To kick off the first week of 2022 we are spotlighting the work of women in the medical cannabis sector. In this Volteface interview Carly Barton, Director of Cancard and patient advocate, has spoken about her journey into the medical cannabis sector as a patient, and the value of having lived experience and patient voices … Continued
Following much media speculation last weekend, the government has published its highly anticipated 10-year drug strategy. This comes at a time when questions are being asked about the government’s own use of illicit drugs, with cocaine recently discovered in a toilet near Boris Johnson’s Parliamentary office. The Government are using the launch to send a … Continued
What is decriminalisation? Decriminalisation theoretically refers to the removal of a criminal sanction from an act. What does it mean if a drug is decriminalised? When we refer to decriminalisation in drug policy, it is typically a model where possession and consumption of specified substances are no longer considered, or responded to, as a crime. In … Continued
In a recent Sunday Times Magazine article Megan Agnew sheds light on the issue of cannabis and psychosis. The article features some compelling personal stories from people who have struggled with cannabis use, and subsequently developed psychosis. As stated in the article, cannabis is the most commonly used drug in the UK. While cannabis use … Continued
Data from a YouGov report on the perceived harm of drugs and strategies for their control was released today, offering compelling insights into Britons’ attitudes towards the impact of drug use and success of current policies. The statistics highlight the extent to which the government’s rhetoric and policies are out of touch with the public’s … Continued
Leading medical cannabis provider Grow Group Plc has been raising on the crowdfunding platform Seedrs throughout August. So far they’ve had over 500 new investors invest in their company. Grow created the campaign to seek investment from ‘socially conscious shareholders’ in order to expand operations and hire new staff, attempting to expand the 1,200 medical … Continued
Drug policy is a complex sphere to navigate for a whole host of reasons. The most important and difficult being that drug use is perceived to be a moral issue. It is obvious that policies based on morals rather than science are inherently problematic as biases and emotional reasoning cloud our ability to think … Continued
With the substantive failings of the drug war, conversations about obviously existing drug use have gained tentative traction in recent years. And yet, female drug use remains a relative unknown. Patriarchy is deeply woven into drug policy, advocacy, treatment, research and reform. Consigned to corners of Twitter and the footnote of studies on male … Continued
With the ‘controlled cannabis supply chain experiment’ the Netherlands seems to be moving slightly towards legalisation. The experiment, starting in 2021, has been a widely discussed topic in the Dutch cannabis world. Joachim Helms, cannabis-entrepreneur and co-owner of coffeeshop Green House in Amsterdam has high hopes for the experiment. “I feel like the experiment … Continued