DrugWise Daily |
29th May 2026 |
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UK news
Tobacco company levy could raise up to £4.9bn and prevent 10,000 hospital admissions, study suggests
New modelling from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) shows a 'polluter pays' levy scheme could cut smoking deaths, reduce hospital admissions, and raise billions in tax revenue | SARG, UK
A mixed-methods evaluation of the development and implementation of a high-quality alcohol assertive outreach treatment service
[Open access] The city of Hull in England was certainly in need of reaching out to and engaging high-risk, high-burden drinkers in support and treatment. Could an intensive outreach service be mounted and sustained, and would its clients and the services they resort to experience benefit? | DEPP, UK
New community space opens on Bute thanks to local drug and alcohol organisations
A brand new community space has opened in Rothesay, funded by the Argyll and Bute Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) and local charity WithYou. Connect Bute, which officially opened Wednesday 27 May with a launch event, is the first dedicated community space of its kind on the island. Located in the heart of Rothesay, the modern facility includes a garden area and is open to the whole community to use for wellbeing and group activities - not just those struggling with alcohol or drugs | WithYou, UK
Former BBC presenter John Humphrys reveals he gave up alcohol after being drunk on air: ‘It was painfully obvious’
Presenter, 82, was told that he ‘can’t do that again’ following incident in 1974 | Independent, UK
Spice in vape caused prisoner's death - inquest
A 24-year-old died at a prison in Nottinghamshire from a cardiac arrest caused by vaping synthetic cannabinoids, an inquest has found | BBC, UK
£340m pharmacy boost brings faster care to your high street
Patients to benefit from more services and treatments from their community pharmacy, as part of new deal. Under the new contractual framework, pharmacists who hold an Independent Prescribing qualification will be able to assess patients and prescribe medicines directly, building on the success of the Pharmacy First service. This delivers on-the-spot care for common conditions and gives patients access to a wider range of medicines | DHSC, UK
Join us on the 23rd of June at UK Parliament in Westminster
Join over 150 families and activists at the Anyone’s Child: Families For Safer Drug Control annual lobby of Parliament. We will be heading to Westminster on 23rd June, to show the public and our politicians that we are united in the fight for drug laws that actually protect our communities | Anyone's Child, UK
International news
Predictive validity of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test – Consumption (AUDIT-C) for register-based alcohol-attributable events among general-population men and women of different ages
[Open access] AUDIT-C is stripped-down version of the widely used AUDIT questionnaire used by clinical services to screen for risky drinking. In Finland its scores were strongly related to the risk of recorded alcohol-related harm over the next five years, reinforcing its validity | Addiction, UK
US warships blow up ‘drug boat’ in fiery Pacific strike
The U.S. military carried out a strike against a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in one fatality and two survivors | Independent, UK
Guatemala requests US military cooperation against drug trafficking
Central American country says its president spoke with Pete Hegseth to confirm terms of cooperation | Guardian, UK
Rise of dangerous drug adulterant and public health response tracked in New York State
A dangerous sedative called medetomidine has been quietly spreading through New York's illicit drug supply. A new analysis shows how, over several years of careful tracking and coordination, public health agencies in New York State executed a data-driven response to alert the public, make health practitioners aware of the emergent substance, distribute test strips and ultimately save lives | Medical Xpress, USA
Who uses legal cannabis and why? Cluster profiles of participants in a Swiss regulated sales pilot trial
[Open access] As cannabis regulation expands, it is important to understand who enrolls in legal non-medical cannabis programs and how participant profiles relate to harm. We identified participant profiles in Geneva’s pilot trial, La Cannabinothèque, using motives for cannabis use, knowledge of lower-risk use, and perceived risk, and examined differences in key outcomes | DADR, USA
Harm Reduction in European prisons: Availability and Current Gaps. Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe 2025
People do not stop using drugs at the prison gate, and harm reduction should not stop there either. Yet new findings from the C-EHRN Monitoring 2025 mini-report on prisons show that access to essential harm reduction services in European prisons remains limited, uneven, and far behind what is available in the general community. Drawing on data from 38 European cities with prisons, the report reveals major gaps in prison-based harm reduction | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
The Time to Build an Equitable Psychedelic Landscape Is Now
Across the United States, a tide is turning. It is becoming clear that widespread legal access to psychedelic medicines will be a reality in our lifetimes | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Bringing harm reduction and support to Scotland’s biggest music festival: WithYou returns to TRNSMT 2026
We are delighted to announce that WithYou will be returning to TRNSMT this summer, following a successful presence at the festival in 2025. Last year, our Scotland team was proud to be part of the TRNSMT community, supporting festival-goers from our dedicated stall in the Wellbeing Area, delivering alcohol harm reduction advice, and working alongside festival stewards at Help Points across the site | WithYou blog, UK