My understanding, like many people’s, of overdose prevention centres (OPCs) or drug consumption rooms (DCRs) was completely theoretical, limited to things I had read about and seen online. An OPC/DCR is a healthcare facility where people can consume drugs while supervised, rather than on the streets or in risky and unhygienic conditions. It allows [...]
Families who have lost loved ones do not want more political theatre. We want fewer funerals. Over the past few weeks, the Labour Party and the Prime Minister have repeatedly attacked the Green Party over its call to legally control and regulate the drug market. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer described the [...]
I was on a Teams call at work when Sandra’s name came up on my phone. There was nothing particularly unusual about that. Sandra was my brother’s key worker from Haringey council, so it would usually be something to do with the stuff of his life – a court appearance, an unpaid [...]
Experts and Families Call for Legal Control and Regulation in Leicester Hansom Hall, a Grade II listed landmark built in 1845 and known as the circular "Pork Pie Chapel," is named after its architect, Joseph Hansom. Hansom was a figure of great contrasts: famed for inventing the ubiquitous horse-drawn cab and designing monumental [...]
Once again I read the heart-breaking news of drug deaths in England and Wales rising to record levels. Behind each figure in these latest statistics was a real person, a person who once had hopes and dreams - as did my son. We need the government to be bolder and prioritize the safety of [...]
At Anyone’s Child, we work to engage politicians from across the political spectrum, encouraging cooperation in our pursuit of more humane, effective, and evidence-led drug policy. No matter what party we support, we can all agree that we want to get drugs under control and protect young people. This goal has never been more [...]
In January 2025, Scotland opened the doors of The Thistle, the UK’s first sanctioned safer drug consumption facility. Last week, the Transform and Anyone’s Child team had the privilege of visiting the site in Glasgow. For many of the Anyone’s Child families the opening of the Thistle has been deeply significant. [...]
By Dr Órfhlaith Campbell, Drug Policy Reform Activist "Your children, they told our parents, will be safe now. With the peace deal, the days of young people disappearing and dying young would be gone. Yet this turned out to be a lie, too.” These are the closing words of Lyra McKee’s last article she [...]
Let’s stop judging and start listening. By Hilary Mills How can it be possible that seven years have passed since my son Ben died from a heroin overdose? Some days, it seems like it was yesterday; the pain in my heart feels so sharp, my stomach feels like it’s been [...]
Written by Liv Hamilton and photographs by Nigel Brunsdon On 24th June 2025, as part of the Support Don’t Punish Global Day of Action, a group of activists, policymakers and bereaved families came together in Westminster to demand better drug laws which centre health and human rights. For me, the day was an insight [...]
