DrugWise Daily |
15th October 2026 |
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UK news
Wastewater analysis: estimating drug consumption, 2021 to 2026
This report presents the latest findings from the Wastewater Analysis for Narcotics Detection (WAND) programme. It updates the 2021 to 2026 trend analysis for 6 key drugs: cocaine, ketamine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and heroin. The trend analysis is based on samples from 16 English sites monitored consistently since 2021. Cocaine remained the most consumed of the 6 key drugs, while estimated ketamine consumption decreased by 11% between 2025 and 2026 after several years of sustained growth | Home Office, UK
Ketamine information sheet
This ketamine information briefing has been designed to raise awareness of ketamine-related harms among health professionals and to support with conversations that help people access the support they need | Public Health Scotland, UK
What Britain can learn from other countries about reducing drug deaths
The question is whether we are willing to examine approaches that challenge our assumptions about addiction | Big Issue, UK
Laws to be strengthened for medicinal cannabis [Jersey]
Jersey's health minister has confirmed stronger legislation will be brought to politicians next year, after concerns about the prescription of medicinal cannabis were highlighted at an inquest | BBC, UK
Concerns over ‘how £642k was spent to tackle Aberdeenshire alcohol and drugs scourge’
Auditors say they cannot show how a quarter of Aberdeenshire's alcohol and drugs funding has been spent, warning of a "fundamental assurance gap" | Press and Journal, UK
New Scots drug recovery awards honour rehab champions
Unsung heroes who spend their days helping people in Scotland recover from drug and alcohol issues have been honoured at a new event in Glasgow. The inaugural Scottish Recovery Awards recognised the people and organisations working to reduce the harms caused by addiction across the country. Organised by recovery clinic Abbeycare to mark its 20th anniversary, the event featured broadcaster Iain Lee and community care minister Alison Thewliss as speakers | Deadline News, UK
Special interest groups and events
The SSA is providing funding through the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme to establish and support special interest groups and events. Applications close on 14 January 2027 | SSA, UK
160. Psychedelics Without The Stigma with Liam Hackett MBE - podcast
Join us in this episode of the Drug Science Podcast as Prof David Nutt speaks with Liam Hackett MBE, founder of the HALI Foundation. Liam details his early charitable work as the founder of Ditch the Label, and how this work gave him the skills necessary for dedicating himself to psychedelic advocacy many years later | Drug Science, UK
Three jailed for dealing cocaine and heroin
Three members of an organised crime gang have been jailed for selling cocaine and heroin across Hull. David Lyddon, Claire Broadbent and Reece Fullard were arrested after police began an investigation into a phone line believed to be linked to drug dealing | BBC, UK
Cocaine worth £1.6m seized from Glasgow flat
A 29-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with drugs offences after police swooped on the city centre property about 20:00 on Tuesday | BBC, UK
Cannabis worth £1.2m seized as two arrested
A cannabis farm worth about £1.2m has been found during a raid on an abandoned factory in Worcestershire. Officers stormed the site in an industrial estate off Birmingham Road, Kidderminster, on Wednesday as part of a day of action across the county | BBC, UK
International news
Sweden Launches New Drug User Union
Sweden has a long tradition of treating drug use primarily as a criminal and social problem. Since drug criminalisation was first codified in 1988, the country has pushed forwards a plan to create a “drug-free society” for decades, leading with policies of zero-tolerance towards use and an abstinence-focused approach to treatment | Talking Drugs, UK
Illegal tobacco increasingly hard to spot, with some fakes in plain packaging featuring Australian health warnings
Government warned that counterfeit tobacco produced by criminal organisations in south-east Asia is becoming more sophisticated | Guardian, UK
Females at the intersection: Housing instability, drug use, and syphilis risk among street-involved populations in Ontario, Canada
[Open access] Infectious syphilis has reemerged as a global public health threat, disproportionately affecting females in Canada, whose rates have tripled in the last decade. We examined how sex interacts with emerging risk factors associated with new syphilis cases | IJDP, USA
Opioids only useful for short-term pain relief, study finds
Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that opioids are best used for acute pain relief for four weeks or less and may cause more harm than good when used for chronic pain for more than 12 weeks | Medical Xpress, USA
Phenobarbital shows no clear advantage over diazepam for alcohol withdrawal, large study finds
Alcohol withdrawal is a common and dangerous medical emergency. Although benzodiazepines remain the standard treatment for this condition, the use of the barbiturate phenobarbital has increased by more than 200% in the last decade with limited evidence to suggest that this practice is safe and effective | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer highlights growing number of nonsmokers diagnosed with the disease – and younger people too
When many people think of an average lung cancer patient, they often imagine an older man smoking. But the face of lung cancer has changed. Over the past 15 years, more women, never smokers and younger people are being diagnosed with lung cancer | Conversation, USA
Ontario’s alcohol overhaul is costing taxpayers more than expected. The LCBO’s finances explain why
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) generated $1.8 billion for the province in 2025-26, down $358 million from 2024-25 and $757 million from 2023-24. The decline follows the Ontario government’s 2023 decision to expand alcohol sales to grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers. The LCBO also incurred an estimated $33.4 million in costs associated with holding unsold American alcohol | Conversation, Canada