LEAP UK
@ukleap.bsky.social
We’re LEAP UK, part of Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Working together with communities for social justice solutions.
“The number of people being arrested for drug offences in Jersey has reduced by 32% as residents can now be lawfully prescribed medical cannabis, a police report has said.” www.leafie.co.uk/news/medical...
Medical cannabis prescriptions reduce drug arrests by a third - leafie
Drug-related arrests in Jersey have dropped since 2022, with police attributing the decline to increased access to legal medicinal cannabis reducing demand for the illicit market.
leafie.co.uk
“Scotland's only crisis centre for drug and alcohol addiction is warning that "lives could be put at risk" if it is forced to close due to a dispute over rental costs with its council-owned landlord.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Drug crisis centre warns of closure over 'aggressive' rent hikes
Scotland's only crisis centre for drug and alcohol addiction is in dispute with its council-owned landlord.
bbc.co.uk
‘Recreational cannabis should be taxed in the same way as tobacco and alcohol to move away from "inconsistent" regulation, a Guernsey politician has said.’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Guernsey deputy calls for cannabis to be taxed 'like alcohol'
Deputy Gavin St Pier is seeking answers about the scale of prescriptions for medicinal cannabis
bbc.co.uk
Congratulations to Bristol, and the councillors and advocates who have been instrumental in making changes in the city, and have made so much progress. Harm reduction has the capacity to save lives and help communities. Read via bit.ly/LEAPBristolHarmReduction
Bristol declared ‘city of harm reduction’ as Greens seek less punitive drug policy
Councillors pass motion that paves way to setting up drugs-consumption facility where users can be helped and treated
bit.ly
‘Report shows ambulance call-outs plummet during initial years of Richmond's medically supervised injecting room’ www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...
Melbourne injecting room cut ambulance callouts by 70pc, report reveals
Data from a new paper shows the number of heroin-related ambulance call-outs dropped from 48 a month to 14 a month in the first five years following the Richmond medically supervised injecting room's ...
abc.net.au
Today, it’s officially the case that you’re no longer criminalised for “rough sleeping” Hard to believe it was ever the case isn’t it? At last we have progress which could help those of us in society who have suffered with troubled personal circumstances www.gov.uk/government/n...
Rough sleeping no longer a crime as Vagrancy Act repealed
The government will repeal the Vagrancy Act on Monday 29 June 2026, ending nearly two centuries of legislation that has criminalised rough sleeping and begging.
gov.uk
‘Consumption Room Proposal: Could Edinburgh Follow Glasgow in Saving Lives?’ Potentially life-saving services could expand. See consultation process at the end of article: www.talkingdrugs.org/drug-consump... - by LEAP UK Executive Director Beccy Rawnsley & Chair Jason Reed
Drug Consumption Room Proposal: Could Edinburgh Follow Glasgow in Saving Lives? - TalkingDrugs
Eighteen months after Glasgow opened the UK’s first drug consumption room, campaigners say its results make a strong case for opening a second DCR in Edinburgh.
talkingdrugs.org
Sky news report on the evolving tactics of getting dr*gs into prisons. We’ve said this before: Prisons are a useful gauge. If we struggle to disrupt supplies in secure institutions how care we expect to do so in wider society? news.sky.com/video/how-dr...
How drugs and weapons are being dropped into UK's prisons
Sky News has filmed drones being used to deliver supplies to inmates. Now we've been inside one of the country's most dysfunctional prisons to find out how they're trying to stop it.
news.sky.com
The return of the phrasing ‘zombie dr*g’. We see this used periodically. We have to avoid terminology such as this. And tragically we will always see increased strengths and fluctuations in purity, prohibition inherently equates to no quality control. www.thesun.co.uk/news/3927385...
