Addictive behaviours conference
The appliance of science
The first pan-European multi-disciplinary conference on addictive behaviours looked at how science and research can translate into policy and practice. DDN...
Zooming in
Technology is helping to make sure that recovery workers and clients stay connected.
A sense of purpose – full referenced version
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, known as ACT, is the first evidence-based treatment for addiction that shares the same philosophy as the recovery model. It...
Competent compassion in services
We’ve lost that loving feeling
How can we refocus drug and alcohol services on competent compassion, asks Dr Joss Bray
The situation in drug and alcohol...
A moment to reflect
Addaction started 50 years ago with a desperate mother writing to the paper about her son’s addiction. Much has changed but the charity’s purpose grows...
Hole in the soul – can philosophers teach us about addiction?
Looking to the philosophers can give us valuable understanding of the nature of addiction, suggests Albert Yates.
On the face of it, Classical Greek philosophy...
Opening the Doors
The efforts to get homeless people into emergency accommodation must not be wasted, as DDN reports.
Homelessness has been long been regarded as complex, difficult,...
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...
Loaded dice?
The estimated 450,000 people in the UK with a gambling problem are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to getting access to treatment....
Getting Engaged
With drug-related deaths once again hitting record levels, it’s never been more urgent to make sure we’re properly engaging with so-called ‘chaotic clients’.
Post-its from practice
Sometimes the drug or alcohol problem isn’t obvious, says Dr Steve Brinksman
Marco rarely came to the surgery. He was a 44-year-old restaurant owner with...
Survey demonstrates need for improvement of hepatitis C services
An estimated 160,000 people are living with hepatitis C in England. Yet, in 2015, fewer than 12,000 people were diagnosed and fewer than 10,000...
Emergency measures
Although Wales has largely escaped significant treatment budget cuts, drug deaths are still rising to alarming levels. Access, and evidence-based treatment, are key to...
Brief encounter: what happened to alcohol brief interventions?
Alcohol brief interventions promised a way of improving the nation’s public health – so what happened to this ambitious initiative? Mike Ashton looks back...
Doorstep Challenge
Strong partnerships could overturn nimbyism and make supervised injecting facilities a reality, DDN reports.
Read the full article in DDN Magazine
A supervised injecting facility (SIF,...
Drug use in prisons
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A new profile of drug use in prisons
Mark Napier talks to DDN about the emergence of the complex problem of novel psychoactive substances, and...
Include me in
The inclusive cities model is a forward thinking-approach to boosting people’s recovery in the communities where they live, say Professor David Best, Professor Charlotte...
Vital connections
Communities and conversation are key to making recovery a reality, delegates heard at Addaction’s annual recovery conference. Jill Stevenson reports
Communities working together was a...
Clear steer on alcohol
Launching the Alcohol Charter, key figures from the sector called for a definitive alcohol strategy based on evidence, as DDN reports.
Read the full article...
Primary position
‘I do believe that the best care for people who use drugs and alcohol is in their own GP surgeries where possible,’ says Dr Judith...
Joining forces
New partnership-led training aims to help victims of domestic abuse incidents where substances are an issue, says Cat Payne
Domestic abuse victims with substance misuse...
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)...
The iCAAD Knowledge Hub
Stay with it
Tenacity is vital when it comes to working with troubled young people, Addaction’s Sam Dixon tells DDN.
When Sam Dixon from Addaction’s YZUP...
What state are we in?
A new, improved State of the sector report is underway and needs your input, says Paul Anders
Last year DrugScope, on behalf of the Recovery...
Come Together
This year’s exhibition area was a thriving hub of activity, with a colourful array of stands from service user groups and services. The Shenanigans...
Mind Over Matter
Mat Southwell opened the 2014 Kaleidoscope Conference by linking harm reduction to mindfulness: ‘I find injecting ketamine helps me with mindfulness.’ The challenge he gave delegates...
A place to connect: Addaction’s two-day conference
Addaction’s two-day conference addressed emotional wellbeing while celebrating the value of shared experience, as DDN reports.
‘Learn, share, connect and celebrate,’ urged David Badcock, Addaction’s...
Sowing recovery at ESH Works
ESH Works was built from a dream of peer-based recovery. Paul Urmston shares their story.
I used drink to cope. I didn’t really fit in...
Training at the bar
As the Swanswell Inn opens for business on a Monday morning in Birmingham, it becomes obvious that this is no ordinary pub. The mobile...
