Drugs Uncut

In this episode Kirsten and Jason are joined by Peter Kelly, CEO of the Poverty Alliance , to explore poverty and inequality in Scotland, and the relationship between poverty, public health and drug use. They discuss the work of the Poverty Alliance, the role of living and lived experience in shaping policy, and the wider social and economic factors driving exclusion, stigma and poor health outcom...

In this episode, Kirsten and Jason are joined by Carolyn Lochhead, CEO of Alcohol Focus Scotland . They explore the charity’s ambitions under Carolyn’s leadership, the complexities of Scotland’s relationship with alcohol and the ongoing debate around how alcohol is regulated and perceived in public life.  The conversation also tackles some of the biggest policy questions facing Scotland today, inc...

In this episode of Drugs Uncut, Kirsten and Jason are joined by Director of Scotland at WithYou , Louise Stewart, to explore the priorities each charity has set for the next government ahead of the upcoming election.  Through a “manifesto exchange”, they discuss the key issues facing Scotland’s drug and alcohol sector, highlight areas of shared focus and reflect on how organisations are working to...

For the latest episode of Drugs Uncut, Kirsten and Jason were joined by our former CEO and Founder of Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), Dave Liddell, who shared insights from our organisation's beginnings and reflected on his time our charity.

Following on from the recent 'Evaluation of Exploring Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine Provision Across Scotland', Louise Horn (Peer Research Development Officer, SDF) and Jacqui (Peer Researcher, SDF) join Kirsten Horsburgh, CEO of Scottish Drugs Forum, and Jason Wallace, Programme Manager for Lived and Living Experience, to discuss the research behind the report. They explore the peer resear...

In the latest episode, Kirsten Horsburgh, CEO of SDF, and Jason Wallace, Lived and Living Experience Programme Manager at SDF, sit down with Nikki and John from the Buzz Magazine Peer Editorial Board for a behind-the-scenes look at how the magazine is made. They talk about the progress Buzz has achieved so far, what being part of the editorial board means to them, and how they develop the stories...

In this episode, SDF CEO Kirsten Horsburgh is joined by her new co-host Jason Wallace, Programme Manager for Lived and Living Experience at SDF, alongside Hannah Westwater, Editor & Content Creator and Billy McKay, Peer Community Engagement Officer for Buzz . They discuss the launch of ‘Buzz’ - a bold, peer-led magazine created, developed and led by an Editorial Board, all of whom are people w...

After nearly two decades at Scottish Drugs Forum, Austin Smith, our Head of Policy, Practice and Communications, has retired - leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of influence, leadership and change. To mark this significant milestone, Austin joined our CEO for a special episode of SDF’s Drugs Uncut podcast to reflect on his time in post - from how the landscape has changed, to what still needs...

What is happening in Glasgow will be crucial in the development of harm reduction services across the UK in the next decade. Dr Saket Priyadarshi, clinical lead of Glasgow's treatment services and Gillian Ferguson co-ordinator of Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Partnership - the local commissioning and co-ordinating body - discuss the background to delivering the UK's first drug consumption room - the is...

Sheila Vakharia of the Drug Policy Alliance , author of The Harm Reduction Gap, discusses the development and aims of harm reduction, and hope as a practice.

In this episode of Drugs Uncut, SDF’s Wez Steele is joined by Mat Southwell, Project Co-ordinator at EuroNPUD . Mat and Wez discuss the key role peers have in the development of policy and practice as well as the effective delivery of services. They also discuss the uniquely British division between harm reduction advocacy and recovery when the community’s diverse experiences and perspectives are...

In this episode Julie and Austin are joined by Adrienne Hannah as she reflects on her career as she retires from SDF. Over 11.5 years with SDF,  Adrienne's work has focused on educating drug services about sexual health and educating sexual health services about drug use. Alongside highlighting this work she shares her insight into current issues related to the HIV outbreak, children and young peo...

Arild Knutsen is Leader of The Association for Humane Drug Policy in Norway. Arild recently visited Scotland and presented on the role of people who use drugs in helping develop drug policy in Norway at SDF’s International Overdose Day conference. In this episode, Arild joins SDF colleagues, Jason Wallace, Louise Aitken, and Wez Steele to talk about the representation of living and lived experienc...

