DrugWise Daily |
16th October 2026 |
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UK news
National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2025 to 2026
Sets out the progress made between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 by national government, local government and third sector partners towards reducing drug deaths and improving the lives of those impacted by drugs in Scotland | Scottish Government, UK
City where 67,000 adults drink in excess and what is being done to change it
Liverpool City Council has approved a new five-year plan to curb binge drinking and alcohol-related harm after figures showed more than 67,000 adults in the city are estimated to drink to excess | BBC, UK
Smoking may affect fertility in both men and women, new study finds
Scientists said the study could help us understand the links between smoking and infertility | Independent, UK
Man caught out by fake ketamine delivery jailed
A man has been jailed for his role in the importation of up to £3.75m worth of ketamine. Joel Freeman was arrested at a storage unit in Wakefield on 11 August when he was caught by police unpacking what he believed was a drugs delivery, Leeds Crown Court heard | BBC, UK
Three men jailed for plot to supply cocaine as part of investigation into UDA
The trio from Greenisland were among six men arrested following a covert police operation in November 2020 | BBC, UK
International news
Childhood, interrupted: Parental problem alcohol use and its harms to children (PDF)
Parental problem alcohol use (PPAU) is a well-established Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) with profound and enduring consequences for the physical and mental health of children affected – in childhood and into adulthood. Ireland’s high levels of alcohol consumption is closely associated with increased levels of harm as decades of evidence demonstrates that greater consumption leads to greater harm and reduced consumption leads to reduced harm | Alcohol Action Ireland, Ireland
White Cross award for Dr Ana Gallegos
We extend our warm congratulations to our colleague Dr Ana Gallegos, who today received the Cruz Blanca de la Orden al Mérito del Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (White Cross of the Order of Merit of the National Plan on Drugs) | EUDA, Portugal
Exploring semaglutide for alcohol use disorder: A review of clinical efficacy and neurobiological mechanisms
[Open access] The weight-loss medication semaglutide has been found to reduce craving for alcohol and drinking, and been associated with fewer alcohol-related hospitalisations | Addictive Behaviors, USA
Women face gaps in tailored alcohol treatment in states with higher disorder rates
The historical gap in binge drinking, alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related deaths between men and women has narrowed substantially over the last several decades in the United States, with binge drinking rates among women ages 18–25 exceeding men's rates in the same age group for the first time in 2024 | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Cannabis doesn’t make you violent – despite what recent reports have claimed
In what looked like a return to the dark days of Reefer Madness – a 1936 film that portrayed cannabis as a drug that could drive people to madness and murder – a recent article in the Daily Telegraph claimed that cannabis users are “twice as likely to be violent” | Conversation, UK
BLOG: Alcohol harm is not inevitable. But building on progress means acting together
As Liverpool launches its new Alcohol Strategy, Professor Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council, explores how the city can build on recent progress to reduce alcohol-related harm while supporting healthy, vibrant communities | Liverpool City Council, UK
Neurodiversity and Therapeutic Communities: becoming more neurodiversity-informed
This blog is based on a presentation delivered to the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities in Bordeaux in September 2026. It reflects learning from Phoenix Futures’ work in Therapeutic Communities and explores how residential treatment can become more explicitly neurodiversity-informed while retaining the core strengths of the TC model | Phoenix Futures blog, UK
Menopause, alcohol and work: broadening the conversation
This Menopause Awareness Month, we're exploring how menopause, workplace cultures, stress and alcohol can overlap during women's working lives and why this needs to form part of the wellbeing conversation | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK
Ketamine’s role in alleged Cornell rape highlights flood of psychoactive drugs on campus
Former Cornell student Jane Doe, who filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 alleging that seven fraternity members raped her at a party, said the young men who assaulted her pressured her into taking the drug ketamine | Conversation, USA