A capital idea
WDP’s Capital Card scheme has been helping to incentivise and empower service users, the team tells DDN.
Read the full article in DDN Magazine
People who...
Let’s get radical – confronting fears on harm reduction
Harm reduction measures can be seen as controversial within the wider population, but isn’t confronting public fears an essential stage in moving the agenda...
The discovery of recovery – where did it all start?
Since 2008 ‘recovery’ has been at the heart of British drug treatment policy. As Mike Ashton reports, it has been used as both an...
In it together
A new set of resources to support access to mutual aid has been published by Public Health England. DDN reports.
Supportive peer relationships with people...
Back in the day – DDN 10 year special
Three sector stalwarts, who were there at the start, look back at the birth of DDN
When they threw everything into DDN I thought they’d...
Vital care
Gordon Hay talks to DDN about RADAR, a new pathway for alcohol-related A&E admissions into residential alcohol detoxification in Greater Manchester.
An estimated 35 per...
Bill Nelles – Doctor Wars (part one)
In the first part of his two part series 'Doctor Wars' Bill Nelles describes how the running battles between substance misuse clinicians in the...
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...
Recovery Street Film Festival 2015
Share your story
Storytelling through film can play an important role in recovery, says Lou Boyd
The Recovery Street Film Festival was founded as a way...
Recovery in the North West
Recovery rising
Ray Jenkins and Mark Gilman talk about the North West’s contributions to the UK recovery movement
The North West of England has a...
Risks of pregabalin and gabapentin
Death rates have risen dramatically for prescription drugs pregabalin and gabapentin. Let’s be aware of the risks, says Clare Kingsbury-Bell.
Drug-related deaths linked to pregabalin...
The Mother of Invention
It’s now almost six months since lockdown revolutionised the way services operate. But could this have actually led to an increase in service user...
Support. Don’t punish
On 26 June 2013 – the UN’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – 26 cities around the world came together to...
Puncturing the myths?
Acupuncture is commonly used as a complementary therapy in the substance use field. But how effective is it, asks Natalie Davies.
Read this article in...
The state we’re in
Paul Anders shares some key findings from, and the thinking behind, the Recovery Partnership’s State of the sector 2013 report.
Drug treatment in the UK...
Inside Out
When delivering recovery services to prisoners, demonstrating impact is a complex but vital process, says Carwyn Gravell.
Forward’s range of structured, abstinence-based treatment programmes (which...
Is anyone in?
Decent long-term housing has been identified as one of the biggest determinants of recovery, so how can we address a critical lack of provision?...
Finding the right voice
CGL has been consulting with young people on the best ways for its youth services to get their message across. DDN reports on the...
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...
Doing it for ourselves
Forget looking to government and corporations for answers to social problems. The answers lie in harnessing the strength within our recovery community, say...
Service user involvement
The worm has turned
The Worm, a new service user-led magazine recently launched in Haringey, is tackling stigma and promoting a positive image of people...
New era for CQC regulation
A lot has changed since the advent of the CQC and there are more changes on the way. David Finney explains what services can...
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...
Harm reduction in Belfast
Belfast’s injecting drugs crisis has prompted a call for action – to bring a drug consumption room to the city as quickly as possible....
A different pain
James Elander shares his new research on painkiller addiction and how to spot the warning signs.
Addiction to prescribed pain relief is a serious and...
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...
A smack in the eye — Michael Linnell’s graphic harm reduction...
Thirty years after Michael Linnell’s first graphic harm reduction campaigns burst onto the scene he recalls the outrage – and the results – that spurred him...
What price life?
The failure to roll out naloxone distribution in England prompted a multidisciplinary group to meet in London to campaign for change. DDN reports
Last year...
Comment from the drug and alcohol field
The DDN letters and comments page, where you can have your say about the drug and alcohol sector.
To be included in the next magazine,...
What a long strange trip it’s been
When DDN launched way back in 2004 Tony Blair was prime minister, the NTA was just three years old, and the money was flowing...
Staying ahead of the inspector
The Care Quality Commission is once again changing the way it inspects and rates substance misuse services. Make sure you are prepared, says David...
Medications in recovery
An expert group convened by the NTA has made recommendations on reorientating drug dependence treatment to fit the recovery agenda. We invited the group's...
Sport in recovery
Good sports
Pat Berry and Ron Bell talk about how they help service users improve their wellbeing and build self-confidence from exercise
Playing sports on...
Learning for life
Education and training are often discarded when substance use takes over. Richard Johnson describes how ANA’s new programme is helping clients to reconnect
ANA was...