Zombie drug that can kill in one dose ravaging UK as 14 people overdose
“SOMETIMES, you don’t get what you pay for,” says one self-professed drug user – knowing full well his next hit could be a zombifying, and potentially fatal, contaminated ba…
thesun.co.uk
“According to a new report, purity levels have increased almost 50% in the last 13 years” Why are coc*ine deaths rising? There are many factors, but the conclusion is that we need to do things differently if we’re committed to saving lives. mixmag.net/read/cocaine...
Cocaine deaths are higher than ever as “ultra strength” purity floods UK market
According to a new report, purity levels have increased almost 50% in the last 13 years
mixmag.net
‘The Science Is Clear: Forced Addiction Treatment Fails’ “Mounting evidence… …shows that punitive, coercive approaches to homeless addiction not only fail to reduce drug use but also increase overdose deaths…” invisiblepeople.tv/the-science-...
The Science Is Clear: Forced Addiction Treatment Fails Homeless People
Mounting evidence shows that punitive, coercive approaches to homeless addiction fail to reduce drug use and worsen housing instability.
invisiblepeople.tv
‘Bigger Harms: How the UK’s Nitrous Oxide Ban Backfired’ “a system that prioritises punishment and criminalisation at the expense of substantive policies that address the underlying causes of substance use” www.talkingdrugs.org/bigger-canis...
Bigger Canisters, Bigger Harms: How the UK’s Nitrous Oxide Ban Backfired - TalkingDrugs
The British government’s crackdown on 'NOS' may have decreased casual use, but it has caused new health and environmental risks in the process.
talkingdrugs.org
‘Approval granted for Ireland’s first supervised drug injection facility to become permanent’ “The centre officially opened in December 2024 after it secured a temporary 18-month planning permission.” www.thejournal.ie/irelands-fir...
Approval granted for Ireland’s first supervised drug injection facility to become permanent
The centre officially opened in December 2024 after it secured a temporary 18-month planning permission.
thejournal.ie
A look at how medical access still lacks for many and how tiered systems essentially exist. www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...
After a hard-fought victory to legalise medical cannabis in the UK, why is it still so hard to access?
The long read: Two mothers fought British bureaucracy to obtain lifesaving cannabis medicines for their children. But most patients are having to go private – at huge cost
theguardian.com
The Lancet, one of the most respected journals in the world, addressing the consequences of punitive policies and the need for harm reduction. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The cost of punitive drug legislation
On March 10, at the 69th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme, and the International Network of People who Use Drugs launched a joint guidance note: Decrim...
thelancet.com
“When political leaders mock d**g use or attack opponents over it, the message travels far beyond Westminster. It deepens the stigma that surrounds drug dependency, stigma that prevents people from seeking help when they need it most.” anyoneschild.org/2026/04/poli... by @anyoneschild.bsky.social
Politicians Must Stop Mocking a Crisis That Is Killing Tens of Thousands - Anyone's Child
Politicians Must Stop Mocking a Crisis That Is Killing Tens of Thousands - Anyone's Child -
anyoneschild.org
We’ve been saying this for how long? We cannot keep up with the illicit trade under current methods. We need alternatives. www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...
Exposed: how drug gangs deal without fear as the law can’t keep up
Police focus on heroin and crack allows criminals to peddle cannabis and MDMA to middle-class users on encrypted messaging apps, Times analysis shows
thetimes.com
‘The 100th suicide prevention bench has been unveiled by charity 'Legend on the Bench' - each carrying details on how to access immediate support.’ A simple but wonderful initiative to help us connect with one another. news.sky.com/video/mental...
Mental health benches: A simple idea helping people through 'a very dark place'
The 100th suicide prevention bench has been unveiled by charity 'Legend on the Bench' - each carrying details on how to access immediate support.
news.sky.com
‘I Spent Years Policing Glasgow’s Drug Wars — The Real Victims Were Never the Dealers, They Were the Ones We Chose to Ignore’ Valued LEAP speaker and retired undercover operative Simon McLean: nakedcitymagazine.substack.com/p/vice-i-spe...
