Co-producing local research priorities for drug and alcohol services
In 2019 Dame Carol Black was appointed by UK government to lead a major review examining: the ways that drugs fuel serious violence; treatment, recovery and prevention. The report emphasised that research in the field is lacking, underdeveloped and under-resourced...
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Drugs: researchers shouldn’t just focus on the harms
Most drug research focuses on the harms they cause, but studying the pleasure they provide will improve our understanding of why people use them. Among other things, this knowledge could be used to help people who develop drug problems, such...
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T2 Trainspotting
A tale of masculinity, nostalgia and addiction Warning: Contains Spoilers There have been few sequels more eagerly anticipated than T2 Trainspotting, the follow-up to Trainspotting, Danny Boyle’s landmark film of 1996. Based on the original books by Scottish author Irvine...
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‘Narcos’ and the ‘War on Drugs’
“Magical realism is defined as what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe. There is a reason magical realism was born in Colombia” When we think about the devastation and harm that...
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Festival drug checking is here
A step towards safer drug use came about recently with the UK’s first drug-checking service at the Secret Garden Party festival. Operated by The Loop charity, the service provided hi-tech analyses of drugs submitted by festival-goers. In addition to the...
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Drug-consumption facilities: they’ve been around since 1986 and now Scotland has one – but do they work?