Drug Policy

Lat week — on April Fool’s Day, to be precise — the House of Representatives passed a bill that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, showing that the dinosaurs in Congress are finally starting to catch up the American public, which now supports legalizing cannabis for recreational use by…

Where we have come from As is often the case, support for people with drug and alcohol problems defies easy categorisation. It does not fit easily into a box marked ‘health’, ‘community development’ or any other label. Addiction and recovery are defined by their all-encompassing nature, and the responses our society has developed are similarly…

I work at Tompkins County Prevention Point (TCPP), Ithaca’s syringe exchange program operated by the Southern Tier AIDS Program. One morning last summer, I checked in with some of our unhoused participants who had been living on our porch with their belongings. As I was about to head inside, an…

The context Images Isn’t it interesting how frequently as human beings we turn to metaphor? Sometimes these images are so embedded in the everyday that we don’t see them for what they are. We talk about ‘just ploughing on’, ‘turning over a new leaf’ and much more. Why? Because we don’t feel, think…

Today’s announcement shows the Government is serious about righting the wrong of nearly a decade of disinvestment in England’s drug treatment system. We are proud to have worked together to consistently call for this change which has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people and their families. …

A new Drug Strategy offers the chance for the Government to right the wrongs of disinvestment by funding Dame Carol Black’s rigorous, costed policy programme. The necessary resource must be provided to bring a new generation of people in need into recovery, save thousands of lives, reduce crime and make…

And Does it Matter if it Does? Marijuana critics often argue that legalization will lead to an increase in use. Weed enthusiasts typically reply, So what? Using marijuana is not inherently bad. The goal of drug policy should be a reduction of harm, not a reduction in use per se. …

How Safe is it? — Recently, the New York Times published a sensationalist news story warning about the dangers of using nitrous oxide as a recreational drug. It was not an editorial and did not advocate any particular policy measures to prevent nitrous abuse. …