DrugWise Daily |
13th October 2026 |
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UK news
UK Drug Trends Intelligence - First edition - October 2026 - What is changing in the UK drug market and what services need to know.
This first edition brings together a national picture at a fixed publication cut-off. The report covers changes in the UK drug market, emerging substances and mixtures, prevalence, serious harms, treatment implications and practical responses. It also considers prices and supply, wastewater intelligence, young people, safeguarding, prisons, housing and sexual health settings | TD Research Lab / TD Consultancy, UK
Are Increases in Purchasing Alcohol-Free and Low-Alcohol Drinks Associated With Attempts to Cut Down on Alcohol Consumption in England? A Time Series Analysis
Alcohol-free and low-alcohol products may support people in reducing alcohol consumption, but their impact on public health is unclear. To address this gap, we analysed whether changes over time in the prevalence of households purchasing no/lo products were associated with at-risk drinkers reporting: (i) high motivation to cut down; (ii) cut down attempts; (iii) serious cut down attempts; and (iv) using no/lo products during attempts | DAR, UK
Alcohol allowed at seats for Scotland's World Cup play-off
Spectators will be able to consume alcohol at their seats when Scotland host the Czech Republic in the second leg of their Women's World Cup play-off in Paisley on Tuesday | BBC, UK
Midwives awarded £750k in compensation for dangerous exposure to nitrous oxide
The substance, known as laughing gas when used recreationally, forms the main element of gas and air, routinely used for labour pain relief. While safe for women giving birth, long-term exposure can trigger adverse side effects. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) stated that poor maternity unit ventilation and leaking gas lines exposed staff at Basildon University Hospital between 2021 and 2023 | Independent, UK
Unlocking Young Minds: Could Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Transform Youth Mental Health?
Despite the growing demand for effective interventions, psychiatric drug development has largely stalled. Most psychotropic medications prescribed to under-18s are used "off-label", meaning they lack rigorous safety and efficacy data specific to younger populations, leaving clinicians, young people, and families with limited therapeutic options | Drug Science, UK
From trauma and addiction to 'giving back'
After fighting trauma, addiction and surviving months of sleeping rough on the streets of Nottingham, a woman is now hoping to inspire others who are struggling. Lisa Barlow, 47, a former rough sleeper turned volunteer, said she wanted to give back after homelessness charity Framework "helped me change my life" | BBC, UK
New tool launched to help tackle illegal tobacco and vape sales in Southend
Residents are being encouraged to help keep Southend's communities safe by reporting suspected underage sales of tobacco and vapes, as well as the sale of illegal and counterfeit products. Southend-on-Sea City Council has launched a new online reporting tool, accessible via a short online form, allowing members of the public to report concerns quickly and anonymously | Southend-on-Sea City Council, UK
International news
Medical cannabis for the treatment of insomnia
Medical cannabis may have little to no clinically meaningful effect on quality of sleep/satisfaction with sleep, total sleep time, or daytime functioning. It may lead to an improvement in quality of life, although the evidence is very uncertain. Medical cannabis may result in a slight increase in adverse events, but the certainty of this evidence is low | Cochrane Library, UK
Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’
Cocaine seizures in Europe are up more than fivefold in 10 years as a host of cartels take root. A four-month Guardian investigation reveals the true scale of a continent-wide shift | Guardian, UK
The World Health Organization coca review: A post mortem
For thousands of years, coca has been a cornerstone of the cultural, spiritual, and medicinal traditions of Indigenous Peoples in the Andean-Amazonian region. Coca leaves typically contain between 0.2% and 0.8% cocaine alkaloid, giving chewing the leaves or drinking coca tea a mild stimulant effect comparable to that of coffee | IDPC, UK
Recent and Cumulative Cannabis Use and Sleep in Middle-Aged Adults
In this cohort study of 1266 participants (891 with objective and 1128 with subjective sleep data), both cumulative use and recent use of cannabis were associated with poorer objective sleep quality, including lower percentage, greater fragmentation, and longer wake after sleep onset; recent use was also associated with longer sleep duration. No associations were observed with subjective sleep quality | JAMA Network Open, USA
Translational medications development for methamphetamine use disorder: A systematic review of preclinical, human laboratory, and clinical research
[Open access] Reviews research on medication-based treatments for dependence on the stimulant methamphetamine, including laboratory and animal studies as well as clinical trails. Identified 25 candidate medications tested across 36 clinical trial reports, but "most studies showed no change in methamphetamine use" | Pharmacological Reviews, USA
Psilocybin providers follow safety guidelines, study finds
A new study has found that Oregon's licensed psilocybin centers largely follow recommended safety guidelines, offering reassurance about how the first regulated psilocybin programs in the U.S. function in practice—though the cost of treatment may keep it out of reach for many | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Cannabis hospitalisations up 49% in a decade, new study shows
Doctors have raised growing concerns about rising rates of cannabis-related psychosis. Our new ten-year study shows those concerns are well founded. We looked at almost 40,000 cannabis-related hospital admissions in Victoria between 2013 and 2023. Over that time, cases where cannabis was the main reason someone ended up in hospital increased by 49% | Conversation, Australia