DrugWise Daily |
25th August 2026 |
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UK news
Powerful new synthetic opioids detected by Welsh drug testing service
Public Health Wales said more than one in three samples submitted to its Welsh Emerging Drug Identification Service (WEDINOS) did not contain the substance the buyer expected. Its latest annual report, covering April 2025 to March 2026, found 36.6% of community samples where the intended purchase was known did not contain the expected drug. A further 7.7% contained the intended substance alongside additional psychoactive substances. For the first time, WEDINOS identified high-potency synthetic opioids known as orphine analogues, including in samples submitted as heroin where they were found alongside veterinary sedatives | Nation Cymru, UK
Prison violence, drugs and self-harm rates 'still too high'
Drug abuse rates of self-harm at a North West prison are still far too high, a watchdog has found | BBC, UK
'Alcohol ruled my life – now my eyes are open'
A recovering alcoholic who says he once drank up to 23 cans of beer a day has told how volunteering helped him rebuild his life after years of addiction | BBC, UK
From Resettlement to Employment: Alex’s Connect to Work Journey
When Alex arrived in the UK in March to reunite with his wife and children, he was determined to rebuild his career and provide financial stability for his family | Forward Trust, UK
Inverness set to get more life-saving alcohol and drug rehabilitation beds after £1.7m investment
The Scottish Government has funded CrossReach services in Inverness, allowing it to buy Cale House in Millburn Road, from its current landlord | Inverness Courier, UK
Cocaine Cue Database (CCD): development and validation of pictorial stimuli database for a cocaine cue reactivity paradigm - call for participants
The Cocaine Cue Database study will investigate how current users of crack and powder cocaine perceive cocaine-related images. We will measure the degree of craving experienced when viewing the images, which will help us develop an image database to be used in future studies to better understand the mechanisms and potential treatments of cocaine addiction. Find out more about taking part in the flyer here | UCL, UK
Guernsey introducing vaping liquid excise duty
A new excise duty on vaping liquids is being introduced from November in Guernsey and Alderney | BBC, UK
Police warning over cannabis-laced gummies disguised as sweets being sold in Swindon
Officers recently arrested an 18-year-old man and discovered 40 bags of cannabis-laced gummies which had been made to look like Fruit Pastilles, along with cash, 175 boxes of cannabis-laced vapes and phones. The sweets were labeled as containing 1,000mg of THC, an extremely high quantity of cannabis which could be harmful if consumed, particularly by children | ITV, UK
MDMA, ketamine and ecstasy found buried under Creamfields site
‘Brazen’ drug dealers try every year to sneak Class A’s onto the site in Daresbury, sometimes burying packages months in advance only to dig them up when the festival has been built | Metro, UK
International news
'101-year-old great-grandmother' arrested for selling cannabis in Nigeria
An elderly woman, who the authorities say is 101, has been arrested in Nigeria for allegedly selling cannabis, in a case that has drawn widespread attention | BBC, UK
Probe to examine tobacco lobbying in EU
The European Ombudsman’s office has opened in inquiry into how the European Commission’s trade department (DG Trade) has handled its dealings with tobacco lobbyists | Law Society, Ireland
Americans' Drinking Remains at Record Low
The share of Americans who say they drink alcohol remains at a record-low 54% for the second consecutive year, the lowest reading in Gallup’s trend dating back to 1939 | Gallup, USA
Illicit fentanyl use is more than double medical use in US
The largest study to date to quantify and compare medical and illicit fentanyl use in the United States suggests that illicit use is more than twice as common as medical use | Medical Xpress, USA
Understanding opioid risks can help prevent accidental overdoses
According to numbers calculated from the CDC, approximately 80,000 people died last year from a drug overdose, which represents about 21 deaths per 100,000 residents in the U.S. alone. Overdose deaths are preventable, and in most of the cases we see, they are completely accidental | News Medical, USA
Discontinuing Extended-Release Buprenorphine: Participant Experiences from a Mixed-Methods Observational Study
[Open access] Now a common opioid maintenance option in the USA and the UK, long-acting injections of buprenorphine help block non-prescribed opioid use for a month – but what if patients want to stop the treatment? This US study shows that "When implemented within a flexible, patient-centered clinical framework that includes sustained psychosocial support ... discontinuation can occur without clinically significant destabilization". | DADR, USA
An Online Stigma-Reduction Education Program for Health Care Workers Working With People Who Inject Drugs: Pilot Testing
After completing the programme (all the self-selected trainees did complete) health workers reported substantial decreases in stigma towards and unfavourable perceptions of patients who inject, less discomfort at seeing these patients, and a greater willingness to engage with them | APA PsycNet, USA
Survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of youth mental health and drug use in Ontario
Findings from the 2025 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) suggest that Ontario middle and high school students have rebounded from the heightened mental health challenges seen during and immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic | News Medical, USA
Q&A: Short animation changes how people see addiction
Social stigma—judgment from employers, neighbors, clinicians and family—is one of the main reasons why only one in 10 of the roughly 400 million people worldwide with alcohol or drug use disorders receive adequate care, according to recent WHO statistics | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
If Andy Burnham is serious about health and care, he must not ignore alcohol harm
In this blog, Lisa Erlandsen, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the AHA, explores whether Andy Burnham is willing to be as bold on alcohol as he has promised to be on homelessness, social care and mental health – and why tackling alcohol harm could be essential to delivering on those ambitions | AHA blog, UK