Class A is no solution to the problem of 'monkey dust'
The recent spate of headlines about the rising use of monkey dust drug in Stoke on Trent has led to calls to it to be made a Class A drug...
top of page
Blog
At Drug Science we like to cover different topics relating to drugs. These topics cover the many different ways that psychoactive substances have an impact on our culture and society.
Timothy Amoroso
Jul 24, 20182 min read
Are the neurocognitive deficits associated with MDMA caused by statistical deficits in ecstasy research? A systematic review
Author: Timothy Amoroso Published: July 24, 2018 There is growing concern that the majority of modern research may be comprised of false...
Professor David Nutt
Jul 18, 20181 min read
A tale of two moralities: Politicians, doctors, use of addictive substances and lobbying
Alcohol use during the day is common amongst British MPs and Parliamentary staff even when Parliament is in session. MPs are frequently...
Drug Science
Jun 5, 20183 min read
Harm Reduction in Public Policy - the UK and the US – A DrugScience evening reception at the House of Lords
Wednesday 30 May 2018, DrugScience hosted an evening reception at the House of Lords, in partnership with Harm Reduction International....
Professor David Nutt
May 5, 201811 min read
Addiction: from basic neuroscience to clinical treatments
This blog piece is a book chapter written by David Nutt from a book on addiction, targeted at Sixth Form and secondary school students...
Drug Science
Apr 13, 20182 min read
Pharmacies as potential providers of harm reduction services: A preliminary online survey
Background Recreational drug use is a major cause of disease, injury, physical and mental impairment and death in developed countries...
Drug Science
Apr 11, 20181 min read
The early use of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) in psychotherapy (1977–1985)
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as ecstasy, was first synthesized in 1912 but first reached widespread popularity as...
Drug Science
Apr 5, 20183 min read
New analysis of alcohol and cannabis – what’s the harm?
This blog discusss DrugScience’s latest multi-criterion decision analysis of cannabis and alcohol regulation. Read the open access paper...
Drug Science
Apr 3, 20182 min read
Substance misuse-related poisoning deaths, England and Wales, 1993–2016
Context In recent years there has been an increase in the availability of ‘novel psychoactive substances (NPS)’ or ‘legal highs’. In...
Dr Anne Schlag, Professor David Nutt and more
Feb 11, 20182 min read
A multi-criterion decision analysis applied to alcohol and cannabis regulation
Authors: Ole Rogeberg, Daniel Bergsvik, Lawrence D. Phillips, Jan van Amsterdam, Niamh Eastwood, Graeme Henderson, Micheal Lynskey, Fiona...
Drug Science
Nov 17, 20172 min read
An effective hangover treatment: Friend or foe?
Background The purpose of this study was to examine whether drinkers would change their alcohol consumption behavior if an effective...
Anne-Marie Cockburn
Nov 5, 20175 min read
My dead daughter's shoes
This blog piece was originally a speech delivered by Anne-Marie Cockburn at the Nordic Reform Conference 2017 Hello, I am Martha’s mum. I...
Oli Stevens
Oct 5, 20175 min read
No laughing matter: how the anti-nitrous oxide campaign is a waste of time and money
Nitrous oxide has returned to our headlines – last month two possession with intent to supply Crown Court cases collapsed and this week...
Drug Science
Aug 5, 20173 min read
A fentanyl future?
Today’s report of over 60 deaths last year in which fentanyl was implicated raises major alarm bells in the opioid treatment community....
Drug Science
Jul 26, 20171 min read
Psychedelic drug use in healthy individuals: A review of benefits, costs, and implications for drug policy
The potential of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of mental health problems is increasingly being recognized. However, relatively little t
Drug Science
May 29, 20171 min read
Specific harm reduction strategies employed by MDMA/ecstasy users in the United States and the United Kingdom
Both recreational and problematic 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)/ecstasy users could benefit from employing harm reduction...
Drug Science
May 4, 20171 min read
WHO and UNDP change in leadership: What views on drug policy and harm reduction?
The UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs held in April 2016 has been organized by the international drug control entities, but...
Drug Science
Feb 5, 20178 min read
Recreational MDMA testing - a European perspective
As the United States experiences an overwhelming opioid crisis; as the world’s press is flooded with extra-judicial killings targeting...
Drug Science
Jan 24, 20174 min read
THCv - an abject cop-out from the ACMD, another research opportunity for the UK lost
The cannabis plant produces over 100 compounds with therapeutic potential. Most of these have never been properly studied because of the...
Drug Science
Jan 10, 20174 min read
How the law against synthetic cannabinoids might destroy pharmaceutical discovery in the UK
On December 14th the government put into effect new controls against a whole range of synthetic cannabinoids. This was their third round...
Drug Science
Jan 1, 20171 min read
The 15th anniversary of the Portuguese drug policy: Its history, its success and its future
Fifteen years ago when Portugal decriminalized the consumption of all narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances it was both a bold and a...
Drug Science
Jan 1, 20171 min read
Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting
Set and setting is a term which refers to the psychological, social, and cultural parameters which shape the response to psychedelic...
Drug Science
Dec 10, 20164 min read
Psilocybin for anxiety and depression in cancer care? Lessons from the past and prospects for the future
This special issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology contains two landmark studies – the most rigorous controlled trials to date using...
Drug Science
Dec 10, 20166 min read
‘Scotch mist’: the ongoing saga of Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing
‘Scotch mist’ may be taken to refer to a whisky-based beverage (Scotch whisky, crushed ice and lemon peel). More traditionally, the term...
bottom of page