I strongly believe we need change to our failing public policy on drugs. We need policy that focuses on reducing harm, and that is led by the facts and evidence. The Drug Policy Voices project aims to gather evidence and broaden the debate about drug policy in the UK. I met the team, Rebecca Askew and Melissa Bone, to discuss their work. They have launched the first phase of their research, which is a confidential survey that is available to complete via the following link:

https://mmusociology.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eLNLuXlaWirz1gF

It should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. The purpose of this survey is to include the experiences and opinions of people who have used drugs, plant-based medicines and other psychoactive compounds into the debate about the future of drug policy in the UK.  We believe in giving a voice to a range of people that have personal experiences as they are often most affected by policy but left out of the debate.

To be eligible to take part, you must satisfy ALL of the following criteria:

• Live in the UK or are a UK citizen
• Over the age of 18
• Have taken/used a drug/compound that is covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) or the Psychoactive Substances Act (2016)

You can find out more about the project by visiting www.drugpolicyvoices.co.uk. To stay up to date about the projects’ progress, you can sign up to the mailing list via the website or by emailing drugpolicyvoices@mmu.ac.uk. In the future, we will run a series of workshops so we can debate the issues within the survey in more detail.