VICE: I Spent Years Policing Glasgow’s Drug Wars — The Real Victims Were Never the Dealers, They Were the Ones We Chose to Ignore
Naked City Crime & Vice By Simon McLean
nakedcitymagazine.substack.com
‘What’s inside these big yellow boxes? A life-saving world-first for Aberdeen’ Naloxone access now on the streets in a similar fashion to defibrillators. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle...
What's inside these big yellow boxes? A life-saving world-first for Aberdeen
A Balmedie paramedic is behind a public-access trial of anti-overdose drug naloxone, which could guard against a coming influx of dangerous synthetic opioids.
pressandjournal.co.uk
‘Record drug seizures driven by jump in cannabis and ketamine haul. Border Force officials made 65 seizures of herbal cannabis that contained 100kg or more.’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Record drug seizures driven by jump in cannabis and ketamine haul
Border Force officials made 65 seizures of herbal cannabis that contained 100kg or more.
independent.co.uk
“When he died, police didn’t even call to tell me – a symptom of our indifference to a problem that claims so many lives in the UK...” ‘I lost my brother James twice – once to addiction, then to overdose’ observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
I lost my brother James twice – once to addiction, then t...
When he died, police didn’t even call to tell me – a symptom of our indifference to a problem that claims so many lives in the UK. This is what it’s like to know and love a drug addict
observer.co.uk
UK police have been issued new guidance on how to handle medical cannabis cases. This is an important step as there has been an ongoing legacy in this area whereby patients have been treated poorly by services in some reported cases. www.leafie.co.uk/news/uk-poli... By @teamleafie.bsky.social
UK police officers given new guidance on medical cannabis - leafie
New guidance, approved by The National Police Chiefs Council, instructs police officers to treat medicinal cannabis users as "patients first, suspects second".
leafie.co.uk
This, from Canada, says a lot. It’s also representative of most countries and regions. ‘Commissioner releases statement on toxic drug crisis, calls on government to put politics aside to save lives’ bchumanrights.ca/news-and-eve...
Commissioner releases statement on toxic drug crisis, calls on government to put politics aside to save lives | BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner
Commissioner releases statement on toxic drug crisis, calls on government to put politics aside to save lives
bchumanrights.ca
A look at the left-leaning parties and the pledge to reform drug laws. The Green Party are pushing forward with actual policy proposals and the Lib Dems historically have been progressive but what about other left-leaning parties? novaramedia.com/2025/11/03/z... by Kojo Koram
Zack Polanski Has Pledged to Legalise Drugs. So Should All Leftwing Leaders | Novara Media
The left in Britain has mostly kept shtum about drugs, even though their criminalisation is inextricably linked to several of its key issues. The Green leader is finally breaking the silence, writes K...
novaramedia.com
“England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has called for the immediate closure of all young offender institutions (YOIs), warning that youth custody has become a ‘holding pen’ for children failed by the state...” www.thejusticegap.com/a-holding-pe... via @justicegap.bsky.social
A holding pen for failure: Children’s commissioner urges closure of child prisons – The Justice Gap
thejusticegap.com
‘Searches for lorazepam surged after release of The White Lotus, data shows’ “Third series of TV drama spiked interest in anti-anxiety drug amid warnings over illicit production of ‘benzos’” www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Searches for lorazepam surged after release of The White Lotus, data shows
Third series of TV drama spiked interest in anti-anxiety drug amid warnings over illicit production of ‘benzos’
theguardian.com
Interesting news that the role of Police and Crime Commissioner is to be abolished, with it stated by the current Home Secretary that it has been “a failed experiment”. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished
Home secretary says PCCs, in England and Wales, were ‘failed experiment’ – and scrapping them will save £100m over this parliament
theguardian.com
‘Black Londoners nearly three times more likely to be strip searched than white suspects’ www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...
Black Londoners nearly three times more likely to be strip searched
Met Police accused of discriminatory practices as force remains under scrutiny after strip search of 15-year-old Child Q at school in east London
standard.co.uk
