www.bbc.com/news/article... An estimated 13,000 opioid-related deaths have been left out of official drug deaths from 2013-2022 - 50% higher than previously known. This means what was already dire numbers were actually worse than expected. But would things have been different with this info?

www.politico.eu/article/euro... "Staff are saving lives every day while offering dignity and respect to people" - @niamhrelease.bsky.social Thanks @politico.com for such important coverage + including us. The drug death crisis in Scotland needs all tools on hand to save lives.

www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/op... Young people and general party-goers aren't aware of the risks of using drugs from an unregulated market. Without market controls, we need access to tools to keep us safe: 👉 Drug checking 👉 Awareness campaigns 👉 OD Prevention Sites 👉 Harm reduction EVERYWHERE

Police forces are often the first people on the scene and can keep someone alive. While we'd support more community centred options without police presence, they should at the very least carry life-saving medicine. www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Such an in-depth piece acknowledging local POVs + the tricky reality of addressing risky drug use in the context of deprivation, inequality and lack of care. The Thistle is not a silver bullet - it's a needed intervention in a wider context of support. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2528514...

COME WORK WITH US 📢Legal Adviser 📅Closes: NEXT WEEK - 9:00 pm, Sunday 13 July 2025 More details on the job posting below 👇 www.release.org.uk/vacancy-lega...

⚠️ The 2025 World Drug Report is out! #WDR2025  Drug markets are expanding. Harms are rising. Police-led approaches are failing. UNODC won't say it plainly, so we did:

COME WORK WITH US 📢Legal Adviser 📅Closes: 9:00 pm, Sunday 13 July 2025 More details on the job posting below 👇 www.release.org.uk/vacancy-lega... Please share with your networks 🫂 #legaljobs

This is long overdue - the Vagrancy Act continues to be used to criminalise 100s of homeless people 200 years after it was brought in! I've been drawing attention to this cruel approach and calling for a focus on root causes - investing in housing & health services. www.gov.uk/government/n...

www.bbc.com/news/article... People are supposedly using "medicinal grade" cannabis recreationally - but it's unclear whether it's being used for medical purposes, or they're just talking about high-quality/high-THC cannabis. A bizarre story with just one line on the tiny data-sets the study used.

The Common Ground Justice Project has a curious report on how UK publics are not excited about more prisons, but struggle to think of alternatives to incarceration. Abolition can crack through these attitudes with a new vision for supporting people.

While the headline is more sensationalist than what was said, Diana Johnson does make it clear that the Gov does "not support drug consumption facilities, it’s not our policy and we will not be amending the Misuse of Drugs Act.” It seems disingenuous to... www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

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

The campaign to close The Thistle is gaining a lot of media traction, fitting neatly in the war against any support for PWUD. There's a lot of valid concerns around public cleanliness and taking in local concerns - but the result should not be more drug use stigma. news.sky.com/story/living...

The London Drugs Commission finally recommends cannabis decrim, but urges caution when pushing for legalisation. While it's a great recommendation after many rounds of evidence, the Gov has already shot down this recommendation. www.london.gov.uk/programmes-s...

Compassionate approaches quickly shifted to more punishment in Oregon, as treatment funds were used to fund the wages of more prosecutors and acquiring police gadgets and vehicles. There's limited funding for treatment and harm reduction, but for police..! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

How much more signalling does the Gov need to see that BOLD and INNOVATIVE actions in health are popular? 77% say they want a healthier life. We need drug policies that support healthier outcomes - meaning no jail time for drug use + harm reduction funding. www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home...

Public health specialists know the value of DCRs: these interventions are a needed tool in the box of tactics for keeping people safe when using drugs. There's local + expert support for a room - make it happen. Interesting piece to help shift the pub narrative! www.itv.com/news/utv/202...

Beyond its obvious technological limitations and false positives, drug testing (not checking) is a carceral tactic that keeps punishing people through forced abstinence and denying people their freedom. Despicable results in this investigation 👇 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The BBCs latest write-up on #TheThistle DCR in Glasgow is interesting and quite complete. While starting off with much alarmism and focus on medical emergencies, it's got some great quotes from those using the DCR and Dr Priyardarshi who really hits it on the head 👇 www.bbc.com/news/article...

In 2023, Scotland saw 1,172 drug related deaths (DRDs). Approaches to death prevention are complex as solutions require coordinated action across different sectors. How can we explore how causes of DRDs interact in our health and social care system? Let's use systems mapping!🧵 (1/17) #systemscience

Quietly published, the UK commissioned RAND study highlights that drug law enforcement actions are not effective in reducing violence - they're more likely to increase it, or displace it into other forms. The evidence continues to pile against police-led drug laws 👇 www.gov.uk/government/p...

www.bbc.com/news/article... Such a tragic read. Decaying housing, the lack of support services, endless evidence of self-harm, no release support. These carceral systems are destroying minds and bodies. We need to support to transform their lives, not endlessly punish them.

