DrugWise Daily |
14th July 2026 |
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UK news
The UK and the EU Drugs Agency sign a Working Arrangement
The UK government and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) signed a Working Arrangement, on 13 July, that will strengthen both the UK and EU’s ability to protect public health, identify dangerous substances earlier and reduce the harms caused by illicit drugs | Department of Health and Social Care, Home Office, Sharon Hodgson MP and The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, UK
UK’s alcohol-free beer boom threatened by regulations, trade body warns
Pubs and brewers are being prevented from capitalising on Britons’ record-breaking thirst for alcohol-free beer because of over-strict regulation, a trade body has warned. More than 64m pints of low- and no-alcohol beer is forecast to be sold over the summer, an increase of 8m compared with 2025, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said, citing the figures as proof that the category is “not just a fad” | Guardian, UK
Former addict and Tiktok poet takes on Europe walk
A former addict who shares her struggles through poems on TikTok hopes to document a groundbreaking challenge for suicide awareness. Kit Birks, 29, from Andover, Hampshire, wants to be the first person to travel on foot from Europe's northernmost point in Norway, to its southernmost point on the Greek island of Gavdos | BBC, UK
50 Cent asked judge to bail dealer for European tour
Detectives investigating cocaine trafficking in Derby have said they were "shocked" by an intervention from the US rapper 50 Cent. The musician wrote to ask a judge to release an arrested suspect on bail so he could work on the rapper's Legacy Tour | BBC, UK
Boy, 16, denies murdering drug dealer in alleyway
The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, is alleged to have stabbed Hamid Erfani, 46, in a Cheltenham alleyway on 16 December last year, after allegedly taking cash, drugs and a mobile phone off him | BBC, UK
International news
Ireland urged to rethink vape policy as smoking decline stalls
Responsible Vaping Ireland (RVI), which represents more than 3,300 independent vape retailers and business owners, said Budget 2027 should protect adult smokers’ access to regulated alternatives while stepping up enforcement against illicit products | Clearing the air, UK
Substance use among fatally-injured pedestrians in New York State, USA: a retrospective analysis
Nearly half of pedestrian deaths in New York State involved substance use by the pedestrian. Public safety campaigns that traditionally emphasise drinking and driving should also address the dangers of walking while impaired. Interventions should encourage planning for safe travel and target high-risk groups | BMJ, UK
Australia banned vape ads more than two years ago – so why are they still all over social media?
Posts promoting illegal products appear across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as expert says platforms ‘aren’t doing the job they promised they would do’ | Guardian, UK
UK and EU Drugs Agency sign Working Arrangement to protect public health and reduce drug harms
The UK government and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) signed a Working Arrangement, on 13 July, that will strengthen both the UK and EU’s ability to protect public health, identify dangerous substances earlier and reduce the harms caused by illicit drugs | EUDA, Portugal
Full Spectrum Harm Reduction in Europe. Specific populations, service integration, and peer involvement. Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe 2025
Full spectrum harm reduction recognises that an individual’s experiences of drug use and drug-related harms are shaped by broader social and structural conditions, and that these conditions affect people differently depending on their lived experiences and social identities. By contrasting the unique risks and barriers experienced by different groups with the availability of various tailored harm reduction services throughout 42 European cities, this report identifies current gaps in care that leave many needs unmet | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
Impact of partial cannabis legalisation in Luxembourg: An interdisciplinary perspective
In 2023, Luxembourg partially legalised cannabis, permitting home cultivation and private-domain use. The current study aimed to evaluate the short-term impacts of this reform on consumption patterns, market dynamics, product potency, and cannabis-related driving-under-the-influence cases (DUI) | DADR, USA
Simultaneous use of cannabis with other drugs: Identifying latent classes in a sample of Canadians
[Open access] Rates of cannabis use are rising, with potential public health implications. However, many people who use cannabis use it simultaneously with other psychoactive drugs such that their intoxicating effects overlap. Thus, it is important to understand cannabis use in the context of simultaneous use with other substances, especially in jurisdictions with legal access to cannabis | IJDP, USA
Vaping reduces fitness and blood vessel function in young adults
Young people who vape or smoke cigarettes have reduced blood vessel functionality, breathing efficiency and exercise capacity compared to those who have never smoked or vaped, according to a study published in ERJ Open Research | News Medical, USA
Cannabis-derived treatment eases agitation in hospice-eligible dementia patients, trial finds
In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, U.S. researchers found that people with agitation and dementia in late life who took a special medical formulation of two active ingredients found in marijuana—THC and CBD—had significantly less agitation than people who received a placebo | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Personality, not cognition, sets long-term drug users apart
Over the last two decades, research into psychedelic and cannabinoid-based treatments for mental health disorders has rapidly expanded. Classical psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin and DMT) are being investigated as treatments for depression and anxiety (Wickham, 2024) and cannabis-based medicines are being increasingly explored for a wide range of indications from insomnia to tic disorders, and autism (De Bode, 2024) | Mental Elf blog, UK