DrugWise Daily |
29th April 2026 |
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UK news
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report
Drug-related harms remained at a high level in the most recent quarter (December 2025 to February 2026). Contamination of drugs with toxic substances is both common and widespread. Detections of nitazene-type opioids in post-mortem toxicology remained high overall, although they decreased slightly in the most recent quarter. The benzodiazepine market continued to shift, with growing reports of novel substances and changing tablet types. Cocaine remained the most frequently reported drug across treatment and toxicology data | PHS, UK
Sentinel Legal Launches Judicial Review to Defend British Freedom
Sentinel Legal has begun proceedings for Judicial Review of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2025, challenging a generational prohibition Director Sam Ward calls "the state deciding it knows better than its own citizens how they should live their lives." | Morning Star, UK
Where Safety, Care and Recovery Come Together – Outstanding Quality Recognised At New Oakwood Lodge
Recovery starts with feeling safe, supported and understood. At New Oakwood Lodge, that’s exactly what people are finding - and it’s now been recognised with a “Good” rating across all five areas and multiple areas of outstanding care recognised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) | Phoenix Futures, UK
Bowel Cancer: Alcoholic Drinks
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of the World Cancer Research Fund’s report on dietary and lifestyle patterns for cancer prevention, particularly the evidence on alcohol as a risk factor for bowel cancer | They work for you, UK
Drunkenness: Delivery Services
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure people in England and Wales cannot use home delivery services to order alcohol while intoxicated | They work for you, UK
Thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes seized
Officers from Avon and Somerset Police along with officials from Bristol City Council's Trading Standards Team, HM Revenue and Customs and the Home Office found 90,000 illegal cigarettes and 11.5kg of stolen tobacco | BBC, UK
International news
Texas wants to ban at-home ketamine treatment after new data reveals concerning trend
Data from poison centers nationwide reveal a concerning trend, with ketamine poisonings more than doubling since 2019 to 414 in 2023 | Independent, UK
ReCuro’s Impact on the Estonian Harm Reduction Field: Interview with Greete Org
ReCuro is a unique mental health clinic in Estonia. Apart from offering mental health care as part of their private sector services, the clinic provides opioid agonist treatment (OAT) as their main harm reduction service, as well as educational lectures and support groups in prisons. Although ReCuro was established only four years ago, the clinic’s team was able to bring about changes in Estonia’s harm reduction field and the negative perceptions around these essential services | Correlation European Harm Reduction Network, The Netherlands
TikTok chatter could help predict where the opioid crisis is heading next
Researchers found that opioid-related TikTok comments anticipated synthetic opioid overdose mortality trends by about three months, highlighting how public social media data could strengthen surveillance during a rapidly evolving crisis | News Medical, USA
Natural disasters can cause another crisis for those recovering from opioid addiction
A day after Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina in late September 2024, Toni Brewer had no power or water. The storm had strewn fallen trees across most roads, wiped out phone and internet communications, and put some neighborhoods near her Asheville home under water | npr, USA
Overdoses spike for visitors to California addiction treatment centers hub
Visitors to a 10-city region in Orange County, California, with a large concentration of substance use disorder treatment centers experience disproportionately high levels of overdose, according to a new study led by a researcher at Penn State | Medical Xpress, USA
Despite Media Cheerleading, Vapes Still Not Shown to Cause Cancer
Every so often, a piece of research emerges that tells a specific audience exactly what it has always wanted to hear. Not because it is robust, well-evidenced or scientifically groundbreaking, but because it confirms a false belief they had already committed to. The latest claim that vaping “likely causes cancer” is a perfect example. And the speed with which it was embraced says less about the science than it does about the ignorance and credulity of those cheering it on | Filter Magazine, USA
DEA Begins Next Steps Following Medical Marijuana Rescheduling Order
Days after the Department of Justice rescheduled state-licensed medical marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, the Drug Enforcement Administration has formally unveiled the next steps in the process. On April 28 the agency published several marijuana-related notices in the Federal Register, covering applications to handle medical marijuana as a Schedule III substance as well as the upcoming hearing on whether non-medical marijuana should remain in Schedule I | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
“We cannot prosecute our way out of addiction, homelessness and trauma”: Revolving Doors responds to Starmer “free-for-all” shoplifting claims
Speaking to retail union USDAW’s annual conference today (27 April 2026), Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described shop theft and the abuse of retail staff as a “free-for-all” situation, pledging to toughen punishments and reinforce neighbourhood policing. The Prime Minister’s speech comes as the Government’s Crime & Policing Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in the coming weeks. This will make abuse and assault of retail workers a standalone offence | Revolving Doors, UK
The alcohol paradox: why cutting supermarket sales would grow the economy
Previous research has illustrated the tactics that industry groups have used to oppose public health measures. One such strategy, used across alcohol, tobacco, and HFSS foods, is that policies which reduce consumption of these commodities – such as increasing excise duties to raise prices and discourage consumption – are an “attack on the economy” that will cost jobs and stifle growth. New research from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) at the University of Sheffield, published in Addiction, reveals that this argument is overly simplistic and fundamentally flawed | IAS blog, UK
The U.K. banned tobacco products for anyone born after 2008. Here’s what could go wrong
From black markets to an erosion of civil liberties, history shows how prohibition tends to go sideways | MS Now, UK
Turn on, tune in, cash out … The US right used to fear psychedelics. Now it wants to sell them
Hallucinogens have come a long way from the 60s counterculture to Trump’s White House – propelled by veterans’ lobbying and Silicon Valley capital | Guardian, UK