Impact
Benzo Research Project Updates
19 November 2024
|
During #StudentDrugandAlcoholAwarenessWeek, we were warmly invited to guest lecture at the University of Kent Canterbury Campus.
Joanna and AJ presented to 3rd year Criminology undergraduate students as part of their module on Drugs, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System.
The lecture explored the history of benzo prescribing and benzo-related deaths, the key findings from our lived experience research, and the importance of harm reduction in drug policy. If you would like to invite the Benzo Research Project to guest lecture at your university/organisation, contact us. |
14 November 2024
|
One of the key findings from our lived experience research in 2022 was a severe lack of support for young people who use benzos. Our aim has always been to make actionable change with our research.
This past year, we had the absolute pleasure to work with the Inclusion crew! Together, we developed a new pathway for people who want to change their relationship with benzos. This pathway uses up-to-date evidence-based and person-centred tapering prescribing, alongside a menu of psychosocial and holistic support, plus a workbook to help people on their journey. This is only one part of the wider effort needed to reduce benzo and other drug-related harms, but we hope that this work helps people who use benzos access support that works for them. To find out more about their drug and alcohol services, visit Inclusion's website. |
18–20 September 2024
|
We went to Birmingham! AJ and Joanna presented a poster titled Benzo Research Project: An evaluation
of non-medical benzodiazepine use
among UK young people (18-25) at the Cranstoun Social Justice Conference 2024.
The poster highlights key findings from our report on young people's lived experiences with benzos, including motivations, mental health, polydrug use, and experiences with drug education and support. A huge thank you to Cranstoun, Camurus and Inclusion for making it possible for us to attend. To find out more about the conference, visit Cranstoun's website. |
31 August 2024
|
The Benzo Research Project
is proud to join the London
Harm Reduction Collective
(LHRC)
— a coalition of experts and
organisations committed to
reducing drug-related harm
in our communities.
Our capital city and our country are undergoing a drug-related death crisis. With nitazenes continuing to contaminate the unregulated supply of street benzos and other drugs, a concerted, compassionate, and intersectional effort to reduce harm is paramount to saving lives! To find out more and support, visit the LHRC website. |
3 July 2024
|
Our Co-Project Leads, Monica
and AJ presented a
spotlight talk titled
"Benzos, young people,
and the emergence of
nitazenes" at the Drug
Education Forum's Summer
event to over 130
attendees.
The DEF is a new UK community of drug education professionals, committed to providing evidence-based and age appropriate drug education. Other speakers included Prof. Fiona Measham (The Loop), Dan Gibbons (Re-Solv), and Helena Conibear (The TALK ABOUT Trust). The recording of the event will be available on DEF's website shortly. |
8 May 2024
|
Joanna
and AJ ran a workshop titled
Supporting Student
Leaders in Harm
Reduction at the
annual National Student Drug
and Alcohol Conference,
hosted by SOS
UK.
The workshop was delivered to university staff, student unions, and drug support staff at Middlesex University. We hope that this session provided some inspiration on how best to support developing student-led harm reduction initiatives across the UK. |
11 April 2024
|
Following
the continued rise of
nitazenes found in illicit
benzo supply, ITV
News interviewed
Monica Richards (Founder)
about the realities faced by
young people who use street
benzos.
The video has been viewed over 200,000 times, meeting our aim to increase awareness about counterfeit benzos. Note: The term "study drugs" was incorrectly used by the reporter in this coverage to describe benzos. Study drugs primarily include prescription stimulants such as amphetamine, methylphenidate and modafinil. You can watch the full TikTok here. |
14 March 2024
|
Alongside
numerous European civil
society organisations, we
have signed the manifesto
laid out by Correlation
– European Harm
Reduction Network
calling for drug policy that
is safer, healthier, and
more just.
"The 2024 European elections must bring a paradigm shift. This manifesto lays down a vision for a pragmatic, innovative, and human rights-centred European drug policy that will deliver healthier and safer communities." You can read and sign the manifesto here. |
9 February 2024
|
Our 2022
testimony analysis
report
was republished by
Youth
RISE: a
global
youth-led network
advocating
for evidence-based
drug
policies and harm
reduction,
centring young
people in the
conversation.
You can see our report on their website here. |
2 February 2024
|
Our
Founder, Monica
Richards was
interviewed as part
of an
article covering a
counterfeit benzo
operation
gone south. Ben
Bryant's
article The
rise and
fall of the
Benzo Bros'
fake
Xanax
empire
delves into a
large-scale
counterfeit benzo
operation
in the context of
the
broader illicit
market, how
the pharmaceutical
giant
Pfizer has
responded, and
the negative impact
this has
had on people in the
absence
of sufficient
education or
support.
