About the Series
A new series of films, Drugs: It’s Complicated, has been created to encourage more informed and nuanced conversations about drugs and the people who use them. The films were developed by researchers from the University of Bristol in close collaboration with people with living and lived experience of drug use as part of a multi-year research project about stigma.
The series includes 11 films, each exploring a different aspect of drug use, drug policy, or the experiences of people who use drugs. The films feature interviews with 34 international experts, exploring questions including why people use drugs, why some people experience challenges when they do, the effects of stigma, and how society might respond differently to reduce harm.
The films are free to watch on YouTube and may be shared or used for teaching, training, and public engagement. They are intended for anyone interested in learning more about drugs and stigma, including members of the public, educators, healthcare professionals, social workers, police, and policymakers.
Dr Adam Holland,
Principal Investigator
"Stigma is a really complicated subject, and so is drug use. People use drugs for different reasons, in different ways, and in different contexts. Conversations about drugs and the people who use them often reduce those experiences to simple stereotypes. We hope these films encourage people to look beyond those stereotypes and see the complexity.”
Mat Southwell,
Community Researcher
"Drugs It’s Complicated is a valuable series of videos designed to explore stigma and discrimination towards people who use drugs. It comes from a dynamic co-production including drug user advocates from around the world. The resulting videos while targeted at a UK audience have wider resonance and application in tackling drug related stigma and discrimination."
Lydia Plant,
CEO, Bristol Drugs Project
“Stigma often stops people who are experiencing challenges related to drugs from seeking support; people worry about being judged, criminalised or made to feel ashamed. It's not always simple to understand where these fears come from, but these films do a great job of unpicking some of these complexities to encourage a more understanding attitude towards people who use drugs.”
Challenging Stigma
All Videos
Click through each video from the series below.
Drugs: It's Complicated Series
The 'Drugs: It's Complicated' films are an educational resource created as part of a research project led by the University of Bristol, funded by the Medical Research Council.
Dive deeper
If you would like to support the project, please share the films with friends, relatives, and on social media. You can find a dissemination pack to help with sharing the films here.
The series has also led to a number of academic papers. You can read two of them here: 'Making sense of drug use and dependence' and 'Evaluating the ‘Drugs: It’s Complicated’ antistigma intervention.'