Plenty of obituaries earlier this month for Henry Todd, member of the ‘microdot gang’ responsible for a large part of the global LSD supply in the 1970s. Some focus more on his second ‘career’ as a mountaineer… abenteuer-berg.de/en/himalayan...

Looking to build back up my group of PhD students. Primarily interested in supervising in the area of drug policy but open to other areas, too. Drop me an email if you have an idea. For more information about me and my work, take a look here: tobyseddon.com

Incredible piece of journalism (and beautifully written) by @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/7068...

The steadfast determination to destroy one of the few things the UK still excels at is baffling and depressing.

A special moment for me to see this huge announcement made on my very final day as Head of SRI. There truly is incredible work going on here that it has been a privilege to support.

The first lecture was given by @jennywoodmanucl.bsky.social and describes her incredible research journey so far. Bookmark the page as there will be more fantastic lectures to come!

Testament not only to the brilliance of Katherine and Yang but also the incredible critical mass of sociology scholars we have at SRI.

Five years ago today, I joined UCL and the unique academic powerhouse that is the UCL Social Research Institute. It’s been a fantastic and enriching experience and I look forward to many more years here! @sriucl.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk

Applications are still open for our exciting new taught MSc in Sociology, being offered for the first time in September! Take a look here... www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-...

Exhibit A: drugs.

Quite the take on what’s happening in the sector. Being (very) generous, I could say that not *all* of it is wrong…

A fantastic opportunity in our amazing department! Come and join us as Director of our Centre for Longitudinal Studies www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Excited to read a new paper – based on the title and the authors – then…. finding out it seems unaware of swathes of relevant literature and consequently claims novelty for ideas that have been discussed for decades. Not exactly a good advert for that journal’s peer review and editorial processes.

A year ago, I wrote this Policy Brief on tackling the public health crisis of drug-related deaths. The need for action is even more acute 12 months later. www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

Fascinating story of psychedelic capitalism outpacing idealism at a canter

late to this but easily the best thing that's been written on the history of ketamine to date. i dream of visiting john lilly's archive at stanford...

Episode 5: Cannabis starts in the Paramount dancehall and ends with True Romance. Featuring @tobyseddon.bsky.social and @iandunt.bsky.social. morejamtomorrow.com

I am finally reunited on a podcast with @rostaylor.bsky.social, where I basically just gibber away about what it's like to get stoned and lose decades of your life morejamtomorrow.com/episode/cann...

It was a pleasure to contribute to this episode! Have a listen if you're interested in learning more about #cannabis and its regulation.

New word learned today: hortatory (intended to urge/encourage someone to do something). Every day's a school day!

Simon Jenkins hit it on the head. "The reality is that the divide in Britain is not between those “in favour” of cannabis and those against. It is between those who care about the impact of criminalisation and those who don’t" Cannabis change is needed NOW

Many of our students already have an established career in research or policy. So there’s learning for teachers as well as for students during our discussions about evidence for decision-making. If this sounds interesting, see our MSc Social Policy (Evidence Synthesis) www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-...

Finished writing my presentation, titled 'Drugs and the Anthropocene'! Looking forward to discussion and sharing ideas in Manchester next week. #ISSDP2025 #drugs #drugpolicy

Nice obituary for Bert Brooker, who played an important but largely unsung role in keeping heroin prescribing in Britain alive: doi.org/10.1136/bmj....

This weekend, our Head of Dept. @tobyseddon.bsky.social was quoted in this fascinating article about the future for cannabis decriminalisation in the UK- take a look 👀

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte.... Quoted in this Guardian piece on cannabis decriminalisation.

