“People using drugs are expecting stigma and shame. You have to be extremely careful not to slip up and make them feel uncomfortable.” “You’re interviewing people who should be in prison, you should denounce them to the authorities.” “Not all people using drugs are vulnerable, this assumption is so stigmatising!” “Sharing a story anonymously [...]
This blog makes the case for the legalisation and regulation of drugs by explaining how it can protect young and vulnerable people in our communities. This piece is an edited extract of Transform’s Debating Drugs guide. Rather than protecting young and vulnerable people, the so-called ‘drug war’ (prohibition) has placed them at ever-greater risk of: the [...]
This blog was written by Anyone's Child coordinator, Mary. August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, a time to remember those who have died by drug overdose and raise awareness about overdose prevention and drug policy. This year, the IOAD 2023 theme is Recognizing those people who go unseen. It is a call to [...]
This blog is written by Anyone’s Child member Hope Humphreys. A truth, universally acknowledged, is that laws are there to keep us safer. But is it true? What about UK Drug Laws? The Government doesn’t approve of drugs. People must not use them, end of, and there are strict, punitive, policies to stop us. [...]
Just recently the Scottish Government announced proposals to decriminalise the personal possession of drugs and explore a roadmap to legal regulation. Their proposals show a commitment to treating drugs as a matter of health, rather than a criminal issue. If Westminster were to allow Scotland to move forward with these proposals, we could see a [...]
In a powerful demonstration of unity, I had the privilege to meet activists, politicians, and journalists at Parliament Square on the 27th of June to discuss UK drug policy reform. The event was the seventh mass lobby organised by Anyone's Child - a network of families with lives devastated by the harms of prohibition. Thousands [...]
Anyone’s Child Lobby of Parliament 2023, held on the 27th of June, was an annual event that advocates for a paradigm shift in current drug legislation. The people attending a new government approach that focuses on safety and harm reduction rather than criminalisation posed by the judicial system that is currently mostly used. The [...]
This blog is adapted from a speech given at the ‘Women in Law Enforcement’ civil society side event organised by Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), at the 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Debbie is a member of LEAP a group of Police, undercover operatives, intelligence service, military and a [...]
This blog is adapted from a speech given at the ‘Women in Law Enforcement’ civil society side event organised by Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), at the 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Julia is a new member of LEAP a group of Police, undercover operatives, intelligence service, military and [...]
Anne-Marie's journey, a mother who lost her daughter to an ecstasy overdose Photos: Nigel Brunsdon. Originally published in the magazine Cáñamo. This blog was originally written by Núria Calzada and published in the magazine Cáñamo. The original can be read - in Spanish - here. We spoke to Anne-Marie Cockburn just days [...]
