Drug Info Sheets

A New York Times podcast on the global drug crisis raises urgent concerns, but leaves the most important questions unasked. There is something almost cinematic about the way The New York Times framed its recent investigation into the synthetic drugs crisis. A mysterious death in a Chicago jail. A criminal investigator who says “keister” instead

Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have raised serious concerns about the vaping effects on young people after a new study found that e-cigarettes pump toxic metals directly into the lungs. Published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, the findings show this happens even after brief use, at levels well below what most

A new Canadian study has reshaped what we know about opioid overdose survival risk. The findings come from ICES and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. They show that surviving an overdose does not mean the danger has passed. In fact, the months that follow are more deadly than most people

New figures from Australia’s national wastewater monitoring programme paint a stark picture of the country’s drug landscape. Methamphetamine use in Australia has nearly doubled over the past decade, with the latest annual data confirming consumption levels at their highest point since records began in 2016. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) released the findings on

Youth vaping in Australia has reached levels that demand urgent action. New research shows one in five young adults aged 18 to 25 now uses e-cigarettes. Those with mental health difficulties face a significantly greater risk. The findings come from the International Journal of Drug Policy. Researchers analysed data from three waves of the National Drug

A landmark study published in the journal Brain has confirmed that regular ‘recreational’ use of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, causes measurable MDMA brain damage. Scientists found that the drug shrinks key memory regions and that the damage worsens the more a person uses it. The research involved 122 participants across the University of Zurich.

Researchers have identified a common signature of how psychedelic drugs alter the brain. A landmark international study reveals that five different substances produce a remarkably similar pattern of disruption to normal brain activity. The findings, published in Nature Medicine in April 2026, draw on more than 500 brain scans from 267 participants across five countries. This is

Novel benzodiazepine deaths in Australia have reached a critical threshold. New epidemiological data from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW Sydney, documents an 87% concentration of novel benzodiazepine (NBZD) poisoning deaths within a single five-year window a mortality trajectory that directly challenges the adequacy of Australia’s harm reduction-dominant policy response. This commentary

A veterinary sedative used to tranquillise elephants is now showing up in the illegal drug supply across New York State. Authorities warn the medetomidine overdose crisis is more dangerous than anything they have seen in recent years. Dealers quietly mix this powerful animal sedative into opioid supplies without users’ knowledge, triggering a surge in deaths

The landscape of substance use is shifting beneath our feet. Public conversation remains fixed on the tragedy of the opioid epidemic. However, a quieter surge is occurring in the background. Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine have returned to the illicit market. This is not a repeat of the 1980s. The substances found on the streets