TalkingDrugs | Drug Information, Issues, Stories & News

Revealed: The Issues with Spain’s Drug Quantity Thresholds

Drug consumption and possession exclusively for personal use have never been criminal offences in Spain. Unlike Portugal, Spain therefore had no comparable decriminalisation reform marking a before and after. This…

Pablo García Cortina

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Oct 19, 2026

The Swedish flag in the wind against a building.

Drug Policy

Sweden Launches New Drug User Union

Sweden has a long tradition of treating drug use primarily as a criminal and social problem. Since drug criminalisation was first codified in 1988, the country has pushed forwards a…

Robert Sandero

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Oct 14, 2026

Bangladesh Sets Death Penalty for Online Drug Crimes

On 16 August 2026, an officer from Bangladesh’s Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) posed as a customer and ordered three bottles of “CBD oil” from Daraz, the country’s largest online…

Ryan Hesketh

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Oct 7, 2026

Latest Stories

The Supreme Court of Appeal with reflection in the pond in free state Bloemfontein South Africa

Cannabis Drug Policy

No Progress After 2 Years of South African Cannabis Act

Charl Botha

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Oct 6, 2026

South Africa is often described as one of the African countries that decriminalised cannabis, but that description becomes less straightforward…

Drug Harm Reduction Personal Stories

Charges Dropped Against The Drug User Liberation Front

Patrick McConnell

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Sep 30, 2026

British Columbia’s Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray’s decision to throw out the charges against Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx, the…

A cigarette dipped in PCP along with other paraphernalia.

Personal Stories Psychedelics

Angel Dust Memories: True Tales of PCP in North America

Sam Iravani

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Sep 29, 2026

The dissociative drug PCP, better known as angel dust, has fascinated me for years. It wasn’t always that way. Initially,…

Table with several board members lined up behind it at the latest FDA hearing.

Drug Policy Psychedelics

FDA Hearing on Psychedelics: Concerns, But Overwhelmingly Positive

Patrick McConnell

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Sep 28, 2026

Last week, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public hearing on the potential future use of psychedelics.…

Language matters.

The words we use to describe drugs and the people that take them has a real and deep impact. From stigmatising labels, to being accused of murdering someone,

This month, we’re bringing together our stories that focus on on how language can shape our lives and futures.

View All Posts

Drug Harm Reduction

How Drug Checking Services Around the World Navigate Prohibition

Anoushka Singh

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Aug 19, 2026

Amidst an ever turbulent political environment in North America that has all but written off harm reduction and drug checking…

A woman standing in front of a kaleidoscope pattern.

Drugs & Gender Psychedelics

The Representation Crisis: The Problem in the Medicalised Psychedelics Model

Noor Vissram

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Jul 29, 2026

This is Part 2 in a two-part series about the lack of representation in psychedelic research. Part 1 explores the…

Drugs & Gender Psychedelics

The Representation Crisis: Who is the Psychedelic Revolution Really For?

Noor Vissram

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Jul 29, 2026

This is Part 1 in a two-part series about the lack of representation in psychedelic research. This first part explores…

The entrance of a prison through barred gates.

Drug Harm Reduction

Beyond the Prison Gate: Why Harm Reduction Belongs in Prison

Matilde De Sousa Cristóvão

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Jul 9, 2026

Drug use does not stop at the prison gate. In fact, around 4 in 10 people entering prison have a…

The Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs by Kojo Koram book cover.

Drug Policy

Book Review: “The Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs” by Kojo Koram

Carrie Lou Hamilton

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Jun 22, 2026

As a legal intern in 2012, Kojo Koram was sent to visit clients in Angola – not the country, but…

Resources

Drug Policy

The Decriminalisation Playbook: New UNAIDS Report Lays Out Pathway for HIV Response

André Gomes

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Mar 16, 2026

For decades, the global “war on drugs” has been sold as what’s best for public health: by harshly criminalising drug…

Drug Harm Reduction Opioids

Orphines: A Rising Group of Synthetic Opioids

Emily Andrews

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Jan 27, 2026

For the past decade, the world has seen an unprecedented explosion in synthetic drug production and distribution, particularly of synthetic…

White pills in the middle of roasted coffee beans.

Drug Harm Reduction Stimulants

Could Stimulant Replacement Therapy Reduce Cocaine and Stimulant Harms?

Tom Fresen

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Nov 18, 2025

Stimulant deaths around the world are on the rise. In the UK, the number of deaths involving cocaine is 11…

Drug Policy Drugs & Development

UNDP Report Calls for Drug Market Reforms to Achieve Global Development Goals

André Gomes

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Sep 19, 2025

The latest report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is challenging governments to rethink their approach to drug…

Drug Harm Reduction Other Drugs

Alpha-PVP: What Is It, and Key Harm Reduction Tips

Noor Vissram

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Oct 23, 2024

Alpha-PyrrolidinoValeroPhenone (also known as alpha-PVP) is a relatively recent New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) in global circulation. While previously prominent in…

Drugs & Gender Psychedelics

We Need More Research into Ketamine Use By Women and Gender-Diverse People

Isabelle Gius

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Oct 21, 2024

On 20 June, in honour of World Psychedelics Day, the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN) and TalkingDrugs published…

Revealed: The Issues with Spain’s Drug Quantity Thresholds

Sweden Launches New Drug User Union

Bangladesh Sets Death Penalty for Online Drug Crimes

Latest Stories

No Progress After 2 Years of South African Cannabis Act

Charges Dropped Against The Drug User Liberation Front

Angel Dust Memories: True Tales of PCP in North America

FDA Hearing on Psychedelics: Concerns, But Overwhelmingly Positive

Most Popular

Is Ibiza the Disneyland of Drugs?

Global Drug Decriminalisation Map: 29 countries. 49 models of drug decriminalisation

Does Grapefruit Juice Make MDMA Stronger?

Language Matters: Is My Country a “Narco-state”?

Report: Global Drug Trafficking Market Worth Half a Trillion Dollars

Health Risks Associated with Mephedrone Use: What We Know So Far

Futuro Coca: Imagining a New Future for Coca in Colombia

Using MDMA Safely: Less is More

Language matters.

How Drug Checking Services Around the World Navigate Prohibition

The Representation Crisis: The Problem in the Medicalised Psychedelics Model

The Representation Crisis: Who is the Psychedelic Revolution Really For?

Beyond the Prison Gate: Why Harm Reduction Belongs in Prison

Book Review: “The Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs” by Kojo Koram

Resources

The Decriminalisation Playbook: New UNAIDS Report Lays Out Pathway for HIV Response

Orphines: A Rising Group of Synthetic Opioids

Could Stimulant Replacement Therapy Reduce Cocaine and Stimulant Harms?

UNDP Report Calls for Drug Market Reforms to Achieve Global Development Goals

Alpha-PVP: What Is It, and Key Harm Reduction Tips

We Need More Research into Ketamine Use By Women and Gender-Diverse People