Dan

Poster with a big red fist punching up through a wheelchair and holding a walking stick. “The text reads: Crips Against Cuts, National Day of Action 22nd of March. Time: 12pm, Location: College Green, Bristol, BS1 5UY. ‼️N95 masks REQUIRED (masks and earbuds will be available) 🗣️ speakers to be announced!” There is red blood dripping down from the top of the poster.

⭐️ REPOSTED WITH ALT TEXT!

Also, just to clarify, the mask requirement does not of course apply to those who are exempt!💗

Cocaine is most used drug in Glasgow consumption room New figures also show that the vast majority of people who have used The Thistle are men.

Not a surprise, given consumption trends. But carrying out our needs assessment in Edinburgh, we were struck by the extent to which an assumption SDCFs would mostly cater to opioid use persisted in many quarters (though not among people with living experience) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Who can save Bristol's only NHS detox centre The campaign over the closure has highlighted the complex way treatment is funded

I've done a deep dive into the future of Bristol's only NHS detox unit
The campaign to save it has exposed the complex & shifting way services like this are funded, which leaves them vulnerable to closure
Read the full story here:
www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

‘White people shouldn’t mess with it’: Native American church laments psychedelic cactus shortage Western ‘psychedelic renaissance’ is partly to blame for dwindling supplies of peyote, which produces mescaline

Shortage of Peyote due to rising demand from wealthy people across the world and the "alternative healing industry." www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

I keep being told Afghan heroin still available in UK, but looks like some people are dangerously experimenting with various nitazenes, just in case as threatened, a third Afghan harvest is missed this year, and heroin begins to get scarce.
Here are 3 worrying screen shots from WEDINOS website

And it's still not talked about in many services. Ketamine's effects are really desirable if you're experiencing trauma related symptoms and don't have access to other support.

The class change does nothing to address this and is typically reactionary.

The link between Trauma and Ketamine use/dependency seems clear to me through my work and personal networks. It doesn't help that accessing services can be really difficult for people even when they don't use Ketamine on top. I feel there have been shifts recently, but it's still to slow and...

UK's first drug consumption room to open this month in Glasgow The facility will allow people to take illegal drugs under medical supervision.

UK’s first official Safer Drug Consumption Facility, ‘The Thistle’, to finally open in Glasgow on 13th January
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The first sanctioned overdose prevention centre in Ireland opened its doors yesterday. #OPC #HarmReduction

No mention of the associated #drugchecking service.
If we are serious about reducing drug-related harm, *everyone* needs to know what is in circulation in the local drug market - adulterants, contaminants, fluctuating purity - to avert overdose & poisoning *before* consumption.
#ActionBeforeOverdose

Does it matter how we refer to individuals with substance-related conditions? A randomized study of two commonly used terms Stigma is a frequently cited barrier to help-seeking for many with substance-related conditions. Common ways of describing individuals with such probl…

Drug use researchers (esp. those in neuro/pharmacology) - please stop using the word "abuse" (e.g., drug abuse) and other stigmatizing terms

This isn't an arbitrary suggestion, there's legitimate empirical evidence showing that words like this do harm

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Harrods workers vote for Xmas strike - Freedom News Walkout over pay and conditions expected on 19 December as company refuses to engage with union ~ Cristina Sykes ~ Hundreds of workers across Harrods’ retail, restaurant, kitchen and cleaning departme...

Harrods refuses to engage with the workers or the United Voices of Labour union representing them. The company has been in the spotlight over serious allegations of rape and sexual abuse against its former owner, Mohammed Al Fayed.
freedomnews.org.uk/2024/12/04/h...

As Hungary defunded NSP & declared a new war on drugs in 2013, the number of ppl accessing treatment fell.

NSPs are great for connecting ppl with services. And if you target & criminalise ppl using drugs then you are actively deterring them from accessing treatment.

Excellent from Lauren Porter

Via WEDINOS.org site: Very worryingly 8th example of isotonitazepyne (n-pyrrolidino isotonitazene), one of the most dangerous nitazenes seen so far, bought in powder form (via dark web?) by somebody in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last week. Danger of accidental overdose as too hard to judge non-fatal dose.

YouTube video by BBC Three Manchester's Heroin Haters | Drugs Map of Britain

Quite a mad case of stigmatisation of people who use heroin here... vigilantes using violence to police their local community. So much ropey logic and drug exceptionalism I don't know where to start!

youtu.be/t4UowXTw7Lg

Drumsheds and Warehouse Project bring in drug testing The venues, in Manchester and London, invite charity The Loop to test drugs behind the scenes.

Big announcement!
The Loop has started delivering the 1st UK onsite, Home Office-licensed drug testing, at the 2 biggest clubs!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

MDMA-related deaths in the UK increased from 51 in 2022 to 79 in 2023, the 3rd highest rate on record (ONS 24).
These were mostly young people not knowing the strength of what they took, utterly avoidable with rapid & accurate testing & messaging on MDMA strength & dosage.
#HarmReduction