Mental health is in crisis – time to act
Mental health is in crisis – more so for people from minority groups. How do we reach them before they drown? DDN reports from...
Why isn’t more being done to tackle hep C?
A new report is calling for hepatitis C to be prioritised as a major health inequalities issue by Public Health England, the NHS and...
Commissioning is risking lives, say GPs
Poor commissioning practice is putting patients’ lives at stake,
declared the GPs’ conference.
‘Only recommission services if they are ineffective, dangerous or wasteful – not...
Hep van man
With hepatitis C still massively under-prioritised, DDN hears how The Hepatitis C Trust’s testing van is taking services out on the road.
‘It probably adds up...
End of a relationship
Leaving drug use behind can feel like losing a lover. Christopher Robin looks at how to cope.
Perhaps you need a new perspective, a new...
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...
Alcohol strategy is ripe for refreshment
Time is of the essence in overhauling the alcohol strategy, says the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice APPG. DDN reports.
‘We were asked by government, “what...
High stakes
While a harmless diversion for many, for some people gambling can mean losing everything – even their life. With treatment provision still sparse, Jody...
Getting real
The ‘dream drug’ ketamine can bring its users face to face with some stark realities that aren’t readily understood by health professionals. Mat...
‘By our silence we let others define us’
In the run-up to the UK Recovery Walk this month, Annemarie Ward looks at how far the charity has come and where it’s heading
The...
New research on non-fatal overdoses
A group of academics from the University of South Wales has published research on the prevalence of non-fatal overdoses among drug users in Wales
Professor...
Changing profile
A survey of needle exchange clients revealed the need for staff to keep up with the times, as James Langton explains.
As a supplier of...
Helping families of former members of the UK Armed Forces
Family Force
A new project is reaching out to families of former members of the UK Armed Forces with substance use problems, as Rob Stebbings...
London calling
This year Blenheim, one of the UK's leading substance misuse charities, celebrates 50 years of delivering drug and alcohol treatment services across London. Blenheim...
CQC consultation: Have your say!
Don’t miss the chance to change CQC inspections, says David Finney.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has recently issued a consultation on changes to the...
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...
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...
Agents of change
We urgently need to become activists once more, argues Nick Wilson in his contribution to The Vision Project.
Read the full article in DDN Magazine
The...
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...
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.
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...
At the cutting edge
DDN looks back at a year that saw cuts continue to bite, deaths continue to rise, ‘county lines’ become headline news – and a...
Slow on the draw
Why are smokers reluctant to exchange the risks of cigarettes for the health benefits of e-cigs, asks Neil McKeganey.
E-cigarettes have been characterised by Public...
Under pressure
The celebrity craze for stress pills is even reaching schoolchildren – should we be concerned? Kevin Flemen looks at the risks and availability of...
A question of why
Existentialism can give us a fresh angle on addressing the debilitating void that follows addiction, suggests Lana Durjava.
Read the full article in May 2019...
Treatment challenges of novel psychoactive substances
Novel ideas
Dima Abdulrahim talks about meeting the treatment challenges of novel psychoactive substances
When it comes to managing substance misuse, there is an existing –...
Prison perspectives
A first-person account of nearly a decade at the frontline of prison substance misuse services.
Last year I resigned from my position as a service...
Olympian struggle
With the Sochi Winter Olympics now on, the eyes of the world’s media are on Russia. In the run-up to the games, much of...
Just a child
The exploitation involved in ‘county lines’ is an urgent call for action, as DDN reports.
The brutal killing of a 16-year-old boy shook his community...
Getting a fix on figures
Just how closely linked are drug misuse and acquisitive crime statistics?
‘Drinking sensibly, never doing drugs – is this the age of the young puritan?’...
Partner up
Co-production and partnership working can help organisations thrive in troubled times. DDN hears from the MD of Equinox Care and Penrose Criminal Justice Services,...
Changing negative behaviours in treatment
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Challenging attitudes
A decade of experience has shaped Intuitive Thinking Skills’ successful approach to attitude change, as Peter Bentley explains
In 2003, I was coming...
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.
Reaching out
The Reach Out festival in Bristol aimed to raise awareness of carers affected by loved ones’ substance misuse. DHI’s Richard Brookes reports.
For every person...
Brink of success
Social entrepreneur of the year Jacquie Johnston-Lynch talks to DDN about risk, determination and the new challenges facing the recovery movement.
It was on a...
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...
