TalkingDrugs | Drug Information, Issues, Stories & News

Two police offers stand over an arrested man laying on the floor.

Europe’s Northern Gateway: Inside the Cocaine Trade in Belgium and the Netherlands

By any traditional metric, Belgium and the Netherlands are among the most stable, prosperous, and administratively efficient societies in the world. Yet beneath this façade of order lies a rapidly…

Jonathan Alpeyrie

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Jul 7, 2026

A protester in a Bolivian flag kneels in front of the supreme court in La Paz, Bolivia.

Drug Trafficking

Bolivia Borrows Trump’s ‘Narco-Terrorist’ Label For Protestors

On 8 June, riot police fired tear gas through the streets of La Paz as protesters hurled stones and firecrackers back at them. Miners wielding dynamite clashed with officers outside…

Ryan Hesketh

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Jul 6, 2026

European Union flags in front of the European Parliament.

Drug Policy Psychedelics

The Growing Momentum Behind Europe’s Psychedelic Industry

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. At the risk of sounding dramatic, European psychedelic therapy may have just lived through one of those…

André Gomes

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Jun 30, 2026

Latest Stories

Drug Trafficking

The CIA’s Expanding Drug War in Mexico

Niko Vorobyov

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Jun 26, 2026

On March 28th, a car exploded as it drove along the highway leading from Felipe Ángeles International Airport on the…

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…

Drug Policy

‘Now It’s Our Time’: South African Coalition Launches Decriminalisation Push

Ryan Hesketh

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Jun 20, 2026

A new coalition will launch on 26 June with a simple demand: end the criminalisation of drug use in South…

Drug Harm Reduction

Drug Consumption Room Proposal: Could Edinburgh Follow Glasgow in Saving Lives?

Beccy Rawnsley

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Jun 19, 2026

It’s been 18 months since Scotland took the initiative to open the UK’s first Drug Consumption Room (DCR) in Glasgow,…

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 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…

Drug Trafficking Stimulants

From Golden Crescent to Crystal Crescent: The Making of Balochistan’s New Meth Economy

David McNeill

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Jun 3, 2026

When we think about Afghanistan and drugs, one substance comes to mind: opium. Indeed, the country has essentially had a…

Drugs & Gender

It’s Not the Drugs: Sexual Violence under Prohibition and Patriarchy

Silvie Ojeda

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May 11, 2026

There are forms of violence that are spoken of openly, and there are others that slip through like shadows. There…

An ambulance clinic in Yerevan, Armenia.

Drug Harm Reduction Opioids

“Don’t Let Anyone Know”: OST Stigma in Armenia’s Post-Soviet Healthcare System

Anna Asatryan

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Apr 8, 2026

As an addiction medicine specialist in Armenia, I often meet patients that, lowering their voices, tell me: “Doctor, please don’t…

Drug Harm Reduction

Georgia’s Soviet-Era Healthcare System is Putting Doctors in Prison

Giorgi Minasovi

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Mar 6, 2026

Should a psychiatrist face prison for obeying the law? This was the question raised by the case of an anonymous…

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…

Europe’s Northern Gateway: Inside the Cocaine Trade in Belgium and the Netherlands

Bolivia Borrows Trump’s ‘Narco-Terrorist’ Label For Protestors

The Growing Momentum Behind Europe’s Psychedelic Industry

Latest Stories

The CIA’s Expanding Drug War in Mexico

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

‘Now It’s Our Time’: South African Coalition Launches Decriminalisation Push

Drug Consumption Room Proposal: Could Edinburgh Follow Glasgow in Saving Lives?

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

Tali-Ban: How Europe’s Heroin Markets Will Survive Afghanistan’s Opium

Language matters.

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

From Golden Crescent to Crystal Crescent: The Making of Balochistan’s New Meth Economy

It’s Not the Drugs: Sexual Violence under Prohibition and Patriarchy

“Don’t Let Anyone Know”: OST Stigma in Armenia’s Post-Soviet Healthcare System

Georgia’s Soviet-Era Healthcare System is Putting Doctors in Prison

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