Read the full article here. |
14 December 2023
|
Following
the identification
of strong
synthetic opioids in
the
UK's illicit
benzodiazepine
supply, Sky News
invited our
Founder &
Project Lead
to speak on behalf
of the
Benzo Research
Project. Monica
Richards discusses
the motivations
behind young
people's benzo use,
the
harms of stigma
around drug
use when accessing
support,
and how young people
can get
help and reduce
benzo-related
harms.
To watch the full interview, click here. |
7 December 2023
|
Our
Founder, Monica
Richards' alma
mater King's College
London
reported on her
intervention
statement at the
United
Nations Commission
on
Narcotic Drugs on
5th
December 2023,
citing the
Benzo Research
Project as
"ground-breaking"!
To read the full article, click here. |
30 November 2023
|
Our Research
co-leads, Joanna
and
AJ were
invited as
guest speakers to
the London
Harm Reduction
Reading
Group. The
meeting, hosted at
Release,
focused on
engaging
young
people who use
drugs
with harm
reduction:
beginning with a
presentation from
our team,
followed by a
Q&A
discussion.
If you would like to read the paper we discussed, you can find it here. |
14 November 2023
|
Our
testimonies were
featured in
the Mental
Health
and Drug Use
workshop for
the University
Mental Health
Charter
(UMHC). This
insight-sharing
event
– hosted by Student
Minds –
outlined the role
universities play in
drug
policy. The
speakers,
including our
Research team
leads Joanna and AJ,
alongside Hanna
Head (SSDP),
highlighted the need
for a
compassionate,
evidence-based, and
intersectional
approach to
drug use on UK
campuses.
If you would like to watch the full webinar, please contact us. |
13 October 2023
|
Our
Research team
co-leads, Joanna
Bright and
AJ
Martin joined
an incredible team
of
prescribers and
psychosocial
practitioners from
NHS
Inclusion.
Our
representatives
presented
our 2022
report
findings.
Bringing these
together with
their team's
practical
expertise, we began
planning
a comprehensive,
trauma-informed
treatment
pathway specifically
designed for people
struggling with
benzo
dependence.
|
12 October 2023
|
Our
Co-Head of Research,
Joanna
Bright was
invited
as a guest lecturer
by the
University
of
Manchester,
representing the
Benzo
Research Project.
Joanna
gave a lecture to
undergraduate
student in the
Department
of
Criminology,
presenting our
findings from
our 2022
testimony
analysis
report.
|
29 August 2023
|
The Benzo
Research Project has
become
a member of the
National
Council for
Voluntary
Organisations (NCVO).
NCVO is a membership
community of over
17,000
charities, voluntary
organisations and
community
groups in
England.
Being an NCVO member will allow us to connect with other voluntary organisations, access support and training to continue developing our organisation. |
29 August 2023
|
Our
Co-Head of Research,
AJ
Martin,
recently
wrote an article
titled
Benzos
are like a
box of
chocolates:
How
tough drug
laws lead
to
counterfeit
drugs for
our partners at
Volteface.
AJ writes about how novel benzos – often "never marketed for medical use" – have continued circulating in the illicit drug supply after the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 and subsequent 2017 amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act 2017, signifying that the UK government's approach to drugs is "unfit for purpose". To read the full article, click here. |
31 July 2023
|
Crew,
our partner and
Scottish
drug support
charity,
highlighted our work
in
their 2021–22 drug
trend report. Their
report
details drug trends
and the
drivers behind
drug-related
deaths in Scotland,
including the
396%
increase in deaths
related
to 'any benzo' since
2011.
To read the full report, click here. |
17 July 2023
|
Our
project lead Monica
and Research team
co-leads,
Joanna
and AJ,
joined The
News
Movement
and NTIA
(Night Time
Industry
Association) at
the House of Commons
to
speak to MPs about
drug
policy and the #BringBackDrugTesting
campaign. The
campaign calls
on the Home Office
to
restore life-saving
drugs
testing services
at festivals
across the
UK.
|
9 June 2023
|
Hanna
Head (SSDP UK) spoke
to our
project lead Monica
and Research team
co-leads,
Joanna
and AJ,
to highlight the
"evidence-based,
life-saving
work that students
are
doing" in harm
reduction.
The article
highlights the
work of our project
alongside SSDP
Imperial,
the Help
not
Harm
campaign, and
more.
To read the full article, click here. |
5 June 2023
|
Our
project and work was
featured in an
article
titled Students
present
project
findings to
policy-makers
and
professionals
by Kings College
London's
News Centre.
|
31 May 2023
|
Following
a successful
abstract
submission, Joanna (Co-Head
of
Research) presented
our report
findings
at the 16th
Annual
International
Society
for the Study of
Drug
Policy (ISSDP)
conference,
hosted by RAND
Europe in
Leuven,
Belgium. Other
speakers at
ISSDP 2023 included
international drug
policy
activists and
scholars,
criminologists,
physicians,
medical lawyers, and
police
commissioners.
