Healthcare

France debates amendment on biomedicine substitution in pharmacies

An amendment is being debated on whether pharmacies can substitute approved replacements for biological medicines, but patient organisations have raised concerns.

15/11/2023

Culture news

Friends cast pay personal tributes to co-star Matthew Perry

Friends stars Matt Le Blanc, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have paid their first individual tributes to their co-star, following his death last month.

15/11/2023

Ireland

Ireland’s stalled plan to open safe injecting rooms for drug user

The country was reported as having the third-highest overdose death rate in Europe by the European Union’s drug agency in 2020, with 409 deaths that year, 70% of which involved opioids.

14/11/2023

Spain

Spain seizes 720kg of cocaine as UK announces huge bust

The drugs have been found in vessels coming from South America, and hidden on board hoping to avoid detection.

30/10/2023

Health news

Promising new vaccine offers hope of breaking cocaine addiction

The vaccine is designed to help produce anti-cocaine antibodies in the body of a person who is chemically dependent on the substance.

28/10/2023

Health news

France issues warning against using nasal decongestant cold medicines

France's medicines agency warned people not to take oral nasal decongestant medicines containing pseudoephedrine over potential risk of strokes.

23/10/2023

Health news

Fake Ozempic pens identified in European countries, EU regulators warn

Ozempic is a diabetes medicine that has been in high demand.

19/10/2023

France

Over 600 kilos of cannabis seized at French-Spanish border

Police stopped a vehicle crossing the French-Spanish border which was carrying 603 kilos of cannabis as well as €38,000 in cash. They arrested the driver and another man they believed to be one of the organisers of a wider drug trafficking network.

11/10/2023

Health news

Growing drugs shortage is leaving pharmacists and patients in the dark

Shortages of common older medicines are increasing. Experts say it’s in part because pharmaceutical companies are de-incentivised from producing them.

10/10/2023

Europe News

Europe must reduce its demand for cocaine: Colombian defence minister

Iván Velásquez Gómez said his country was doing its bit in the fight against organised crime and the EU must now do the same.

29/09/2023

Ireland

Two charged after record €150m cocaine seizure off Irish coast

A ship intercepted by the Irish Navy off the Cork coast was found to be carrying the largest shipment of cocaine ever seized by Irish authorities.

29/09/2023

United Kingdom

Europe's drug death capital tries a new way of reducing fatalities

With by far the highest drug abuse death rate in Europe, Scotland is pursuing new ways of bringing fatalities down.

29/09/2023

Health news

What is the 'zombie drug' known in the UK as 'monkey dust'?

The UK government is looking into making monkey dust, a drug that reportedly can cause hallucinations and psychosis, a class A substance.

04/09/2023

Denmark

Christiana: Denmark’s hippie paradise asks to shut down Pusher Street

The residents of the neighbourhood of Christiana, traditionally a hippie paradise where the cannabis trade has flourished despite bans, asked authorities for help shutting down its Pusher Street after a slew of recent gang-related murders.

28/08/2023

United Kingdom

Scotland still has Europe's highest drugs deaths, new figures show

The number of drug deaths fell from the previous year's figures but are huge in comparison to numbers from 20 years ago, and other European countries.

22/08/2023

Health news

Living the high life: Where in Europe is cannabis use legal?

While medical marijuana is becoming more available in Europe, cannabis remains illegal in most EU countries for personal use.

18/08/2023

France

France sends elite police unit to Marseille to tackle drugs crimewave

CRS 8 special police unit is being deployed to fight against the bloody war for the control of drug trafficking in Marseille. The gang war has killed 12 people since mid-July.

17/08/2023

Germany

German Cabinet set to approve plans to liberalise cannabis rules

Approval of the plan would be the first step to legalising possession of limited amounts of the drug and allow 'cannabis club' members to buy it for recreational purposes.

15/08/2023

Health news

Popular heartburn drugs linked to higher risk of dementia

Taking acid reflux medications for four and a half years or more can lead to a higher risk of dementia, researchers have said.

14/08/2023

Netherlands

Record-breaking seizure of cocaine worth €600 million in Netherlands

Prosecutors say the drugs were hidden in a container of bananas from Ecuador

11/08/2023