life | Guardian opinion, UK