You can find our abstract here. |
12 May 2023
|
Julie
(Head of Outreach)
and Joanna
(Co-Head of Research
&
Outreach) presented
our
findings at the
Substance Misuse
Best
Practice event
in Surrey, hosted by
Catch22
Hampshire 24/7. Catch22
is a charity that
designed
and delivers
services from
children's social
care to
health and
wellbeing,
including a
holistic
psychosocial, harm
reduction, and
family
support
approach to youth
substance
use.
|
May 2023
|
Our
research report was
featured
by The
Alliance for
Benzodiazepine
Best
Practices.
The group
aim to raise
awareness about
the dangers of
benzodiazepine use
and to
promote safe
prescribing
practices.
You
can find their evidence-based
resources
for
prescribers and
patients,
and various scientific
research
studies and
papers, on their website.
|
3 April 2023
|
Our
Co-Head of Research,
AJ
Martin,
wrote a blog
article for
Drug
Science's
Science Beats
Stigma
campaign. In
the article, AJ
writes about
his personal
experiences
that led to his
passion for
harm reduction. This
passion
led him to help
create the
Imperial
chapter of
SSDP, and
join the Benzo
Research
Project in summer
2021.
You can read the full article, click here. |
10 March 2023
|
Our
Research team
co-leads, AJ
and Joanna,
presented at the Drug
Science
Street
Drugs
Discussions on
Benzodiazepines.
The event was
the
biggest in the
series,
with
over 700 signups and
350
attendants including
psychopharmacologists
and
NGO leaders. The
research
team leaders went on
to
present at the Drug
Science
symposium to their
independent
committee. You
can watch the
recording on
YouTube here.
|
28 February 2023
|
Our
founder and project
lead Monica
Richards
presented
at Imperial College
London
alongside our
adviser Ivan
Ezquerra
Romano at
the Young
Leaders in
Drug Policy
event,
hosted by the
award-winning ICL
SSDP. You
can watch
the recording on
YouTube
here.
|
February 2023
12
January 2023
|
The International
Drug
Policy Consortium
(IDPC)
re-published our research
report! IDPC
is a
global network
advocating
for drug policies
that
advance social
justice and
human rights.
|
31 December 2022
|
The Benzo
Research Project
executive
team were featured
on The
News Movement. Our
founder
and several members
of the
project were
interviewed in
two videos: one on
why
young people are
taking
benzos, and
another
on our
efforts to
change
attitudes
towards drug
policy in
the
UK.
|
23 December 2022
|
Our
project was
spotlighted in
the Drug
Science Student
Society
Network
(SSN)
newsletter, sharing
some
important findings
from our
report
with students across
the UK.
|
December 2022
|
Drugs and
Alcohol Ireland re-published
our research
report
in the Health
Research Board
(HRB) National Drugs
Library. This will
ensure
our report and the
stories
shared will be
brought to
the attention of
practitioners and
researchers across
Ireland.
The report also
featured in
the HRB
National Drugs
Library
e-newsletter
volume 18,
issue 12.
|
9 December 2022
|
The blog
post authored by Joanna
Bright
(Co-Head of
Research) and
Zara Nelson
(Outreach
Officer) was
shared by Dovetail.
Dovetail is an
organisation
that provides
training to
drug and alcohol
services in
Queensland,
Australia with a
specific focus on
young
peoples' services.
|
28 November 2022
|
Our Report
Launch and Drug
Policy
event was
shared on
the DrugWise
Daily
newsletter:
a
news service
providing
coverage of all
things
related to the drugs
and
alcohol sector.
|
1
November 2022
|
The Benzo
Research Project
was
featured on ITV!
Check
out George
Hancorn's
article on us,
titled
Psychoactive
drugs being
'sold'
to children
as young
as 15 on
Instagram
for as
little as
£1.
It's also
available in
video form on
their
Instagram,
YouTube, and
website.
|
8 July 2022
20 May 2022
|
Our
project was featured
in the
UK
Drug
Testing
Newsletter
by Zoom Testing.
Zoom
Testing are a small
company
that supply drug
testing
kits to the UK.
|
3 May 2022
|
Monica
Richards (Founder,
Project
Lead) was featured
in a news
article about the
Benzo
Research Project
titled
The
student-led
project
aiming to
shape
national
drug
policy by
King's College
London,
alongside our King's
student
members.
|
12 April 2022
|
The
Students' Union at
UWE
Bristol featured the
Benzo
Research Project on
their
page about Mixing
Drugs and
Alcohol,
encouraging students
with
lived experience of
benzo
use to share their
stories.
|
Disclaimer: The
inclusion of an
organisation on this page (Impact) does
not equate
to endorsement by the Benzo Research Project.