DrugWise Daily |
19th June 2026 |
Thank you to our Premium sponsors:
|
|
Could you sponsor DrugWise Daily? Please Email Harry Shapiro to discuss |
|
UK news
Time for better opioid detoxification strategies, researchers say
Addiction services must urgently consider the way in which they support people wanting to come off opioid substitutes, according to researchers at Imperial College London | ICL, UK
Concern over Scots pupils using nicotine pouches leads to new course
Concern over the rising number of pupils using nicotine pouches during school time has led to the launch of a new learning module for teachers. Ash Scotland, the anti-smoking charity, said a new generation is becoming hooked on the "addictive, health-harming products" following an upsurge in vaping | Scotsman, UK
Patient given wrong drugs when they left hospital died of overdose two days later
A patient was wrongly given morphine when discharged from hospital and died of an overdose two days later. The patient was given the drug without being made aware of the risks or given guidance on using it safely | Wales Online, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties
To ask the Chancellor of the exchequer, whether changes to alcohol duty have increased revenue | They work for you, UK
Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on its plans to consult on updating the descriptor guidance for low and no alcohol products | They work for you, UK
Sober Comedy London
Sun, 20th Sep 2026 @ 15:30 - 17:30. Tickets from £22.00.This special show is supporting the national Taking Action on Addiction Campaign, led by The Forward Trust. Come experience Sober Laughing Out Loud with 4 Top Professional Comedians , As Seen on TV | Forward Trust, UK
Three charged after record-breaking £139m cannabis seizure
Police said 12 tonnes of cannabis had been recovered from containers on 6 May, in transit to a port on the south coast of England | BBC, UK
UK actress charged with importing meth worth almost A$300m into Australia
A British actress, who appeared in an Eastenders spin-off and a Jason Statham movie, has been charged with allegedly trying to smuggle 320kg of meth into Australia from West Africa | BBC, UK
International news
Aiding Executions?: How Aid Donors and the United Nations Enable the Death Penalty for Drug Offences’ - webinar
Jun 24, 2026 09:30 AM in London.The new report, Aiding Executions?: How Aid Donors and the United Nations Enable the Death Penalty for Drug Offences, examines the underexplored issue of international aid supporting narcotics control programmes in countries that retain the death penalty for drug-related offences, a practice in violation of international law and standards. At this launch event, speakers will present the report’s key findings, including with a focus on both donor and beneficiary countries | HRI et al, UK
US Supreme Court sides with Texas marijuana user in landmark ruling over his right to own a gun
The decision is a loss for President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, which had defended the 1968 law | Independent, UK
Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2025 – key achievements and governance: a year in review
The Consolidated Annual Activity Report is an annual publication providing a detailed progress report of the EUDA's activities over a 12-month period. It catalogues the Agency's achievements in each area of its annual work programme. The report is a useful information source for all those seeking comprehensive information on the Agency and its work | EUDA, Portugal
Addressing the recruitment of young people into criminal drugs networks
This report explores how and why young people are recruited into criminal drugs networks in Europe, and what can be done to prevent it. Drawing on a rapid review of international evidence, it highlights the complex interplay of individual, social and structural factors that shape recruitment, including vulnerability, peer dynamics and socioeconomic conditions | EUDA, Portugal
Projected Outcomes of Reducing Federal Funding for Syringe Service Programs via Executive Order
In this decision analytical model including 3 694 500 hypothetical persons who inject drugs, eliminating federal funding for programs that provide syringe exchange and other harm reduction interventions was projected to increase deaths among this population by 1100 to 39 600 in the next 5 years. During that same period, opioid overdose deaths are expected to increase by 500 to 15 600 | JAMA Network Open, USA
New initiatives to prevent opioid misuse in youth groups focus on peer influence to create long-term behavior change
Drug awareness and prevention programs have often relied on shock tactics—graphic stories, fear-based messaging and one-time assemblies meant to scare students into avoiding illicit drugs. But evidence suggests those approaches rarely lead to lasting behavior change | Medical Xpress, USA
Overdose Death Data Patterns Emerge as Crisis Surges in Western States
The United States overdose crisis appears to be separating into regional crises on different trajectories, as a wave of fentanyl-involved deaths continues to move up the West | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
No/lo drinks and alcohol harm reduction: a targeted tool, not a population-level solution
Alcohol-free and low-alcohol (no/lo) drinks have taken off in recent years and you may have seen headlines suggesting that no/lo drinks are going mainstream. But who is buying no/lo drinks, how much are they buying, and how much alcohol is being bought alongside them? | IAS blog, UK
Liver cancer deaths are rapidly increasing – tackling preventable causes would save lives
Liver cancer is one of the fastest rising causes of cancer-related deaths in the UK, and the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. More than 6,000 people die from liver cancer in the UK each year. Its major drivers are largely preventable, but public awareness of the scale of the problem remains low | Conversation, UK