GDS Corona Conversations is a series of video interviews with experts around the world on how the current COVID19 pandemic is having an effect on people who use drugs. These experts include drug policy analysts, harm reduction workers, frontline health care professionals and people who use drugs.
Global Drug Survey have produced practical videos of how to deal with various COVID19 related issues, including withdrawals as supply chains are also affected by the pandemic. The aim of GDS Corona Conversations is indeed this; to give a voice to health care workers, people who use drugs, policy makers, academics and harm reduction advocates around the world about how the current Covid19 pandemic is affecting their lives and the work they do.
If you have suggestions for topics and people to interview please email info@globaldrugsurvey.com or visit Global Drug Survey on Youtube to see more GDS Corona Conversations.
In our first episode of GDS Corona Conversations Prof. Adam Winstock speaks with senior policy analyst Steve Rolles from Transform Drug Policy Foundation.
During the conversation Steve talks about drug policy and the changes needed to make in order to help people who use drugs to get through this period. Transform is a UK-based organisation dedicated to reducing the risks associated with drugs, promoting evidence-based policy, and improving the lives of those harmed by ineffective drug laws. You can find out more about Transform via their website; https://transformdrugs.org/about-us/ or follow them on Twitter @TransformDrugs
In this episode Adam speaks with the Executive Director of Release, Niamh Eastwood
In the conversation Niamh talks how the corona virus is forcing drug traffickers to think outside the box as well as that the police need to focus their attention elsewhere. Release is the national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law in the UK. To find out more about Release visit; https://www.release.org.uk/about
In this episode Adam speaks with Alex Stevens who is a Professor in Criminal Justice and Director of Public Engagement at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kent.
During the conversation Prof. Stevens highlights that drug use treatment and delivery were already in crisis in the UK before the COVID-19 pandemic and that there are lessons we need to learn from this period when we have time to look back. Prof. Stevens is the former president of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) which is a society of scholars committed to advancing drug policy research. As an academic researcher he has published extensively about issues of drugs, crime and health and has worked as an adviser to the UK government.
In this episode of GDS Corona Conversations Prof. Adam Winstock has a conversation with Zara Snapp, co-founder of the Instituto RIA based in Mexico.
Zara talks about drugs and COVID19 in Mexico, precursor supply interruption and the impact the current situation has on the most vulnerable population of society. You can follow Zara on Twitter @zarasnapp More info about Instituto RIA here: https://www.institutoria.org
In this episode Adam speaks with Shaun Shelly, TB HIV Care’s Policy, Advocacy and Human Rights Manager for People Who Use Drugs in South Africa.
Shaun also holds a post at the University of Pretoria, Department of Family Medicine, where he and a team are implementing a Community Oriented Primary Care approach to address drug use in the City of Tshwane. He is currently completing an MPhil in Addictions Psychiatry at the University of Cape Town. In addition Shaun is the current Deputy-Secretary of the United Nations Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs. Shaun is dedicated to the understanding of drug use, the rights of people who use drugs, and the development of effective drug policy. He brings academic, programmatic, research and lived experience together into a 360 degree-view of the complex issues that inform our understanding of, and response to, the use of certain drugs, and the people that use them. Shaun is also on the strategic sub-committee for the International Drug Policy Consortium and is on the advisory board for the Harm reduction, Abstinence and Moderation Support network (HAMS) and Families for Sensible Drug Policy. He is the current co-chair of SANPUD and sits on a variety of expert panels locally and internationally. More info on TB HIV Care see; https://tbhivcare.org/