We now have about 60 of our researchers and affiliated institutions in our UCL Social Research Institute starter pack... gotta catch them all! go.bsky.app/BcLmmBN

Really looking forward to our very own Prof Jenny Woodman giving her inaugural lecture. Big Data Meets Story will explore how we deliver care to children & families – and what we learn when we combine big data with real-world experience. bit.ly/jwoodman @sriucl.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk #SocialPolicy

The Falconer Commission on cannabis is likely to become viewed as a 'landmark' report on the subject. But this is not the first such report. Read about the history of 'landmark' cannabis inquiries here: tobyseddon.com/2025/05/28/l...

On the day that the London Drug Commission's report on cannabis is finally published, some thoughts about the phenomenon of 'landmark' cannabis inquiry reports... #cannabis #falconer #decriminalisation tobyseddon.com/2025/05/28/l...

Disappointing and concerning that the Universities Minister seems so clueless about the sector for which she is responsible. Simply not good enough.

A couple of days late but happy #bicycleday for those who mark it... tobyseddon.com/2023/04/19/9...

One of the worst effects of successive govts' rhetoric on Higher Ed is that it's 'training for a job'. So 18yos get themselves (and are pressured) onto narrow technical courses. Yet employers are crying out for ppl who can read, think, write, speak! I've never met an employer who said different.

Newly published by @psypre.bsky.social - a revised edition of Andy Roberts’ Albion Dreaming

We are looking forward to Jenny Woodman's @jennywoodman.bsky.social inaugural lecture on 3rd June Sign up! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sri-inaugu...

Permanent lectureship in Sociology here at UCL:

The UCL Social Research Institute @sriucl.bsky.social is looking for a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sociology, to support the institute's strong research profile in sociology as well as the delivery of its new MSc in Sociology. Application deadline: 17 April. Further details in the link below.

A reminder that you can catch my conversation with @k8lister.bsky.social on drug use and drug cultures in 1920s London here... shows.acast.com/betwixt-the-...

Drugs, gender and Dope Girls... tobyseddon.com/2025/03/10/d...

So true it hurts

📢 New report out today! 📢 ➡️ Access the report here: repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeo... 📊 What did we find? 🔸 Most of the socio-economic background (SEB) and ethnic inequalities in entry to professional occupations are driven by employer-side decisions made during the recruitment process

Out tomorrow: our @nuffieldfoundation.org report "Inequalities in Access to Professional Occupations" @clairetyler.bsky.social & Catherine Dilnot Why are working class & ethnic minority young people underrepresented in professional jobs? Do they not apply? OR do they apply, but just not get hired?

Nice piece on the challenges of teaching when contested or troubling issues are involved. The complex dynamics of a classroom are not always easy to see in the moment.

In between meetings and emails, today has been a day for reviewing: 20 conference abstracts and 2 papers. There is some truly inspiring and important research going on in the drug field at the moment.

Does the US degree you were planning to pursue suddenly seem a bit less... appealing? We got something for you studyinternational.com/news/changin...

📢 #NewPubAlert! 📢 We’re thrilled to celebrate SRI PhD candidate Emily Clark’s latest publication: “Is the universal basic income a neoliberal Trojan horse? Analyzing representations of ‘the poor’ and ‘poverty’ in UK UBI policy discourses” in Critical Policy Studies. Link: doi.org/10.1080/1946...

this letter in the LRB on Karl Polanyi is a useful quick explainer of the present moment—helpful framing for talking to relatives etc @londonreview.bsky.social

It’s not every day that a @clscohorts.bsky.social cohort study is a plot point in one of the biggest shows in the UK! Watch this clip from BBC’s ‘Call the Midwife’ about the 1970 Birth Cohort Study- which we confirm at SRI we still learn from at least 55 years later! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

✨Research positions for the new Wellcome-Trust DESTINY project in automating evidence synthesis! (destiny-evidence.github.io/website/) 🌍✨ 🔬Two at EPPI-Centre, UCL: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... ... AND ...

We are delighted to be leading four new exciting 1-year master’s degrees in Sociology. Covering vital modern topics including Children’s Rights, Data Science, Social Inequalities and more, they start this September. Applications are open right now! Take a look here: www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/202...