Toby Seddon

Toby Seddon Critical thinking on drugs, drug policy & drug law reform

Looking to build back up my group of PhD students. Primarily interested in supervising in the area of drug policy but open to other areas, too. Drop me an email if you have an idea. For more information about me and my work, take a look here: tobyseddon.com

The crumbling seaside palaces at the centre of Britain’s asylum crisis How one hotelier built an empire from beloved community assets — and a government struggling to cope with a surge in migration

Incredible piece of journalism (and beautifully written) by @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/7068...

The steadfast determination to destroy one of the few things the UK still excels at is baffling and depressing.

Looks like an excellent book - another for the list! - and a fabulous panel!

A special moment for me to see this huge announcement made on my very final day as Head of SRI. There truly is incredible work going on here that it has been a privilege to support.

The first lecture was given by @jennywoodmanucl.bsky.social and describes her incredible research journey so far. Bookmark the page as there will be more fantastic lectures to come!

Testament not only to the brilliance of Katherine and Yang but also the incredible critical mass of sociology scholars we have at SRI.

Five years ago today, I joined UCL and the unique academic powerhouse that is the UCL Social Research Institute. It’s been a fantastic and enriching experience and I look forward to many more years here! @sriucl.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk

Looks fantastic, John. Congrats!

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Applications are still open for our exciting new taught MSc in Sociology, being offered for the first time in September!

Take a look here...

www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-...

Exhibit A: drugs.

Quite the take on what’s happening in the sector. Being (very) generous, I could say that not *all* of it is wrong…

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

A fantastic opportunity in our amazing department! Come and join us as Director of our Centre for Longitudinal Studies www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Fantastic, Henry! A major step forward and absolutely delighted to see it is fully Open Access.

Excited to read a new paper – based on the title and the authors – then…. finding out it seems unaware of swathes of relevant literature and consequently claims novelty for ideas that have been discussed for decades. Not exactly a good advert for that journal’s peer review and editorial processes.

Great lineup, Kari!

Drug-related deaths: a shared approach to a public health crisis A joined-up. public health approach can help reduce drug-related deaths and support communities in building a better future. Toby Seddon for the Policy Thinking series.

A year ago, I wrote this Policy Brief on tackling the public health crisis of drug-related deaths. The need for action is even more acute 12 months later. www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

Fascinating story of psychedelic capitalism outpacing idealism at a canter

late to this but easily the best thing that's been written on the history of ketamine to date. i dream of visiting john lilly's archive at stanford...

Episode 5: Cannabis starts in the Paramount dancehall and ends with True Romance. Featuring @tobyseddon.bsky.social and @iandunt.bsky.social.

morejamtomorrow.com

Cannabis Cannabis. It’s illegal in the UK without a prescription – and despite decriminalisation abroad, it’s likely to stay that way. When did people start smoking...

I am finally reunited on a podcast with @rostaylor.bsky.social, where I basically just gibber away about what it's like to get stoned and lose decades of your life

morejamtomorrow.com/episode/cann...

It was a pleasure to contribute to this episode! Have a listen if you're interested in learning more about #cannabis and its regulation.

New word learned today: hortatory (intended to urge/encourage someone to do something). Every day's a school day!

Sadiq Khan is right: Britain must decriminalise cannabis – or remain in the dark ages | Simon Jenkins Criminalising drugs ruins lives and wastes police resources. Many other countries have realised this – so when will UK politicians, asks Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

Simon Jenkins hit it on the head.

"The reality is that the divide in Britain is not between those “in favour” of cannabis and those against. It is between those who care about the impact of criminalisation and those who don’t"

Cannabis change is needed NOW

Many of our students already have an established career in research or policy. So there’s learning for teachers as well as for students during our discussions about evidence for decision-making. If this sounds interesting, see our MSc Social Policy (Evidence Synthesis) www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-...

Finished writing my presentation, titled 'Drugs and the Anthropocene'! Looking forward to discussion and sharing ideas in Manchester next week. #ISSDP2025 #drugs #drugpolicy

Bert Brooker: psychiatrist and polar adventurer who advocated the “British system” of prescribing heroin In the early 1980s the UK felt the blast of a new wind blowing from the US, bringing with it calls for prohibition in response to president Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs. Opposition was brewing among ...

Nice obituary for Bert Brooker, who played an important but largely unsung role in keeping heroin prescribing in Britain alive: doi.org/10.1136/bmj....

This weekend, our Head of Dept. @tobyseddon.bsky.social was quoted in this fascinating article about the future for cannabis decriminalisation in the UK- take a look 👀

Worried about weed: should London follow New York and decriminalise cannabis? Almost 25 years after an experiment was ditched to caution rather than arrest those carrying small amounts of the drug, a rethink is on the cards – but the British government remains cautious

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte.... Quoted in this Guardian piece on cannabis decriminalisation.

We now have about 60 of our researchers and affiliated institutions in our UCL Social Research Institute starter pack... gotta catch them all! go.bsky.app/BcLmmBN