Established drugs – such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine – continue to demand attention. Here’s what else the latest drug trends tell us.
Articles on Illicit drugs
Displaying 1 - 20 of 173 articles
A targeted ad for illegal peptides pops up in our social feed, so we start a chat with the supplier. The videos and pictures they send us are revealing and concerning.
Prison sentences for drug offences in Fiji sometimes surpass those for rape and murder and are out of line with penalties in Australia and New Zealand.
Wastewater data can only measure the volume of drugs consumed, not the number of people using them or the level of harm they experience.
Wholesale and street prices for meth have dropped sharply over seven years, but it’s as potent as ever. Are new global supply routes to blame?
Where there’s demand, there will be supply, legal or not. From the ‘sly grog’ of the 1920s to the illicit vapes of today, getting regulation right is difficult.
New research suggests overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites are not consistently associated with increases in local crime.
Our survey has highlighted shifts in the nature of drug use in England, the types of drugs adults take and their dependence on these drugs.
Despite the way they’re portrayed online, ADHD drugs are not ‘benign’ study aids.
Adulterated drugs and a shortage of pill testing services is making it hard for people who use drugs to stay safe. But they’re taking matters into their own hands.
Driving under the influence of drugs is just as deadly as alcohol impairment, but regulations lag far behind.
Fentanyl dealers expanding into new markets across Canada are devastating smaller cities like Thunder Bay, fuelling violence and worsening the homelessness crisis.
A ‘cannabis use disorder’ can make it difficult to control how often or how much cannabis you use. Here are some of the symptoms.
A drug with antidepressant roots and opioid effects, tianeptine’s rise is largely unnoticed.
Meth use impairs decision making and can increase reckless behaviour. This effect can last beyond acute drug use into periods of abstinence.
To curb the illicit drugs trade, law enforcement should look beyond individual drug busts and focus on capturing the illegal money that reaches so many parts of the global economy.
As with climate change, why are we so slow to recognise the existential threat that drug use poses to humanity?
Some illegally obtained benzodiazepines look like prescription medicines but are counterfeits that may contain fentanyl.
While synthetic opiods are a relatively new class of drugs, opium has a long destructive history in trade wars and warfare, beginning with the First Opium War.
The Thistle drug room in Glasgow could help fill some important gaps in knowledge about the benefits of these facilities.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Associate Professor, National Drug Research Institute / enAble Institute, Curtin University
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Professor, Deakin University
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Professor in Substance Use, Liverpool John Moores University
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Emeritus Consultant, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
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Associate Professor in Criminology, Deakin University
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Professor of Neuropharmacology, University of Lancashire
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Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University
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Hon. Professor Drug Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University