Alex Piot

@charlotte2153.bsky.social speaking last night on record high drug-related deaths in the UK:

“[The Home Office's stance] is ideological, not evidence-based, which is why I believe the Home Office is fundamentally incapable of dealing with drug deaths and drug harm in our communities.”

DDN_October25 DDN October 2025 We have thought-provoking contributions on wellbeing in this issue – mental and physical – including our cover story (p6) in which the team demonstrate that addressing nutritional deficiency should be...

Great to see our commentary on stimulant use and nutrition hit the cover of Drink and Drug News magazine this month. Nutrition is often overlooked but crucial issue in harm reduction, time to bring it to the table ! viewer.joomag.com/ddn-october2...

The landscape of ketamine use disorder: Patient experiences and perspectives on current treatment options buff.ly/HXPQOvF @bexharding.bsky.social

Our Op-ed on the UK’s drug death crisis, following last week’s Westminster Hall debate we helped secure. Drug-related deaths are a health issue—and should be governed by DHSC. The MDA in its current form is outdated and counterproductive.
parliamentnews.co.uk/the-uks-drug...

Psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health: Policy considerations Psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health conditions is being researched in clinical trials. There are associated benefits, risks and policy considerations.

New @ukparliament.parliament.uk report just released.

Our Directors of Research @alexpiot.bsky.social & Psychedelic Policy & Regulation Timmy Davis were pleased to contribute, alongside @profdavidnutt.bsky.social, @profjoneill.bsky.social and others.

post.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Home Office may reclassify ketamine in response to record levels of use Illegal use in UK seems to reflect growth of unregulated market in US, where its high-profile users include Elon Musk

The #drugpolicyratchet looks set for another turn, even though the ACMD has repeatedly found no evidence that changing the class of a drug has any effect on levels of use. www.theguardian.com/society/2025... #ketamine

I’d like to be added please :)

Powerful closing #EHRC2024 plenary. Now the time for "strong language" to achieve, maintain & build #harmreduction with/for our communities. "No more hiding behind rhetoric of 'target' & 'vulnerable' populations". "Zero tolerance on poverty, zero tolerance on inequality, zero tolerance on stigma!"

An explanatory note for the Bill can be found here: publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

The bill signals a push for greater flexibility in drug policy, with the proposed legislation primarily aimed at streamlining scheduling changes. Ideally, this could ease the pressure off the drug policy ratchet and pave the way for a thorough review of the evidence of several Schedule 1 drugs.

This implies as well that drug policy is still being conceived of as a moral issue, which while highly problematic, may have some practical advantages here. It also aligns with Tory-era polling we conducted showing most MPs agreed that drug policy was failing but felt unable to speak out.

First, the fact that it’s a PMB is interesting. Technically the government is not the one putting forward the legislation. Similar to assisted dying, it seems the government would rather keep its hands clean of drug related policy issues while still pushing for change. We can expect more of this…

The bill proposes to shift the power of drug scheduling changes from the Privy Council’s Order in Council process to the Secretary of State using Statutory Instruments approved by Parliament while maintaining input from the ACMD

A Private Member’s Bill proposing changes to how Schedule 2 drugs are amended is set for its second reading this Friday, with the full text now available. This could have significant implications—here’s why it matters… 👇

publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

Looking forward to #SaferLives24 today !