Words for the wise
Harry Shapiro has launched a new drug information service with his former DrugScope colleague, Jackie Buckle. He tells us more
I am very pleased to announce...
Family focused
With 2013 marking the ten-year anniversary of Hidden harm, social care professionals gathered at the Adfam annual conference in London to reflect on the...
Giving the best chance
This year’s NHSSMPA conference was dedicated to creating lasting behaviour change, as DDN reports.
Read the full report in October's DDN Magazine
‘How can we give...
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...
Legislation to allow naloxone to be more widely available
Ready for action
Naloxone is to be made more readily available next month. Public Health England’s Steve Taylor looks at how local services and commissioners...
Having a ball
Sheffield service users had a chance to celebrate their sobriety in fine style this Christmas, ending the year on a genuine high. Olivia Adams...
Family Insight
A CQC inspection has given a family support service in Haringey a firmer platform for their life-changing interventions.
Insight Platform started as a substance misuse...
Nothing to declare
In the third part of his personal story, Mark Dempster tries his luck with smuggling hash and finds some unsavoury new ‘friends’.
Terrorist Brian had been...
Making pathways for commissioning
Commissioners are on a mission to do things better. But how can they take on board the many complex health issues with less money...
Breaking bonds
A new study by the universities of Manchester and Brunel, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, has been looking at the incidence of recurrent care proceedings in family courts...
What future for our prisons?
With NPS problems making regular headlines and a general consensus that the system isn’t working, the UK’s prisons are in bad shape. David Gilliver reports...
Identity crisis
UK governments agree that above all what they want out of treatment is ‘recovery’. Some of the most marginal, damaged and unconventional of people...
Review of the year
As the old Chinese curse has it, ‘may you live in interesting times’…
A truly seismic year for world events saw the triumph of populist...
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...
Festive Cheer
This Christmas day will see the fifth Bubic Christmas dinner for our service users. Previous years’ events have been a huge success and...
Recovering Through Nature
Phoenix Futures share the growth of their exciting Purple Camel Project.
Read the full article in May 2018 DDN Magazine
Phoenix Futures we have been...
Open market
How easy is it to have any drug you want delivered to your door with no questions asked? This and other issues raised at...
Kaleidoscope’s – The Big Debate
Chaired by Adele Blakebrough, The Big Debate was the evening event of Kaleidoscope’s conference on women’s issues.
The panel included politicians – Kirstie Williams,...
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...
The Right Connections
Starting in May, a group of ten champions of recovery from different corners of the recovery ecosystem began to meet on a weekly basis to share their thoughts and support each other.
Captured on camera
A roving Recovery Street Film Festival aims to change public perceptions of addiction, as the organising team explains
This summer will see the launch of...
So, how are we doing?
As deputy drug czar for the Blair government, Mike Trace oversaw the expansion of today’s drug and alcohol treatment system. In the second of...
Life and death issues
Drug-related deaths dominated the DDN conference’s Big
Debate session, which gave delegates the chance to put
their views across.
‘When people talk about drug-related deaths it’s about numbers...
Tough measures
Kit Caless examines some of the issues behind the rush to outlaw new psychoactive substances (NPS)
The third reading of the Psychoactive Substances Bill took...
Barriers to work
Last July the government asked Dame Carol Black to conduct an independent review into the challenges of getting and staying in work for people...
Celebrating recovery in Kent
The first Medway recovery festival organised by service user groups and local provider KCA celebrated recovery in the local community. DDN joined the celebrations
The brainchild...
Anxious times
Shocked by cases in his constituency, Bambos Charalambous MP is calling for government action on Xanax.
The powerful sedative Xanax is being used by young...
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...
No time to lose
The ‘substantial upward trend’ in drug-related deaths was explored at the latest meeting of the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group, as DDN...
Market forces
Drug-related deaths:
A strong message from Addaction’s Mortality Matters conference was that treatment services need to put competition to one side and challenge the conditions...
Time for social action
Social action is the way forward in tackling complex needs, hears DDN.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis recently...
The Recovery Street Film Festival – The bigger picture
Junaid tells us how he became involved in making a film for the 2017 Recovery Street Film Festival.
In 2015 I was using crack cocaine...
Detox in a box
Encouraged by results of a new form of community opiate detoxification, a team from substance misuse services in Bristol and the South West offer...
Independent spirit
Service user group B3’s name stands for ‘be heard, be motivated, be free’. DDN's David Gilliver hears from project manager Ossie Yemoh about the...
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...
