Other drugs

Theme Lead: Olivia Maynard

Team: Olivia Maynard, Adam Holland 

Summary: Our research on drugs other than alcohol and tobacco primarily focuses on reducing stigma towards people who use drugs. Stigma is known to have harmful effects on both wellbeing and patterns of drug use. In addition, we lead projects assessing harm reduction strategies among university students. We also collaborate with other research teams on a range of topics — including improving healthcare for people who use non-prescribed opioids, monitoring the risks linked to novel psychoactive substances, and understanding the experiences of coca growers in rural Colombia. Olivia’s weekly volunteering with Bristol Drugs Project provides valuable insight that helps shape the research conducted by TARG.

Example Projects:

• REducing Stigma towards PEople who use ConTrolled Drugs (The RESPECT study)
• Supporting university drugs education and harm reduction
• Additional collaborative projects