Introducing Spike on a Bike: An interview with the Project Architects.

By Joe Janes, Lecturer in Criminology, Swansea University and GDPO Harm Reduction project lead Saddle up! Today, we’re diving deep into harm reduction and the Spike on a Bike project Saddle up! Today, we’re diving deep into harm reduction and the Spike on a Bike project in Dyfed Powys, where a revolutionary project is flipping…Continue Reading Introducing Spike on a Bike: An interview with the Project Architects.

My Harm Reduction Journey from the University to an NGO

By Temitope Salami I arrived in Swansea University from Nigeria in October 2020, a week after my Masters programme in Applied Criminal Justice and Criminology had commenced. This was a difficult time considering the pandemic had morphed into phase two and there was talk in the media about a possible second nationwide lockdown amid a…Continue Reading My Harm Reduction Journey from the University to an NGO

“The disposable foot soldiers of crime” – Media, County Lines and Moral Panics

By Ellie Harding, MA candidate in Applied Criminal Justice and Criminology, Swansea University ‘We are cutting the head off the snake and taking down the kingpins behind these deadly supply lines…Drug abuse and addiction ruins communities, devastates lives and tears families apart.’ So announced Priti Patel in her speech to the annual Conservative Party conference…Continue Reading “The disposable foot soldiers of crime” – Media, County Lines and Moral Panics

Proposing a Harm Reduction Framework for Youth Drug Use in Nigeria: A Research Inspired Commentary

Temitope Salami Drugs is a hotly debated subject that attracts the attention of policymakers, especially regarding the perceived effects drug use has on society. But, following scientific research and targeted campaigns, it is apparent that the ‘war on drugs’ rhetoric has lost its gloss and public health alternatives are increasingly embraced over criminal justice measures….Continue Reading Proposing a Harm Reduction Framework for Youth Drug Use in Nigeria: A Research Inspired Commentary

Harry and the Reds: A Revisionist Examination of Washington’s Cooperation with Moscow on International Drug Control Policy, (1945 – 1962).

Tom Crouch In my final year as an undergraduate at Swansea University (I graduated in July this year), I chose to write my dissertation on the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) between the years 1945 and 1962.  In so doing, and by utilising…Continue Reading Harry and the Reds: A Revisionist Examination of Washington’s Cooperation with Moscow on International Drug Control Policy, (1945 – 1962).

‘Drug Smuggler Nation: Narcotics and the Netherlands, 1920-1995.’ By Stephen Snelders

A review by Christopher Hallam Despite its reputation as a centre of illicit drug trafficking and the oft-times bane of the international drug control regime, relatively little has been written by academics on the historical background of that ‘Drug Smuggler Nation’, the Netherlands. Stephen Snelders sets out to address this lacuna, exploring trafficking in the…Continue Reading ‘Drug Smuggler Nation: Narcotics and the Netherlands, 1920-1995.’ By Stephen Snelders

Aerial Fumigation in Colombia: A Success for Someone

Ross Eventon* In 2011, when the multi-billion-dollar Plan Colombia had officially come to an end, the UNDP described the “rural development model” in Colombia as “highly inequitable and exclusionary.” The model “causes innumerable rural conflicts, does not recognize the differences between social actors, and leads to the inappropriate use and destruction of natural resources.”  Any…Continue Reading Aerial Fumigation in Colombia: A Success for Someone

Notes on Criminal Economics

Ross Eventon* In a recent report for GDPO, I discussed the links between national economic models and illicit cultivation, and the way this important context has been largely ignored by the drug policy community; localised projects – amounting to rural development aid – have instead been the focus of attention. In this blog I would…Continue Reading Notes on Criminal Economics

Trump v Biden. Their stances on Drug Policy: ‘How it started. How it’s going.’

Branwen Lloyd* The 2020 United States presidential election—with early voting underway and Election Day on November 3—is already like no other in history. In a pivotal year the presidential campaign has been repeatedly shaken by seismic events: a devastating pandemic, George Floyd’s killing by police officers, and subsequent protests, President Donald Trump contracting COVID-19, and…Continue Reading Trump v Biden. Their stances on Drug Policy: ‘How it started. How it’s going.’