Recent posts
Break the cycle
In a system where many feel left behind, Foundation2Change (F2C) stands out as a beacon of possibility. Built by people with lived experience of...
Save the children
A report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) late last year found that the traditional county lines...
Nearly two thirds of people drinking more for work-related reasons
Almost two thirds of UK workers report drinking for work-related reasons, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people by Alcohol Change UK....
Ten times more women sleeping rough than official figures show
There are more than ten times as many women sleeping rough than are identified through official government ‘snapshot’ counts, according to a new census...
Campaigners criticise NHS plan’s lack of focus on alcohol
Alcohol health campaigners have attacked the government’s long-awaited ten-year plan for the health service for its lack of ‘key policies’ to address alcohol harm....
On the level
I’m Richard Sparkes. I’m the registered manager at The Level inpatient detox in Nottingham. I also happen to be in recovery myself.
We’re one of...
Global drug use at historically high levels
A new era of global instability is empowering organised crime groups and ‘pushing drug use to historically high levels’ says the 2025 World drug...
Scots continuing to drink at unsafe levels
Scotland ‘continues to face a significant alcohol problem’, according to a new report from Public Health Scotland (PHS), with people drinking 50 per cent...
The bigger picture
Too often, occupational therapy is understood as relating solely to hospitals and physical rehabilitation. In fact, it can play a significant role in helping...
No half measures
Most professionals in the drugs sector would agree that holistic care for clients is of great benefit in their treatment and can support individuals...
Falling through the cracks
The latest meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Drugs, Alcohol and Criminal Justice focused on the service gaps facing people with both...
‘Ongoing improvements’ in accessibility and choice of treatment, says Public Health...
The last 12 months have seen ongoing improvements in the accessibility and choice of treatments available to people with problematic drug use in Scotland,...
Cranstoun launches AI harm reduction chatbot
A new AI chatbot able to provide accurate answers to both ‘basic and complex’ questions about drugs and harm reduction has been launched by...
Market forces
Regulating drugs will save lives and reduce misery, says Dr Alison Bedford Russell.
My eldest son George was one of many who needlessly died of...
‘Longest standing’ dark web drug market shut down by police
European law enforcement authorities have shut down the world’s longest standing dark web drug market, Europol has announced. ‘Archetyp Market’, which had more than...
US alcohol-related liver disease deaths double in two decades
Age adjusted mortality rates for alcohol associated liver disease in the US doubled between 1999 and 2022, according to new analysis published by JAMA...
Scotland appoints new drugs minister
Maree Todd has been appointed as the Scottish Government’s minister for drugs and alcohol policy, following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year....
Peter Krykant dies aged 48
Scottish police have confirmed the sudden death of drugs campaigner Peter Krykant, aged 48. Krykant was a passionate advocate for drug consumption rooms, and...
Alcohol companies using LGBT branding for ‘superficial inclusivity’
The alcohol industry is using rainbow branding as a marketing tactic for ‘superficial inclusivity’, according to a new report from Alcohol Focus Scotland. Some...
Rough sleeping to be decriminalised after 200 years
The government has confirmed it will formally scrap the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by next spring, meaning that rough sleeping will no longer be a...
News
Nearly two thirds of people drinking more for work-related reasons
Almost two thirds of UK workers report drinking for work-related reasons, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people by Alcohol Change UK....
Ten times more women sleeping rough than official figures show
There are more than ten times as many women sleeping rough than are identified through official government ‘snapshot’ counts, according to a new census...
Campaigners criticise NHS plan’s lack of focus on alcohol
Alcohol health campaigners have attacked the government’s long-awaited ten-year plan for the health service for its lack of ‘key policies’ to address alcohol harm....
Global drug use at historically high levels
A new era of global instability is empowering organised crime groups and ‘pushing drug use to historically high levels’ says the 2025 World drug...
Scots continuing to drink at unsafe levels
Scotland ‘continues to face a significant alcohol problem’, according to a new report from Public Health Scotland (PHS), with people drinking 50 per cent...
‘Fear-driven narratives’ undermining tobacco harm reduction
Fear-driven narratives in the media risk seriously undermining tobacco harm reduction efforts, heard delegates at this year’s Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) in Warsaw....
‘Ongoing improvements’ in accessibility and choice of treatment, says Public Health...
The last 12 months have seen ongoing improvements in the accessibility and choice of treatments available to people with problematic drug use in Scotland,...
Cranstoun launches AI harm reduction chatbot
A new AI chatbot able to provide accurate answers to both ‘basic and complex’ questions about drugs and harm reduction has been launched by...
‘Longest standing’ dark web drug market shut down by police
European law enforcement authorities have shut down the world’s longest standing dark web drug market, Europol has announced. ‘Archetyp Market’, which had more than...
US alcohol-related liver disease deaths double in two decades
Age adjusted mortality rates for alcohol associated liver disease in the US doubled between 1999 and 2022, according to new analysis published by JAMA...
Scotland appoints new drugs minister
Maree Todd has been appointed as the Scottish Government’s minister for drugs and alcohol policy, following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year....
Make tobacco firms pay for increased NHS spend, say campaigners
Anti-smoking charity ASH has renewed its call for a ‘polluter pays’ levy to be imposed on the tobacco industry as part of its response...
Peter Krykant dies aged 48
Scottish police have confirmed the sudden death of drugs campaigner Peter Krykant, aged 48. Krykant was a passionate advocate for drug consumption rooms, and...
Alcohol companies using LGBT branding for ‘superficial inclusivity’
The alcohol industry is using rainbow branding as a marketing tactic for ‘superficial inclusivity’, according to a new report from Alcohol Focus Scotland. Some...
Rough sleeping to be decriminalised after 200 years
The government has confirmed it will formally scrap the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by next spring, meaning that rough sleeping will no longer be a...
Dehumanising language rife when discussing homelessness, say researchers
The language regularly used when discussing homelessness is perpetuating and reinforcing stigma, according to a Centre for Homelessness Impact report by researchers at King’s...
Almost 90 new synthetic opioids on European market since 2009
A total of 88 new synthetic opioids have appeared on the European drug market in the last 16 years, according to the latest European...
The Loop warns about deadly nitazene pills
Drug-checking charity The Loop has issued a warning after pills confirmed to contain nitazenes were associated with two recent deaths.
An investigation is underway after...
PCCs reject call for cannabis decriminalisation
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APPC) has rejected the call to decriminalise small amounts of cannabis for personal use contained in the...
Almost 70 per cent back ‘smokefree generation’ policy
Sixty-eight per cent of the public back the ‘smokefree generation’ policy, as contained in the government’s tobacco and vapes bill, according to new polling...