Ketamine use: advice from the experts on harm reduction
The growing popularity of ketamine use is not matched by knowledge within treatment services. Sara Woods went to harm reductionists Mat Southwell and Amy...
On borrowed time
The delayed drug strategy – and lack of plan for an alcohol strategy – is pulling the lifeline from a sector in crisis, hears...
Promotional feature: Stigma: Hepatitis C and drug misuse
Supporting people infected with hepatitis C presents distinct challenges.
An understanding of existing barriers to hepatitis C care is important to help empower people with the...
No hiding place
Efforts to stop drugs from being smuggled into prisons are failing – so why aren’t we tackling prisoners’ drug use through universal testing, argues...
Can positive psychology help to treat dual diagnosis?
Katalin Ujhelyi, Jerome Carson and Ioanna Melidou share results of a new study.
People with dual diagnosis – co-occurring substance misuse and mental health issues...
Free to breathe
Should e-cigarettes be provided free to smokers who cannot or will not quit, asks Neil McKeganey.
While smoking rates have steadily declined in recent years,...
Building a future
Steve Hodgkins is the founder and CEO of Jobs, Friends and Houses (JFH) – a multi award-winning social enterprise offering employment, peer support and...
UK drug policy reform
Off track?
Drug treatment is being derailed by the sector’s refusal to push for reform, says Ian Sherwood
The distressing reality of drug dependence alters little...
Making alcohol services accessible
Avoiding the airlock
Entering alcohol services can feel like a trap to the uninitiated. Mark Holmes looks at why technology may offer more people the...
Turning the tables
People with drug and alcohol problems can be used to a cycle of punishment and low self-esteem. Kaleidoscope used a recovery awards event to reverse...
The right focus
An effective review of commissioning will need input and inspiration from everyone involved – practitioners, commissioners, and especially those using services. DDN reports.
There have...
Rising tide
The ‘tough on drugs’ approach is impractical, outdated and costly in every sense, according to a meeting of the APPG for Drug Policy Reform.
Considering...
Springboard to success
RAPt’s apprenticeship programme is helping people to use their experience of addiction to get back into work, as Nathan Motherwell explains.
Since 2013 RAPt have...
Still going strong
Now one of the oldest abstinence-based treatment centres in the UK, Broadway Lodge is celebrating 40 years of offering treatment for a variety of...
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...
Face to face
October's recovery summit in Scotland brought together people from all walks of life to explore what they could do for recovery, as Kuladharini explains.
Scotland’s...
Just Be Yourself: support in the LGBT+ community
Robert Mee grew up feeling that he didn’t belong and used alcohol and drugs to counter his loneliness. Now, as chief executive of a...
Up close and interpersonal
Interpersonal group therapy has huge potential to help people in their recovery. However, ongoing supervised practice and support are critical in training effective facilitators, says Dr Tim Leighton.
Shared perspectives
Having had to postpone his trip to the DDN conference, Bill Nelles reflects on the differences in drug policy between the UK and his...
One size fits nobody
With much anecdotal evidence that people are losing their OST of choice, a meeting was held at the DDN conference to ask, ‘are you...
Families First 2013
The speakers and workshops at Families First 2013 gave delegates an opportunity to hear personal stories, network and exchange vital expertise.
Supporting role
Kate McKenzie speaks...
Becoming visible: homelessness
Homelessness may be a complex issue but we know how to make a difference, heard delegates at a conference that brought together academics and...
Getting it right
Representatives from the NTA, general practice and service user activism set out their priorities for the new treatment system in the dynamic opening session...
The long game
Against the backdrop of round after round of ‘winner takes all’ retendering, Dr Gordon Morse calls for commissioners to consider evolution over revolution
There can’t be...
LGBT drug support
User friendly
London Friend chief executive Monty Moncrieff talks to David Gilliver about the treatment needs of the LGBT community and the challenge posed by...
Adapt and thrive
Drugscope's recent conference focused on how the sector could deliver high quality services in uncertain times. DDN reports.
The drug and alcohol treatment sector was...
Smoking cessation
Why don’t we take smoking cessation seriously, asks Dr Steve Brinksman
Sajid looked quite bemused when I started talking to him about smoking cessation. ‘I...
Shifting sands – 2012 according to DDN
While the frequently hot-tempered harm reduction/abstinence debate that had characterised previous years finally appeared to be morphing into something more measured, 2012 still saw the sector...
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...
