Beyond conviction
Having a drug-related conviction can spell exclusion from many professions. Nicola Inge of Business in the Community talks to DDN about breaking down barriers...
A new normal
Within days of lockdown being announced, Lancashire’s recovery communities had transformed their way of life on a grand scale, as Chris Lee explains.
We are...
A glimpse of the future?
Canada’s opioid crisis may be less reported than that in the US, but the effects have been devastating. Is this where we are headed,...
Harm reduction at the NNEF meeting
On the front line
Matt Johnstone brings harm reduction news from the annual NNEF meeting
The National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF) held its annual meeting in...
Beyond the gate
Prisons have a unique opportunity to introduce a life-saving naloxone strategy, so is the message getting through? DDN reports.
Naloxone saves lives, and for people...
All in a day’s work – DDN 10 year special
Many things have changed over the last decade for the DDN team – staff, premises, and even the introduction of canine office mascots. But...
What can we do about young people being hospitalised for alcohol?
Figures obtained by the BBC reveal the extent to which young children are ending up in hospital because of alcohol, reports DDN.
While recent reports...
Vote of confidence
As Phoenix Futures launches its new strategy, with the strapline ‘The charity that is confident about recovery’, DDN hears about the ideas behind it...
How do we keep up this momentum?
Fewer young people than ever are entering treatment for heroin and crack problems, and more people of all ages are successfully completing their treatment,...
On the Margins
Peter Keeling hears from April Wareham of Working with Everyone about how marginalised communities have been coping during lockdown.
Working with Everyone is a group...
Recovery month 2015
Recovery round-up
Throughout September, thousands of people across the UK got together to celebrate recovery – with fund-raisers, festivals and plenty of fun. DDN gets...
Gently does it
Simply cutting off the supply of benzodiazepines to people who’ve been prescribed them for years is far from appropriate.
Time to talk
Talking therapies are among the many options that should be offered alongside OST, says Clive Hallam.
Recently, a post on social media considered the question...
Nothing to declare
Over the next six issues, Mark Dempster shares his uncompromising story of drug dealing and addiction. Growing up in Glasgow, the young Mark already...
Alcohol and drugs in the news
Media savvy
The news and views from the national media
Laws against smoking have irreversibly shifted attitudes. The same drive is needed for alcohol consumption. The...
Generation drink
A major new report sheds light on the alcohol habits of the over-50s. Are they risking drinking themselves into an early grave?
Last month the...
Final destination?
‘The road to recovery – political destination or patient journey?’ was the theme of this year’s RCGP and SMMGP primary care conference. DDN reports.
‘None...
News Focus
Who Benefits?
Benefit reform, long a thorny topic, seems set to become one of the year’s defining policy issues. DDN looks at the truth behind...
The Right Questions
Now in its 30th year, the Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey is a vital tool for harm reduction, says Emily Phipps.
This year the Unlinked Anonymous...
From little acorns…
There’s still time to book... https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/conference
‘Don’t get mad, get organised’ said Si Parry from Morph at the first DDN national service user involvement conference in...
A patient worth saving?
We need to talk about service user involvement,
says Nick Goldstein.
Service user involvement, in one form or another, has been around a long time. An...
Room at the table?
‘I will never make apologies for being emotive about something that affects us all,’ said Noreen Oliver MBE, opening Creating Recovery, The Recovery Group...
Body of evidence
The UKDPC’s final conference saw politicians, policymakers, commentators and media representatives gather to discuss where next for drug policy. DDN reports
‘We need a new...
Make or break time?
In a couple of days the country goes to the polls for one of the most unpredictable – and significant – elections in decades....
Creating a future
Prison can be an opportunity to change deep-rooted behaviour and begin to flourish, say the team at Addaction tell DDN.
‘I have learnt that the crime...
Skills update
What’s the latest on professional training? Nadine Singh explains the DANOS review.
Skills for Health is undertaking a review of the National Occupational Standards (NOS)...
Long Hot Summer
Summer weather and lack of other entertainment mean that young people are once again turning to outdoor partying on a large scale. Drug services...
Local news from the substance misuse field
DDN takes a look at local news from the substance misuse field across the country
Self-harm help goes mobile
A new app has been launched...
A Sure Start
One of the key tasks of the national recovery champion role is to bring people together within the addictions field to tackle a common...
Nothing to declare
In the second part of his personal story, Mark Dempster leaves for London, takes tips from a terrorist and heads towards the ‘big time’.
It didn’t take me long...