#CND68 #CND2025 makes a turning point in history by deciding to create a panel of independent experts to review the global drug policy 'machinery'. Read our analysis of what this truly means!

"The fact that we have 50% increase in drug deaths over the last 10 years should be a concern to everyone" Truer words have not been spoken. A rethink on drugs - where drug harms, not just drugs, are reduced - is seriously needed in the UK. This means DCRs and DECRIM! www.bbc.com/news/article...

Alongside @releasedrugs.bsky.social and DPSC, we called for harm reduction and the decriminalisation of drugs in a joint parliamentary submission. Read an article by INQUEST's Jessica Pandian and Rebecca Gascoigne's about why we must end a zero-tolerance approach to drugs:

Increasingly unreliable #medicine supply chains are yet another reason why we need systems of #care that are genuinely responsive and patient-centered, say Shayla Schlossenberg and Riley Johnson of @releasedrugs.bsky.social : www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/supply-demand/

Buried within the article is one of the key solutions for nitrous oxide: ensuring there's a recycle or deposit scheme with cannisters to encourage people to dispose of them properly. There's ways to reduce NOS' harms - criminalisation is not the only solution! www.bbc.com/news/article...

England and Wales continues to struggle to provide support for people using drugs, particularly with concerns around dangerous contaminants in the supply. This call for expanding drug consumption rooms across the country is very welcome 🙌 www.stir.ac.uk/news/2025/fe...

Decriminalisation, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights & even a story about how Viagra became legal! When I spoke with the Met Commissioner last year he said he was yet to see any evidence to support taking a new approach to drugs so I wrote him a letter. 1/2 www.london.gov.uk/zoe-garbett/...

#ISSDP2025 is coming up in #Manchester, UK from June 11-13, 2025 with a focus on #DrugPolicy & #SocialJustice. Submit your abstract today! ⏰ Due: Jan 31 2025 pretalx.com/internationa...

UK cannabis seizure data is incredibly telling of the Gov's failure to control drug markets. Seizures ⬆️53% from 2023. Over half of all seizures are 5g or under, with 38% of plant seizures being just 1 - this is personal use. Is there a better argument for decrim? www.gov.uk/government/s...

Xylazine along with 22 other synth opioids were just banned by the Home Office as "significant efforts" are made to address their threat. The UK is hoping to distinguish itself by getting dogs to sniff out nitazenes - rather than look at drug checking or DCRs Sigh. www.gov.uk/government/n...

News of ketamine's possible rescheduling as Class A needs to be tempered with evidence. www.theguardian.com/society/2025... Since rescheduling from C to B in 2006, use has spiralled up from niche markets to common use. We need information on safer use and potential harms to make informed choices.

The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights continues to push for more humane drug policies to deal with growing drug-related harms. “Prioritising people over punishment means more lives are saved”. Transformative change in the way drugs are controlled is needed now. news.un.org/en/story/202...

A touching + balanced piece on #GHB "It’s not G which causes people to be sexually assaulted, robbed or spiked - it’s people." The lack of info on safe dosing + mixing and less regulated safe spaces may lead to harm. Harm reduction info is LIFE SAVING. www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/gh...

Alex Stevens in @brookingsinst.bsky.social highlights how options for Europe/US to deal with new wave of synth opioids. - Improve data collection on fentanyls and nitazenes - Expand & enhance treatment and harm reduction - Expand DCRs and drug checking where needed www.brookings.edu/articles/opi...

The NHS' Addiction Providers Alliance underscored how bad public policies exacerbated health inequalities in England and Wales, driving drug-related deaths around the country. "It is our shared responsibility to fulfil this role in the face of such tragic loss." www.nhsapa.org/post/deaths-...

Mainline has been supporting and fighting for the rights of people who use drugs in the Netherlands for decades. Their public funding is now at risk - meaning their org would disappear. We're helping them fight to keep their funding - here's how you can too 👇 mainline.nl/en/rescue-ma...

A recently published study on Int J on Drug Policy from Sweden is a case-study of the faults of drug criminalisation. This is particularly damning for a country that has one of the highest rates of drug-related deaths. Let's dig in 🔎 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Big thanks @ourmoh.bsky.social for hosting @releasedrugs.bsky.social folks on Friday. ‘How to Survive the Apocalypse’ is a beautiful & thoughtful exhibition. Telling stories of unhoused folks through the pandemic it’s a really important work, go before it closes next week museumofhomelessness.org