England’s water companies have 1,135 criminal convictions. United Utilities 205; Thames Water 187. They dump sewage into rivers; directors not prosecuted; fleece customers; pay dividends. What if you had 1,135 criminal convictions? One law for corporations, another for us.

Overestimation of descriptive and injunctive norms is a robust predictor of future substance use. Language suggesting ‘epidemics’, ‘pandemics’ or easy availability of substances should always be avoided as they contribute to misperceptions.

1-year lectureship in criminology with a focus on alcohol and other drug research, at Manchester Metropolitan University. @manmetcrimsoc.bsky.social manmetjobs.mmu.ac.uk/jobs/vacancy...

Open access: Virtuous drug use in the neoliberal age www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Media Studies Meet Drug Research: call for tentative chapter abstracts and expressions of interest for a new edited collection exploring the intersections between media studies and critical approaches to drugs. drugsproject.pl/wp-content/u...

Domestic Violence in Romania and Moldova Killing Because She Wants to Live There are a number of women in the prisons of Romania and Moldova who killed their partners in self-defense. Why weren't they helped before it became too late? www.spiegel.de/internationa...

The International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) annual conference is being hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University this year (11-13 June). Key-themes: drug markets, methodological innovations, geopolitics, harm-reduction, culture and moralities. www.issdp.org/conferences-...

The Guardian view on Romania’s annulled election: a wake-up call for democracies. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Universities do not exist to 'train', produce 'skills' or generate 'impact'. They exist to create new knowledge and teach about it. Any assertion to the contrary is in error, and is destroying everything it touches.

I have made a #Criminology starter pack listing criminologists who are based in the UK – colleagues to follow on here. Will add to it as more suggestions come in and newcomers arrive on Bluesky. Centres on those of us working in academia. #AcademicSky go.bsky.app/8sCM5VZ

New research paper from me seeking to theorise some of the links between drug stigma, consumer culture, corporate power and social harm, by looking at big pharma and the opioid crisis. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

One week to go to submit an abstract for the European Society for Social Drug Research (ESSD) '24 conference, hosted jointly by Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester. www.essd-research.eu/conferences....

The Nuances of Psychedelics and How to Regulate Their Non-Medical Use - free half-day workshop at Manchester Metropolitan University on reducing the negative impacts and criminalisation of non-medical psychedelics. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-nuance...

Four street drugs that could pose the biggest threat to UK public health in 2024. theconversation.com/four-street-...

'Normalisation re-visited: Drugs in Europe in the 21st century.' New collection of essays assessing the contemporary relevance and reworkings of normalisation theory in an European context. www.pabst-science-publishers.com/shop-checkou...