DrugWise Daily |
24th June 2026 |
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UK news
Changes in residential rehab since 2023
In early 2023, Public Health Scotland (PHS) commissioned IFF Research to study perceptions of residential rehabilitation among referrers and assess post-rehabilitation support provision. In 2025, IFF Research were commissioned to conduct a follow-up study of both referrer perceptions and post-rehabilitation support provision, to examine changes since 2023. The study aims to evaluate progress under the National Mission by assessing referrers' perceptions, referral practices, post-rehabilitation service provision, collaboration among organisations, and barriers to success | PHS, UK
Doing Alcohol Research Differently: Considerations During Research With Romany Gypsy and Traveller Communities – A Narrative Review With Methodological and Ethical Considerations
[Open access] Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities experience significant health inequalities, yet alcohol consumption within these communities remains under-researched. This paper offers a methodological and ethical contribution by reflecting on two qualitative studies of alcohol use in Romany Gypsy and Traveller communities in the United Kingdom | Qualitative Health Research, UK
Police boss in call for ketamine to be made Class A
Ketamine should be reclassified as a Class A drug to protect young people, Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner has said | BBC, UK
'Our house was turned into a cannabis farm while Dad was in hospital'
Yehia Hassan is on the verge of tears as he surveys the filth and broken furniture strewn across the front room of his beloved Luton home | BBC, UK
Red Lines
Red Lines is a suite of short films that seek to raise awareness about three forms of modern slavery : county lines, cuckooing and the exploitation of foreign workers and students. Each film interlinks with the others and was filmed in one continuous shot. While fictional in nature, the stories portrayed in these films are based on the lived realities of some of the courageous people we have connected with and cared for through the work of Red Community | Red Community, UK
Vape shops in Scotland to be excluded from business rates relief
Payday lending firms, car parks, betting shops and some other businesses are already excluded such reliefs, but the government says it will also ban vape shops from reliefs as of 1 April 2027 | BBC, UK
New fellowship award: Vicky Carlisle
Vicky Carlisle was recently awarded an SSA fellowship. She will be co-producing a practical intervention that tackles stigma in community pharmacies – helping more people to stay engaged in life-saving treatment and improving experiences for both patients and professionals | SSA, UK
University's late-night alcohol bid approved
Durham University said allowing alcohol to be sold between 11:00 and 00:00 from Monday to Saturday, and until 23:00 on Sunday, at the Graham Sports Centre at Maiden Castle would help secure the venue's future | BBC, UK
International news
Barriers and facilitators to detoxification from opioid substitution treatment: A mixed-methods systematic review
[Open access] Despite the well-documented benefits of opioid substitution treatment (OST) in treating opioid dependence (OD), many people diagnosed with OD desire to live a drug-free life. The transition to abstinence involves detoxification: a gradual dose reduction of OST to zero milligrams. Despite these aspirations, only a minority of patients undertake detoxification, and successful completion remains limited. This mixed-methods systematic review aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to detoxification from OST | Addiction, UK
Google's YouTube settles social media addiction case with teen
Google's YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida, in a fresh legal blow for online platforms accused of fuelling a mental health crisis among children | BBC, UK
Abrigado’s Intersectional Approach to Harm Reduction: Interview with Claudia Allar
Abrigado CNDS is a low-threshold centre providing harm reduction and mental health services in Luxembourg. It provides specialised support alongside traditional harm reduction services, including a women’s shelter, Marga. Recently, Abrigado CNDS became a new member of Correlation’s Focal Point Network. To discuss Abrigado’s growing services and the motivations behind becoming a C-EHRN Focal Point, we interviewed Claudia Allar, the organisation’s manager | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
UK Stimulant Pipe Program Tracks the Risks of Homemade Options
In the United Kingdom, the Misuse of Drugs Act outlaws the distribution of any materials used for “administering or preparing controlled drugs.” Over the years, harm reduction activists have secured some exemptions to the law, but distributing safer smoking equipment remains illegal. A new study published in Harm Reduction Journal highlights the health risks of this policy | Filter Magazine, USA
Expert explains how two pieces of federal action may impact marijuana research, sales, transport, and consumption
As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gears up for its administrative hearing on the fate of federal marijuana legalization, UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute (CPI) director Riana Durrett offers a rundown on decades of debate surrounding the plant—and what giving the green light could mean for businesses, tourists and residents in Las Vegas, the Silver State and beyond | Medical Xpress, USA
Adjunctive Psychosocial Interventions and Opioid Abstinence Among Patients Receiving Buprenorphine
What is the comparative effectiveness of 2 psychosocial treatments—cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and peer recovery support (PRS)—on opioid abstinence when used as adjunctive therapy to office-based buprenorphine treatment in adults with opioid use disorder (OUD)? This randomized clinical trial of 340 adults with OUD taking buprenorphine found that neither PRS, CBT, nor a combination of these psychosocial interventions yielded differential effects | JAMA Network Open, USA
ASHES, Vol. 22(7) – Daily patterns of nicotine and cannabis vape co-use
This week, as part of our Special Series on Addiction Among Emerging Adults, ASHES reviews a study by Deanna Halliday and colleagues that explored the daily nicotine and cannabis use patterns of young adults who vape | CHA, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
All bets are off? Europe’s patchwork of gambling advertising laws
Imagine you’re doing a bit of evening channel-hopping during a World Cup football match. In one country, every commercial break is filled with flashing betting logos and voice-overs promising “big wins now!”; in another, you might not see a single gambling ad all game. Like a casino croupier dealing different cards to each player, European governments have adopted very different rules when it comes to gambling advertising | Mental Elf blog, UK