Rob Ralphs

Competing Through Service: Entrepreneurial Bricolage and the Servitization of Local Drug Markets Abstract. Customer services has long been a central pillar of drug sellers’ attempts to build and maintain customer loyalty. However, recent years have see

Great to see this paper out from 2 of my fav ppl in the drug market research field:👍👇

academic.oup.com/bjc/advance-...

01.04.2025 06:44 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Drones dropping drugs and weapons into high security prisons are a threat to national security.

Read the Manchester report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And the Long Lartin report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

14.01.2025 09:27 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

🔥 NOW HIRING: 2 Part-Time Cooks @Coffee4Craig Manchester!

✨ Accredited Living Wage (£16,901.33/yr) 🕒 3 days on/3 off 📍 Manchester City Centre

Think Ready Steady Cook meets community impact! Cook for 80+ people daily.

Details & apply: hendrix@coffee4craig.co.uk

#Manchester #Jobs #Hospitality

13.01.2025 17:20 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Rat seen at Manchester prison.

CSRU empty cell and CSRU dirty shower.

Grim conditions highlighted in today's @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social reports.

Manchester had a rodent infestation, while at Long Lartin, a continued lack of in-cell toilets led prisoners to use buckets in their cells and throw bags of excrement out of the windows.
howardleague.org/news/long-la...

14.01.2025 10:55 — 👍 4    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 2

R.I.P Patsy Mckie. An amazing and inspiring woman who I had the honour to know and work with @ Mothers Against Violence. A huge loss to the community and to those who work to reduce youth violence. ❤️

10.01.2025 08:45 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Khat-Chewing, Adiaphorisation and Morality: Rethinking Ethics in the Age of the Synopticon - Critical Criminology In June 2014, the UK Government made khat (Catha edulis) a Class C drug under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act. Based on limited evidence, this decision went against the Government's own Advisory Council on...

Study of the bureaucratic amorality of the UK's khat ban, including perspectives from British Somali communities link.springer.com/article/10.1...

17.12.2024 06:52 — 👍 8    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 1

Beyond the ‘Wine Mum’: Understanding Midlife Women’s Drinking - Institute of Alcohol Studies Midlife women’s drinking is shaped by stress, societal norms, and shifting identities. While the “wine mum” stereotype simplifies this, a recent study of Australian women reveals diverse influences, f...

In our latest blog, Dr @gabrielcaluzzi.bsky.social explores how midlife women’s drinking is shaped by work pressures, caregiving demands, & class.

Moving beyond the ‘wine mum’ stereotype, he highlights the need for a deeper understanding of these influences.

www.ias.org.uk/2024/12/18/b...

18.12.2024 09:38 — 👍 20    🔁 12    💬 0    📌 0

📣♾️📣♾️📣
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
📣♾️📣♾️📣

13.12.2024 07:52 — 👍 16    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 1

ISSDP The International Society for the Study of Drug Policy

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

11.12.2024 14:34 — 👍 24    🔁 7    💬 2    📌 1

🇬🇧 Drug use trends, 16-24 year olds, 1995 v 2023:

💨 Speed: tanked, from 12% to sub 1%
🙂 E: fallen by two thirds
🌱 Weed: halved
🍭 LSD: halved, but creeping up
🍄 Mushies: after falling, back to '95 levels
❄️ Cocaine: tripled (altho same level as '00)
🐴 Ketamine: tripled (since K stats started '07)

12.12.2024 16:23 — 👍 7    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 1

Harm reduction must replace punitive drug policies The so-called war on drugs has failed. In the last century, countries have increasingly attempted absolute prohibition of drug use, often via penal measures. Despite global action, these policies have not deterred drug use: we have reached record levels of “abuse, illicit cultivation and production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances”, as acknowledged at the 2024 UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Drug trafficking networks have become increasingly sophisticated and violent, and deaths related to drug use have increased.

"Prohibition has not worked. Humane, evidence-based strategies are the only way forward"

@TheLancet editorial on Global Commission @globalcdp
new report "Beyond Punishment: From Criminal Justice Responses to Drug Policy Reform"
1/
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

09.12.2024 16:20 — 👍 5    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0

I would have put it much higher, at least two-thirds 🤔👇

09.12.2024 18:56 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I never get tired of listening & looking @ Michael Linnell’s pioneering harm reduction art work. Great to have him come and talk to our Criminology & Sociology students as part of our harm reduction panel alongside Early Break’s Janine Day and Jon Findlay, Way Throughs national harm reduction lead.👍

09.12.2024 18:53 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

That’s about 100 times more than my most read journal article on NPS use in homeless populations: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

07.12.2024 14:37 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Just read the overview & it sounds great 👌

28.11.2024 15:15 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Fantastic to see so many engaged professionals discussing best practice and learning around reducing ketamine related harms @ Think Ketamine @manmetuni.bsky.social

27.11.2024 12:38 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1

County Lines becoming more localised County Lines are changing to become more localised, reveals new County Lines Strategic Threat Risk Assessment.

Useful update from the NCA on 'county lines'. It notes that activity is becoming more localised, which leads to the question, when do 'county lines' stop being 'county lines'. Again, despite some public/media speculation, drugs involved predominately crack/heroin news.npcc.police.uk/releases/cou...

25.11.2024 09:21 — 👍 15    🔁 6    💬 4    📌 0