TalkingDrugs | Drug Information, Issues, Stories & News

It’s Time for Harm Reduction to Focus on New Initiates to Injecting Drug Use

The period right after someone starts injecting drugs is especially risky. People are still learning how to inject, how to make their injections safer, and how to get in touch…

Dan O’Keefe

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Sep 21, 2026

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

Last week, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public hearing on the potential future use of psychedelics. The hearing, which gave two minutes to randomly selected speakers…

Patrick McConnell

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Sep 28, 2026

Drug Policy Opioids

SR-17018 and the DEA’s ‘Scorched-Earth Campaign’ Against Novel Opioids

The US Drug Enforcement Administration is waging what critics describe as a “scorched-earth campaign” against a growing class of obscure opioid compounds, raising questions about the agency’s expanding use of…

Dennis Walker

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Sep 3, 2026

Latest Stories

Psychedelics

Study Finds Psychedelic Decriminalisation Linked to Improved Wellbeing and Reduced Harm

Jack Gorsline

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Sep 21, 2026

A newly published community survey of individuals who use psychedelics suggests that local decriminalisation efforts are overwhelmingly associated with perceived…

Opioids

Who Gets to Survive a Drug Overdose in Lebanon?

Michelle Wazan

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Sep 3, 2026

In Lebanon, the “war on drugs” is well and alive, with punitive drug laws, a security-first approach and the demonization…

An image showing social media apps and content creators.

Drug Harm Reduction

‘Recovery TikTok’: How Can Drug Treatment Services Support Young People?

Olivia Mollett

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Sep 2, 2026

For many young people today, support for people who use drugs often begins not with intervention from a doctor or…

Protesters hold a sign that reads "Harm Reduction Saves Lives" in Canada.

Drug Harm Reduction Drug Policy

The Alberta Recovery Model: The Trojan Horse of Privatised Drug Treatment

Euan Thomson

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Aug 28, 2026

When the United Conservative Party (UCP) government took power in the Western Canadian province of Alberta in 2019, harm reduction…

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.

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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…

It’s Time for Harm Reduction to Focus on New Initiates to Injecting Drug Use

FDA Hearing on Psychedelics: Concerns, But Overwhelmingly Positive

SR-17018 and the DEA’s ‘Scorched-Earth Campaign’ Against Novel Opioids

Latest Stories

Study Finds Psychedelic Decriminalisation Linked to Improved Wellbeing and Reduced Harm

Who Gets to Survive a Drug Overdose in Lebanon?

‘Recovery TikTok’: How Can Drug Treatment Services Support Young People?

The Alberta Recovery Model: The Trojan Horse of Privatised Drug Treatment

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