Opioids

Articles on opioids like opium, heroin, morphine and fentanyl, methadone, buprenorphine and others.

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Opioids

Opioids Personal Stories

“What the Hell Did I Take?”: How I Almost Overdosed on Nitazenes

Kevin

Nov 7, 2025

This is an account of someone who used heroin in the North of England. While the substance wasn’t tested, it’s…

Drug Harm Reduction Opioids

Georgia’s Push for Forced Drug Treatment is Misguided

Giorgi Minasovi

Oct 22, 2025

The Georgian government has recently proposed forced treatment as an “alternative” for people who were previously engaged in private opioid…

Drug Harm Reduction Opioids

Scottish Drug Deaths Conference: Uniting Voices And Platforming Power

Chloé Bate

Sep 30, 2025

For International Overdose Awareness Day, Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) held a conference in Scotland, uniting over 300 attendees – including…

Opioids Other Drugs

7-OH Ban: Criminalising Kratom Alkaloid May Mean More Prohibition

Skye Hawthorne

Sep 4, 2025

Kratom, the psychoactive leaf that has been used for pain relief, mood elevation, and as a stimulant for hundreds of…

Drug Policy Opioids

The Overdose Crisis Is a Drug Policy Crisis

Julian Buchanan

Sep 3, 2025

On Sunday 31st August the global drug community marked International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). Globally, the day is an opportunity…

Drug Trafficking Opioids

Will China’s Nitazenes Ban Work?

André Gomes

Aug 29, 2025

This is the second part in a two-part series on China’s new generic ban on the chemical class of nitazene…

Drug Trafficking Opioids Other Drugs

“Playing Whack-a-Mole”: A History of China’s Drug Bans

André Gomes

Aug 13, 2025

This article series is a deep-dive into the Chinese nitazenes ban that has just taken effect at the beginning of…

Drug Trafficking Opioids

The Opium Balloon: Taliban Crackdown Moves Opium Market to Pakistan

Nikhil Dawood

Jul 24, 2025

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have sought to completely eradicate the opium market by banning poppy cultivation…

Drug Trafficking Opioids

Ethylbromazolam – The New Global Benzodiazepine

Tori Rudkowsky

Jul 16, 2025

On 17 January, the Welsh drug testing service WEDINOS received a sample of what was purchased off the illegal market…

Drug Harm Reduction Drug Trafficking Opioids

Nitazenes in the Baltics Are a Warning for Europe

André Gomes

Jul 14, 2025

Since 2017, the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have acted as the canaries in the mine for Europe’s…

Drugs & Development Opioids

Exploring Iran’s History of Drug Use and Prohibition

Niko Vorobyov

Jul 8, 2025

As the sun set over an ancient riverside town in Iran, I was sat down with Sam (not his real…

Drug Trafficking Opioids

Europe Remains Safe Despite Growing Afghan Heroin Adulteration

Ray Tomlinson

Jun 9, 2025

Three years after Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, announced his religious edict banning poppy cultivation, Afghan…