Exciting news that the Victoria (Australia not Canada) Pill Testing Service has opened! www.vicpilltesting.org.au Have done festivals and now a fixed-site. Fantastic to see a Melbourne service opening. Along with the amazing @cantestcbr.bsky.social hopefully more Aus sites to come.

We have launched Test & Know, our fundraising campaign to help us expand our testing across the UK. We are asking for a donation of £12 - the cost of testing one substance in our mobile labs. wearetheloop.org/test-and-know

I was part of the similar “BuddyUp” scheme which grew out of the Canadian model and ran in the U.K. until April this year. I agree it was used by very different people from those who might go to a drug consumption space. Often very private rather techy people who had WiFi and private space to use.

“ cranstoun.org/news/drug-al...

"San Francisco will no longer allow the distribution of safe drug use supplies, including sterile syringes and smoking kits, unless the outfits distributing the supplies offer counseling services or connect recipients to services, the Mayor’s Office announced on Wed" missionlocal.org/2025/04/san-...

clearingtheair.eu/en/post/nico... “Nicotine is NOT carcinogenic & does not cause heart disease” states leading cardiologist Prof. Reuven Zimlichman, Director of the Institute for Quality in Medicine at the Israeli Medical Association. Tabloid fear-mongering articles. In the UK causes more harm.

@clivebates.bsky.social wrote open letter to Dr Maxime Boidin, Manchester Metropolitan University, highlighting flagrant dishonesty of many tobacco harm reduction opponents ignoring basic principles of scientific decency. Highly recommend reading this clivebates.com/papers-and-l...

Musk is the culmination of a slow-moving corporate coup by the oligarch class that has been decades in the making. But that doesn't change the fact that this marks a new and unspeakably dangerous chapter.

“We created a division between #harmreduction and #recovery but we are on the same damn team! Without the safety of harm reduction people don't live to find recovery with today's toxic drug supply.” @guyfelicella.bsky.social CIAJ conference. #DrugSky

Our new study found 44% of syringe services programs (SSPs) distributed safer smoking supplies in 2022. SSPs distributing supplies had more participant encounters and naloxone distribution. Safer smoking supplies are a key tool to connect people who use drugs to life-saving services.

US teen nicotine vaping dropped 70% over the past 5 years, to a 10-year low. Teen cigarette smoking "mysteriously" dropped 90%, to near zero, over the past decade. It's now at a 50-year low. Teen nicotine use is at an all-time low. Why is moral panic over teen vaping at an all-time high?

Really important deabate James, I wrote a piece with Alex Aldridge - theconversation.com/drugs-resear...

It is hard to imagine a greater deterrent for seeking life saving care at a hospital for, say, an infection, than the possibility of being detained and shipped out to a jail cell in the name of “involuntary care.” Not to mention the deterrent to call 911 if someone you know is in medical distress.

Huge well done & thanks to everyone who has worked for over a decade to get here. I met Cllr Casey at a harm reduction conference really - such an inspiring team. Looking forward to working together to impact drug laws in the UK so more facilities can open & more lives can be saved. 💚 2/2

I keep being told Afghan heroin still available in UK, but looks like some people are dangerously experimenting with various nitazenes, just in case as threatened, a third Afghan harvest is missed this year, and heroin begins to get scarce. Here are 3 worrying screen shots from WEDINOS website

UK’s first drug consumption room set to open in Glasgow www.channel4.com/news/uks-fir...

I share our insights and learning from reviewing drug deaths in this blog from Pharmacy Together. We know the risks and need to share and inform folk to reduce drug harms. Pharmacy colleagues and beyond please use and share. @pharmacyinpractice.bsky.social pharmacytogether.co.uk/reducing-ris...

Most smokers realise that smoking could shorten their life but not the impact of each cigarette they smoke. The price of a cigarette: 20 minutes of life: 17 for men and 22 for women. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

UK’s first official Safer Drug Consumption Facility, ‘The Thistle’, to finally open in Glasgow on 13th January www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#Aurora red alert… if you brave the cold the conditions for viewing are excellent

If you may be at risk of hepatitis C, you can now order a discreet at-home testing kit for free on the NHS. Find out more here: hepctest.nhs.uk/ref/ljw #HepCantWait #GetTested #NoOneLeftBehind

"UK's first drug consumption room to open in Glasgow" - Located on Hunter Street in the city’s east end, the facility – known as the Thistle – will open on January 13 and operate between 9am and 9pm, 365 days a year - www.itv.com/news/2025-01...