Remembering Simon
Tributes have been paid to Simon Morgan; Change Grow Live recovery worker, DDN volunteer, and a much-loved member of the Stratford-upon-Avon music scene, who...
Media Savvy
The news, and the skews, in the national media.
The history of prohibition proves it fuels gangsterism and forces up potency, from moonshine replacing beer...
A fine balance
In the October issue of DDN, Philippe Bonnet spoke passionately about his campaign for drug consumption rooms in the UK. Here, Ingrid van Beek...
Doubling Down
With World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, now is the time to redouble our efforts towards hepatitis C elimination, says Rachel Halford.
World Hepatitis Day...
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...
The emperor’s new clothes
Pockets of good practice throughout the country should not mask the fact that the ‘recovery agenda’ is failing, says Howard King.
Since the end of...
Emotional rollercoaster
Offering support to families affected by addiction means acknowledging the ups and downs of a close bond, says John Taylor
Recently I made a film...
A place to thrive
Recovery should mean focusing on what is strong, not what is wrong – and that’s where the ABCD approach comes in, says Rebecca Daddow
Like...
A helping hand
Phoenix Futures has launched the Griffiths Edwards Fund to champion his belief that ‘no one size fits all’
Access to drug treatment saves lives, gives...
Naloxone outreach – Reaching out
Now that naloxone is officially ‘out there’, CGL are among those searching for the people most in need of it. DDN reports on their...
Cycling for recovery
The ultimate challenge
John Lowes takes us with him on a very personal journey
Today I walked two miles, swam one mile, cycled 20 miles...
Finding balance
In the therapy room at DDN Conference, Lois Skilleter and Sam Lofthouse gave delegates a taster of massage and Reiki. Lois explains the treatments.
This...
Fighting for a C change
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally eliminate hepatitis C is within our grasp, says Professor Ashley Brown.
Read the full article in October DDN Magazine
When I...
Hidden faces
To commemorate 30 years of supporting family members affected by loved ones’ drug and alcohol use, Adfam has launched a photo exhibition that celebrates...
My Recovery My Choice
One year on, Jude Norton reviews the progress of an effective information campaign.
In 2012 it was estimated that 95,000 people across England and Wales...
We need to talk about Brexit
The implications of the political turmoil caused by Brexit are dangerous for service users says Nick Goldstein.
A space to listen
Dual Diagnosis Anonymous is a new peer-led resource for people with co-existing mental health and addiction problems, as Dr Raffaella Milani explains.
Coexisting substance misuse...
Family education- better than cure
With a bill aiming to ensure compulsory drug and alcohol education in schools making its way through Parliament, a new Adfam briefing looks at...
Save the children
Adfam’s recent report on the ingestion of drug treatment medications by children makes worrying reading. DDN looks at what could be done to reduce...
Case dismissed
Why are recommendations to improve custody-community transitions being routinely ignored when so many lives are at stake? DDN reports.
As drug-related death rates continue to...
Naloxone distribution
Fast forward on naloxone distribution
Progress on naloxone distribution is still slow and inconsistent throughout the UK. DDN asked naloxone champion Philippe Bonnet for some...
Coronavirus advice
Information, advice, and useful resources on coronavirus for treatment services, service users, and people who use drugs.
Please send us any information you or your...
Harm Reduction International Conference
This year's Harm Reduction International Conference in Lithuania brought together delegates from across the globe to discuss the need to provide sufficient political and...
CQC inspections
Get in gear
David Finney guides you through the new CQC inspections
The Care Quality Commission has just published guidance on the new way in which...
PCCs lead the call for change
It used to be that senior police, like politicians, would only speak out on drug policy from the safety of retirement. These days, however,...
Potent struggle
Working with an aid project in Uganda brought Martin Blakebrough face to face with the optimism of community growth and achievement – undermined by...
At breaking point
Chronic lack of investment is gambling with lives, agreed members of the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group. Read their Charter for Change.
‘The current...
Addiction and recovery in East London
The times they are a changin’
As Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT) celebrates 50 years of helping people in recovery, CEO Graham Marshall looks back at...
Different perspectives
We need to dig deep for inspiration and redouble our efforts against reactionary policies, heard this year’s HIT Hot Topics. DDN reports. Photography by...
Catch them early
This year’s SMMGP and RCGP conference brought GPs, frontline workers, commissioners and service users together to explore the topics of prevention and early intervention...
Commissioning Quality
The new national substance misuse commissioner forum will play a vital role in responding to future challenges, say Chris Lee and Prof Jim McManus.
Even...