Arild Knutsen is Leader of The Association for Humane Drug Policy , a drug user organisation in Norway. Arild recently visited Scotland and presented at SDF’s International Overdose Day conference. In this episode, Arild joins SDF colleagues, Jason Wallace, Louise Aitken, and Wez Steele to talk about the influence of living experience; the importance of living experience representation in the medi...

Ryan Marino, MD works in emergency room medicine in Ohio where he encounters the people victimised by America’s opioid overdose crisis. Meanwhile, he fights the myths and ignorance that hinder efforts to address that crisis and specifically synthetic opioids like fentanyl via his social media activity for which he has an audience of 100 000 followers.  Drugs Uncut asked Ryan to share his experienc...

Drugs Uncut is back! In this episode we are joined by Scottish Drugs Forum’s Louise Aitken and Chris Messenger and discuss employment and training and the Addiction Worker Training Project. The project has recently seen changes and has received its first funding from The Scottish Government in response to the recommendations of The Drug Deaths Task Force which will double its capacity.

In this episode we are joined by Police Scotland 's Assistant Chief Constable for Partnership, Prevention and Community Wellbeing, Gary Ritchie to discuss Police Scotland's pilot test of change project which sees officers carrying intranasal naloxone.   ACC Gary Ritchie helped lead the organisation to participate in Scotland's National Naloxone Programme and in this episode he recounts some of the...

Dr Roy Robertson has worked as a GP in Edinburgh since 1980, where he was at the forefront of identifying and taking steps to address the emerging dual public health crises of HIV and injecting heroin use. He is also Professor of Addiction Medicine in the University of Edinburgh Usher Institute. Throughout his career, Roy has consistently had to challenge the status quo to support the vulnerable p...

Dr Andrew McAuley is currently Senior Epidemiologist within the Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmitted Infections team at NHS Public Health Scotland where he has a lead role for projects involving people who inject drugs. In this episode, Andrew talks to us about his research relating to HIV, naloxone, the Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative (NESI) and more, including why Glasgow has the m...

As a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, street homelessness in Scotland was almost eradicated overnight through the use of hotels to accommodate people who have been rough sleeping.   In this episode, we are joined by Hugh Hill, Director of Services and Development at The Simon Community Scotland - who have been instrumental in providing support to those temporary accommodated - to discuss the lockd...

Mental Health Awareness Week is held every year in May to highlight issues relating to mental health and wellbeing - things that are particularly pertinent during the current COVID-19 lockdown. This year, the theme is kindness. Being kind to others can go a long way, but being kind to yourself is just as important. In this bonus podcast episode, we are joined by Katy MacLeod, SDF's National Traini...

The COVID-19 lockdown has led to harm reduction services having to adapt to find ways of maintaining provision and support to people who rely on them. In this episode, the second looking at responses to the outbreak, we are joined by Sophie Given, Scottish Drugs Forum's Officer for Harm Reduction and Emergency Responses, to find out how the lockdown is impacting on people's access to harm reductio...

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought much of the world to a halt, but people continue to need vital support with their substance use. In this episode, the first of a series looking at responses to the outbreak, we are joined by Scottish Drugs Forum's CEO, David Liddell, to discuss how COVID-19 is affecting both people who use drugs and treatment and harm reduction services in Scotland; and the guidan...

There is an expectation that services and planners include people in decisions that directly affect their lives. So why does this rarely happen when decisions are being made that affect people who are experiencing drug problems? This is now one of the most pressing questions facing the drugs field in Scotland and beyond. In this episode Jason Wallace, SDF's Senior Development Officer for Volunteer...

The new 'Enhanced Drug Treatment Service' in Glasgow has opened it's doors and offers Heroin-Assisted Treatment (HAT) - the prescribing and distribution of injectable diamorphine - as one of it's main provisions. In this episode, we talk about the merits of the new service and hear from two key individuals in the delivery of HAT in England and Scotland. We speak to Danny Ahmed of Foundations Teesi...