US Surgeon General warns alcohol is a "leading preventable cause of cancer," with risk of certain cancers increasing after one or fewer drinks per day

I'm appealing to colleagues and the organisations I work with to stop using X/Twitter. The platform now extracts profit by promoting a racist who hates modern Britain, incites violence and is in continued contempt of court. Continuing to use X is not compatible with our values.

The best thing about 2024? #drugchecking went mainstream, including @theloopuk.bsky.social starting regular drug checking in the UK & The Loop AU starting regular drug checking in 3 Australian states. Thanks, appreciation & admiration to the 1000s of Loop volunteers & supporters who contributed.

Poppy fields were replaced by wheat in 2024. Now third year of the Taliban ban holding well in most areas. It has taken longer than expected for this to result in shortages of heroin in Europe, as landowners had big stocks of saved opium, but can this last much longer? www.usip.org/publications...

Come on England and Wales. Catch up. @ukhomeoffice

Ireland and Scotland both set to open drug consumption rooms in 2025. A long time in the making and a welcome intervention 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇮🇪

The majority of people who struggle with addiction and who are at risk of fatal drug poisonings suffered trauma in their childhood. Young adults with a history of an Adverse Childhood Event are 4.3 times more likely to develop a substance use disorder. Childhood trauma does not vanish with age.

No mention of the associated #drugchecking service. If we are serious about reducing drug-related harm, *everyone* needs to know what is in circulation in the local drug market - adulterants, contaminants, fluctuating purity - to avert overdose & poisoning *before* consumption. #ActionBeforeOverdose

Been seven years since I first read this, on the English language's *completely universal but totally invisible* adjective hierarchy, and I can honestly say I've thought about it most days since.

⚠️WARNING!⚠️ 19 Dec 2024 Following testing by our scientists, a #harmreduction #warning, has been issued by #Greater #Manchester Drugs Early Warning System Important #medical & #welfare guidance for #nitazene #intoxication Stay safe and if unwell please seek medical attention

The first paper from our prospective trial evaluating cocaine use reduction as a non-abstinence outcome. TLDR: reducing cocaine use can promote immune activation. Stay tuned for more results soon! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Really honoured to be part of the organising committee for this year’s Int Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) in Manchester. Hosted by Manchester Met (who madly made me a visiting professor ☺️). Call for abstracts opened www.issdp.org

Drug alert from Manchester today 👇👇👇

Bad news that these fake oxycodone tablets containing nitazenes are circulating in the UK.

The Alcohol Health Alliance @aha-uk.bsky.social has called on Wes Streeting to develop an alcohol strategy to tackle the "catastrophic rise" in deaths from alcohol. Deaths in England have risen by 42% since 2019. AHA's chair, Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, said: "Without... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Very well done, Via. Ongoing work which is life saving. www.viaorg.uk/vias-success...

Shocking and abrupt rise in deaths caused by alcohol since the Covid lockdowns . Very sad. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And once more for bluesky: bbc.co.uk/news/article... Thank you, @neilcmcarrier.bsky.social for this reminder. I used to see fresh Khat sold behind the coriander and parsley around here. Interesting to hear that it is now being sold dried. Prohibition as usual making things more dangerous I suppose.

When Canada banned a mild opium tea, users were forced to switch to heroin. This resulted in more misery and death. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLR...

The UK is an international embarrassment in almost every conceivable way.

📣♾️📣♾️📣 In 2024 The Loop tested 643 pills, obtained from across UK event-based & community-based testing. What did we learn? >95% of pills contained more than an average adult dose (~100mg) of MDMA >99% of pills contained only MDMA & no other drug 🐌 #GoSlowStayLow 💧#TakeQuarterSipWater 📣♾️📣♾️📣

Good thread about medetomidine in street drugs www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/toxi...

I am proud to wear one of @peterkrykant.bsky.social ‘s T-shirts because I agree with him. (Also could be an ideal and thought provoking present idea for grandparents like me. Only a handful of T-shirts left) Let’s do better for the next generation.

Yes ! Transform - the UK and possibly the world’s leading think tank on drug policy reform are on Bluesky. Follow them for facts!

Drug use researchers (esp. those in neuro/pharmacology) - please stop using the word "abuse" (e.g., drug abuse) and other stigmatizing terms This isn't an arbitrary suggestion, there's legitimate empirical evidence showing that words like this do harm www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

‘Study: French Drug Injection Rooms Cut ER Visits And Crime’ Harm reduction programs often have wider benefits than we might at first think. codeblue.galencentre.org/2023/04/stud...

That the majority of US methadone treatment is private/for profit is a huge impediment to flexible, person-centered care.