Drugs Special Interest Group

The Drugs SIG unites public health specialists and academics in collaboration with cross-agency partners to advocate for drug policies, practice, and service delivery that will advance public health and human rights.

The Drugs Special Interest Group is chaired by Adam Holland and Jason Horsley and reports to the FPH Health Services Committee. To join, please email a completed application form to adam.holland@bristol.ac.uk.

Drugs SIG projects

  • Commentary in the International Journal of Drug Policy exploring the ethical dimensions of coercive drug policies
  • Evaluation of the UK Drugs Strategy published in the Journal of Public Health, written in collaboration with the Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public Health
  • Response to the Government White Paper on escalating sanctions for the possession of drugs – Swift, Certain, Tough – on behalf of the Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public Health
  • FPH Policy Brief on drugs, presented at political party conferences
  • Cross-agency letter advocating for amendments to Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to make it easier to pilot overdose prevention centres in the UK, co-organised with Drug Science, as featured in the BMJ
  • Submission of evidence to the 2022 Home Affairs Committee on Drugs on behalf of the Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public Health.
  • Commentary in the Lancet Public Health exploring the arguments posed against the provision of overdose prevention centres in the UK.
  • Cross-agency letter advocating for overdose prevention centre pilots in the UK, as featured in the Guardian and the BMJ.
  • Taking a New Line on Drugs – report from the Royal Society for Public Health and the Faculty of Public Health.

Other relevant publications and resources

  • Commentary on the Swift Certain Tough White Paper published in the Pharmaceutical Journal co-written with pharmacy colleagues
  • Cross-agency letter organised by Transform Drug Policy and Release, highlighting issues with the Swift Certain Tough White Paper, which was supported by FPH.
  • Proof-of-concept evaluation of the United Kingdom’s first unsanctioned overdose prevention site.
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