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At Drug Science we like to cover different topics relating to drugs. These topics cover the many different ways that psychoactive substances have an impact on our culture and society.
Drug Science, Policy and Law - 2025 a year in review
In 2025, DSPL published 21 articles with contributions from 86 different authors, with reviews and original research covering psychedelics, cannabis and harm reduction. This report will summarise the major themes and key findings covered in the journal this year.
Ameer Morshed and Finn Laslett
4 days ago6 min read
Support Drug Science at the Elmore Court Art Auction & Party
The Elmore Court Art Party promises a night where art, music, science, and celebration come together in support of evidence-based drug policy.
Drug Science
Jan 222 min read
When Researchers Undermine Their Own Evidence: The Emergence of “Reverse Spin Bias”
A new study by O’Leary et al (2026) published in Research Integrity and Peer Review introduces a striking, unexplored phenomenon in academic research: “reverse spin bias.”
Unlike conventional spin bias, where authors frame nonsignificant results as significant or meaningful, reverse spin bias occurs when evidence of benefit is ultimately discounted or discredited by the very authors who produced it.
Hannah Barnett
Jan 213 min read
Development of a mandarin version of the five dimensional altered states of consciousness (5D-ASC) rating scale
This study aimed to develop a high-quality Mandarin version of the 5 Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness (5D-ASC) Rating Scale to increase language accessibility in psychedelic research.
Jacob S. Aday, Zoe Zong, and Joshua D. Woolley
Jan 161 min read
Psychedelic species under threat: Are psychoactive plants and toads facing a conservation crisis ?
Psychedelic tourism and growing demand surrounding species of psychoactive plants and toads might be posing a threat to their survival.
Drug Science
Nov 28, 20255 min read
The medical sociological and social epidemiological psychedelics paradigm (MSSEPP)
Although psychedelics have shown therapeutic potential in treating conditions such as depression, PTSD, and addiction, concerns remain regarding ethical practices, participant diversity, and the structural limitations of prevailing theoretical frameworks.
Sean M Viña
Nov 26, 20251 min read
Bendy Bodies, Real-World Results: Medicinal Cannabis Treatment in hEDS/HSD
The symptoms of hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and hypermobility spectrum disorders are often invisibile, delaying diagnosis. This leaves many to seek medicinal cannabis, leading to life-changing effects.
Lucy Stafford
Nov 25, 20253 min read
Australian government funds psychedelic assisted therapy for veterans in a global leading decision
The Department of Veterans Affairs in Australia have recently decided to fund MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression among military veterans.
Isabel Faulkner
Nov 24, 20252 min read
How social media is fuelling a drug crisis in UK schools
When teachers confiscate a vape from a student, they often assume it contains nicotine or perhaps even cannabis. What many don’t realise, is that some of these vapes contain Spice, a dangerous synthetic drug that young people often mistake for cannabis.
Dr Rachael Andrews
Nov 12, 20253 min read
A long, strange trip: Ketamine treatment in psychiatry
It is 60 years since ketamine was first tested in humans as an alternative but safer anaesthetic to PCP (phencyclidine) (Corssen and Domino 1966). It became widely used as the “buddy drug” for combatants in the Vietnam War: because of its great safety margin, it could be injected into wounded personnel by their buddies to relieve pain before the arrival of the medical team.
David J Nutt, Celia Morgan, David Erritzoe, Kyle T Greenway and Allan H Young
Oct 26, 20251 min read
An evaluation of a psychoeducational harm-reduction focused intervention targeting music festival attendees/at risk of negative outcomes surrounding recreational substance use
This pilot study assessed a video-based psychoeducational intervention designed to reduce substance-related harm among music festival attendees. Participants (N = 273) completed pre-intervention surveys, with 144 engaging in the intervention.
C.L. Rayner, C. Bradshaw and J. Davies
Oct 26, 20251 min read
Observations from a frontline worker in London - in response to the Office of National Statistics on drug deaths of 2024 in England and Wales
Drug related deaths are preventable most of the times and these increasing number on drug deaths prove that the government is failing to provide essential care to its citizens.
Plinio Ferreira
Oct 23, 202512 min read
Changes in sleep quality among patients prescribed medicinal cannabis: Real-world evidence from Project Twenty 21
Emerging research suggests that prescribed cannabinoids may improve sleep quality both among people with formal diagnoses of insomnia and among those experiencing disturbed sleep in the context of other chronic health conditions.
A lexicon for psychedelic research and treatment
To date, there has been a lack of consensus in the field of psychedelic research regarding key terms. It is our hope that development of this lexicon can aid in translating findings across various research groups and improve clarity and precision in our communications with each other and the general public.
Medical Psychedelics Working Group
Sep 21, 20252 min read
Sociodemographic and mental-health characteristics of psychedelic-assisted therapy participants: Latent class analysis of a cross-sectional, purposive online sample
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is an emerging treatment that combines pharmacotherapeutic dosing sessions with psychotherapy. Despite limited regulatory approval, treatment seekers can access PAT through various avenues, including ketamine treatment centers and “supported adult use” psilocybin centers in the US, drug tourism, “underground” therapy, and participation in clinical trials.
Dan Petrovitch, Samuel Hosford, Andrew K Littlefield and Heather Austin-Robillard
Sep 8, 20252 min read
Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
Substance use at UK music festivals presents a significant public health challenge, with evolving patterns of drug use, associated risk behaviours, and harm reduction practices among attendees.
Chloe L Rayner, Jason Davies, Ceri A Bradshaw and Alex L Jones
Sep 6, 20252 min read
Drug Science response to Ketamine Harms Assessment
Drug Science responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ (ACMD’s) call on Ketamine use, harms and interventions. We hope that our evidence can help to develop rational debate, policy making and scheduling about Ketamine.
Anne Katrin Schlag, David Nutt and Celia Morgan
Aug 19, 20254 min read
Germany Pioneers Compassionate Psilocybin Access for Treatment-Resistant Depression in EU First
Germany has recently taken a landmark step by introducing compassionate access to psilocybin for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), marking the first such programme in the European Union.
Jody Chu and James Bunn
Aug 5, 20253 min read
UK Government supports ACMD plan to enable research with schedule 1 medicines such as psilocybin and MDMA
Despite the resurgence of research into the clinical efficacy and mechanism of action of psychedelic drugs such as such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and MDMA they are currently in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs regulations 2001.
Jody Chu, James Bunn and Prof Jo Neill
Jul 30, 20255 min read
Why do you smoke cannabis? Qualitative interviews of Japanese cannabis users
The number of cannabis-related arrests has been increasing in Japan, accompanied by the implementation of stricter legal penalties. However, there has been little investigation into the motivations behind cannabis use or the reasons for continued use among users in Japan.
Networked narratives: Examining how Purdue Pharmaceuticals shaped public health policy and practice
In 1996, Purdue Pharmaceutical's (Purdue) launched OxyContin, an opioid painkiller, with the largest marketing strategy in pharmaceutical history. Literature has now established that Purdue's marketing of OxyContin was a root cause of the current opioid crisis, responsible for over 600,000 deaths in and beyond North America.
Andrea Bowra, Amaya Perez-Brumer, Lisa Forman and Jillian Clare Kohler
Jul 20, 20252 min read
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