People are dying from using a toxic drug supply. Safer supply and other approaches that listen to the needs of people who use drugs are critical to saving lives and addressing the opioid crisis.
The words we choose to talk to and talk about individuals who use substances are critical, as they contribute to how drug policy, substance use treatment and societal understanding are framed.
A new study among gay and bisexual men living with HIV found those who were occasional or regular users of party drugs reported significantly better social outcomes than non-users.
Just seven countries worldwide regularly execute people for drug crimes, most of them authoritarian regimes. Nothing suggests that this brutal policy actually curbs drug use.
Bogota’s mayor wants to make the city ‘better for all,’ but repeated police crackdowns have displaced thousands of homeless Colombians. Are clean streets really more important than human rights?
The proportion of population who use legal and illegal drugs has remained stable or trended down. Fewer young people are using, but the proportion of older people using drugs and alcohol has grown.
A South African Olympic silver medallist achieved something remarkable, especially after testing positive for methamphetamine use in 2012. But care needs to be taken in how this narrative is framed.
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town