By Alice Rose Reid Introduction: A History of Drug Use and Prohibition Drug taking has been a prominent and permanent feature of human experience as far back in history as is recorded. From prehistoric use of psychoactive plants to ritual, medicinal, and recreational use in ancient civilisations, a constant in human societies is that [...]
By Katie Gibbs On the 23rd June in 34-degree heat, a committed group of activists, charity workers, and bereaved families attended the 11th annual lobby of Parliament to demand drug policy reform that is rooted in evidence and fairness. 11 years ago, Anyone's Child handed a letter to the then-Prime Minister, David Cameron, promising to [...]
By Matt Hanson On a sunny Yorkshire afternoon, I made the short trip from Leeds to Doncaster for the Take Ketamine Seriously event at Doncaster's Little Theatre, organised as a joint event by Project 6, Transform Drug Policy Foundation and Anyone's Child: Families For Safer Drug Control. Having come into contact with ketamine in my [...]
Alison Bedford-Russell lost her son George to an accidental overdose in 2016. A decade later, as part of our Take: Drugs Seriously events that we run around the country, she hosted Bromsgrove: Take Drugs Seriously, bringing the local community together, families, health professionals, service providers, and the local Conservative MP, Bradley Thomas to address [...]
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 for [...]
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 Greens’ [...]
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 civic [...]
This summer marks a decade since we launched Anyone’s Child: Families for Safer Drug Control. What began as a small group of bereaved families—united by the devastating loss of loved ones to preventable drug-related deaths—has grown into a powerful network of families calling for the urgent reform of the UK’s drug laws. Our journey started [...]
Photograph of Ellie Rowe Good news for the ketamine dealers This blog was written by Wendy Teasdill. My heart goes out to the family of James Lee Williams, perhaps better known as The Vivienne, winner of the first series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. The Vivienne had long struggled with drug dependency [...]