Off the record
A frontline drug worker, once a service user himself, warns against being taken in by the politicians’ promises
I grew up in a northern town...
Reasons to believe
The day’s final session heard from Tim Sampey of Build on Belief on the importance of self-determination
Service user involvement is something I’ve been doing for ten...
Reaching out: painkillers
How do we find and treat the ‘hidden cohort’ of patients addicted to opioid painkillers? In the second of a three-part series, DDN reports
‘People...
Health risks of sugar
Hidden menace
For those with a history of addiction the well-publicised health risks of sugar could pose serious dangers. Nutritionist Helen Sandwell looks at the...
Getting it in perspective
Delegates at the afternoon’s opening session heard a range of personal viewpoints from six very different speakers
‘My perspective is based on 49 years living...
Journeys of recovery
A team of cyclists made up of staff from Humankind’s services across the country completed an epic 170-mile Ride for Recovery from Manchester to...
Review of the year 2013
DDN looks back on a year that saw the drug treatment landscape transformed with the end of the NTA and the advent of Public...
Blocking the path
What proportion of England’s problem drinkers are actually in treatment? And are increasing rates of unmet need the result of austerity-driven funding cuts? Mike...
More choice, more options
New versions of drugs are constantly being developed and trialled, including injections of naltrexone and buprenorphine that can last up to six months, as...
Grow a little kindness
SIG Penrose Roots is a garden-based community recovery project that provides a therapeutic growing space for service users, members, volunteers and the wider community.
Vital connections
Most drug-related deaths are of people not in treatment. DDN visits Equinox outreach team in Brighton to hear how they engage with a growing...
Back to Reality: alcohol-related brain damage
Korsakoff’s syndrome is a severe memory disorder, associated with long-term alcohol misuse. Glenn Barnett shares a new model to support those affected and help...
Harnessing the potential
Is the sector ready for co-production, asks Alistair Sinclair.
‘Co-production is an idea whose time has come,’ states Right here right now: taking co-production into...
Home and Dry
Much has been written in the press about how COVID and the lockdown have seen this year’s Dry January ‘cancelled’ for many people. But...
Hard Miles
Organisations and peers have risen admirably to the challenge of continuing the hep C elimination fight during the COVID crisis, heard delegates at LJWG’s...
Richard McCann shares his story
Against the odds
The day’s final session saw an uplifting presentation from Richard McCann on the challenge of achieving things he’d never thought possible, and...
Coverage from the 8th national service user conference
Challenging times
Delegates at The challenge – getting it right for everybody heard a succession of powerful and inspiring presentations on the theme of overcoming...
A sense of purpose
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a perfect match for the recovery model, says Mark Webster
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, known as ACT, is the first...
Half of those living with hep C unaware of their condition
Around half of people living with hepatitis C infections are unaware that they have the virus, according to a new Public Health England (PHE)...
New drugs minister pledges support
Addaction redoubles commitment to tackling stigma
We are determined to deal with the scourge that is stigma,’ said Lord Carlile at Addaction’s 50th birthday event...
A step ahead
Chief executive of the award-winning Broadway Lodge, Brian Dudley, talks to DDN about the importance of providing specialist care and dispelling preconceptions about the...
Supporting vulnerable women
Take a bow
Nicky Goulder talks about how an acting workshop is supporting vulnerable women in east London
For over five years, arts charity Create has helped...
Healthy exchange
DDN reports from the 2013 NNEF annual meeting in Bournemouth, which has become a keenly anticipated fixture for information and ideas.
Keeping harm reduction at the heart of...
Get the Picture
State of the Nation: One of the day’s lunchtime sessions heard delegates debate the current state of English drug policy
‘The subtitle of this session...
Out of commission
With the government’s long-awaited alcohol strategy showing no signs of materialising any time soon, the newly launched Commission on Alcohol Harm is hoping to fill in some of the gaps.
Hepatitis C : new hope, old problems
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
People with hepatitis C in the UK have a greater chance of being cured now than at any other point in the history...
Work, rest and play
Addiction can be like swimming in shark- infested waters, but the recovery community are like people in a life raft holding out their hands,...
Hit Hot Topics: The word on the streets
The Word on the Streets
This year’s Hit Hot Topics asked, how can we give harm reduction most impact on the frontline? DDN reports, pics...
How far have you come?
With recovery now the dominant model for alcohol and drug treatment, commissioning and research in both England and Scotland, there is a clear need...
Be The Change
Why should you be at the national service user involvement conference this year? DDN answers your questions
What is ‘Be the Change’?
Be the Change is...