Independent, evidence-led reporting on the changing UK drug market, emerging substances, patterns of drug use and associated harms.
Published annually by TD Research Lab, these reports bring together national statistics, emerging intelligence and practical implications for public health, commissioners, drug and alcohol services and other professionals working across the UK.
Published annually | Next edition: October 2027Planned publication
Published · Free access
UK Drug Trends Intelligence
October 2026 — First Edition
What is changing in the UK drug market and what services need to know
The October 2026 first edition brings together a national picture at a fixed publication cut-off. The online platform remains an evolving companion between annual editions and may have different review dates. Explore the UK drug trends dashboard.
What the report covers
Changes in the UK drug market, emerging substances and mixtures, prevalence, serious harms, treatment implications and practical responses. It also considers prices and supply, wastewater intelligence, young people, safeguarding, prisons, housing and sexual health settings.
Who the report is for
Public health teams, commissioners, drug and alcohol services, healthcare, safeguarding, policing, criminal justice and training organisations, and interested members of the public.
Evidence and limitations
Statistics and intelligence describe particular sources, populations and reporting periods. Different national definitions and indicators require careful interpretation. Selected drug-testing samples do not establish market prevalence, and recorded involvement does not establish sole causation. Check the underlying sources before making operational decisions. Read the platform’s sources and methods.
From this edition
Report highlights
Summarised from the executive summary, pages 4–6. These are the report’s bounded assessments, rather than a new statistical update.
Cocaine harms
The report identifies increased recorded cocaine involvement in mortality, alongside household prevalence that does not show a significant annual increase. Death statistics do not separate powder cocaine from crack or establish sole causation.
Ketamine and clinical pathways
Wastewater and treatment signals warrant attention, while household surveys do not show a significant annual prevalence increase in either reported age group. The report calls for links between drug treatment and assessment of urinary and hepatobiliary harms.
Unexpected ingredients
UK submissions identify emerging sedatives and opioids, and substitutions in tablets and vapes. These findings concern selected samples and cannot be treated as national prevalence estimates.
Different indicators, different directions
The report shows that a trend depends on the indicator being measured. Wastewater results show opposing substance trends; source coverage, definitions and reporting periods constrain comparisons.
