Innovative Solutions Are Needed To Tackle The American Opioid Crisis
My time with Anthony Johsnon on the streets of the Bronx taught me that we can, and must, do better.
Police Posting Post-Drugs Raids Selfies, Are You Proud of Yourselves?
Drug busts make for great self-congratulatory social media posts for forces who need to be seen as tough on crime, but aggressive policing tactics come at a human cost...
Volteface News
New Initiative Aims To Improve The Medical Cannabis Industry By Putting Patients First
Volteface is today launching a new initiative that aims to improve the medical cannabis industry by giving patients a voice, and the chance to shape their future care. Partnering with Maple Tree Consultants, we have launched Patients First, a scheme which will pay medical cannabis patients for participating in professionally facilitated focus groups. Patients … Continued
New Head of Public Affairs Joins The Team
We are delighted to announce that Jay Jackson has joined Volteface as Head of Public Affairs. He will be leading on political engagement, bringing his intimate understanding of politics to the role, as well as contributing written content and ensuring that Volteface continues to be a hub of unique and engaging ideas and political strategy. … Continued
The New Leaf: Beyond Brexit, Countering Covid
The New Leaf Opportunities campaign has highlighted the economic benefits, innovations and investment opportunities that medical cannabis and CBD can bring to the UK. It has also focused on how celebrating this will lead to a more vibrant cannabis sector. This report has honed in on the opportunities that medical cannabis and CBD bring … Continued
Patient Access
Are ‘Pseudodelics’ The Future For Mental Health?
Psychedelics, substances that produce non-ordinary states of consciousness, are currently being heralded as the therapeutic saviours for our long-standing mental health crisis, with preliminary studies showing promising results for psilocybin, MDMA and Ketamine-assisted therapy for depression, PTSD and addiction. However, whatever way you dress it up, the psychedelic trip and all it entails (insert … Continued
On the Road: The complex path to travelling as a medical cannabis patient.
“It’s putting patients into vulnerable situations through no fault of their own.” I became a medical cannabis patient for my attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) during lockdown. During the pandemic, I was separated from my family in Ireland and unable to travel. So, I hadn’t realised how difficult this … Continued
New research finds ‘encouraging’ one-year psilocybin-assisted therapy response rates for patients with major depression
Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, can be effective in treating major depression for up to one year, a new study shows. As scientists try to find a cure for depression, which affects over 280 million people globally, psilocybin is at the center of a resurgence in medical research on psychedelic drugs, with … Continued
Long Reads
Cannabis Dependence and Mental Health: A Light in The Dark
I started smoking cannabis properly for the first time at university. Though I still count the two tokes I took from a boy a couple years older than me in exchange for some kissing, and the 20 bags we used to split between ten of us in our most rebellious friend’s garage, my real … Continued
The Survivor-Led Organisations Fighting Back Against The War on Drugs
In 2021, recorded drug deaths in America tragically surpassed 100,000. That’s more than every American soldier killed in action since World War II – including in Vietnam, Korea, both Iraq wars and Afghanistan – put together. According to the CDC, there were 100,306 fatal overdoses, three quarters of which were from opiates, 64% from fentanyls. As experts … Continued
Rethinking Heroin
I am an opioid user, or a former one anyhow. Contrary to the cliche, I’m not addicted. I never felt trapped or enslaved by my drug use. I never did anything I regretted to get high. I never shared needles – the sole time I shared a cooker due to interpersonal pressure, I promptly … Continued
General Advocacy
Inner City Growth: Exploring the Benefits of Hemp as a Construction Material
With the ongoing climate crisis, there has never been a more urgent need to question our relationship to material production; currently the construction industry contributes to 40 percent of global carbon emissions. This figure is related not only to the operating energy of the building, the heating and maintenance, but also the materials used … Continued
Drugs Policing Propaganda’s False Impressions of Success
Greater Manchester Police have again showcased their drug arrests on social media. It’s only one example of day to day media activity from British police, but it is notable how professional it looks. It really concerns me that police in the U.K. are getting so slick at social media. You could argue that they’re … Continued
Recovery for All: How Can Drug Treatment and Recovery Services Better Support BAME People?
Earlier this month, Volteface Director Paul and Research Officer Nicole hopped on a train to Nottingham to visit BAC-IN, a grass roots, peer-led addiction recovery service for BAME people. During our visit, we spoke to Co-founder/Managing Director Sohan Sahota and Senior Recovery Worker David Thomas to get a sense of what BAC-IN do, and … Continued
Cannabis Content
Cannabis Patients Aren’t Addicts – It’s Time To Change The Narrative
If you cast your eyes back to articles published recently on the Volteface website, you’ll find one entitled ‘We need to talk about cannabis dependency’. The author is completely right of course – we do need to talk about it. Cannabis dependency and the potential to abuse cannabis is a very real problem for … Continued
High Pride: Cannabis Must Be Inclusive
“I don’t think there is proportional representation as far as the industry goes. When I go to conferences, I tend to be the only gay in the village.” As a queer journalist who has spent the last few years in the cannabis space, I have often written about the importance of LGBT+ inclusion in the … Continued
We Need To Talk About Cannabis Dependency
Between the narrative that nothing natural could ever do us any real harm, and scaremongering ideas that – even if it doesn’t act as a gateway to the use of stronger substances – smoking cannabis will turn you into a lazy, paranoid and ultimately useless member of society, the space for nuanced interpretations is … Continued