There’s a lot of reasons people decide to quit using cannabis. You might be smoking up every day, spending more time or money on it than you want to, or be worried about the very real health harms that can come with chronic cannabis use. Cannabis harm reduction is one way to make sure you’re not doing yourself a disservice – it might include cutting down the amount you’re using, seeking treatment, or making use of some savvy tips that will help you keep it together and stay healthy when smoking (especially for daily smokers).

Time to be honest – while many Australians smoke cannabis occasionally or regularly, chronic and everyday smoking can cause a range of health and social problems that together can be known as Cannabis Use Disorder. The CBD-CUD study is a new study looking at treatment of cannabis use disorder. Led by the University of Sydney and rolling out across sites in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne, the study focuses on whether CBD (in combination with counselling) can help people with cannabis use disorder reduce their cannabis use.

NUAA and NDARC have collaborated on research asking how people engage with drug alerts. The results show – what we already knew - that drug alerts are making us safer.

Australian researchers have just completed the worlds first study into psychedelic assisted psychotherapies (PAT) for methamphetamine use disorder. But what is PAT? And how could it change the treatment landscape?

The Early Drug Diversion Initiative (EDDI) came into effect in NSW on 29th February 2024. Under the new scheme, if you are caught by police with a “small amount” of a single illicit drug, you could now receive a $400 fine instead of a charge and court summons. However, there are some serious limitations in this reform so it’s worth reading the small print.

It is Australia’s most popular illicit drug and probably the most popular drug worldwide. Can you overdose from it? The short answer is yes, you can, but not fatally: cannabis alone will not kill you. But how much is too much?

Hepatitis means 'inflammation of the liver'. The liver is a vital organ — it does over 500 things, including detoxing the body of the poisons in medications, pollution and processed foods; storing iron and other vitamins; storing energy from food and releasing it when you need it; and defending against germs like flus and colds.

Carla is a peer worker at a Needle and Syringe Program and in the hep C testing and treatment space. She tells how she uses her lived experience helps her help others to access the health care they need.

Interview with 3 people with lived experience of incarceration who gave us the lowdown on the risk of hep C in jail and how it is best avoided.

On 26 September, more than 60 people around the country attended an online event that launched the foundational declaration of Tasmanians with Substance, a collective of people with lived and living experience of using alcohol and other drugs in lutruwita/Tasmania.

“Your infection markers are through the roof ... Ultrasound found an aneurysm the size of a golf ball in your femoral artery. We’ll need to do surgery and I’ll be honest with you: it’s a high-risk procedure.” My mind flitted back to the evening I think it started when my hands were shaking so much from my medication regimen that I hit my artery. Of course, I was so impatient to get my fix in me that I didn’t bother with swabs. Bad mistake.

There is an ongoing clinical trial of giving psilocybin (the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’) to help people who are living with a methamphetamine (‘meth’ or ‘ice’) use disorder. Maureen Steele is a Peer Worker who helped design the trial to ensure it gives users what they need to succeed.

Many people who are dependent on illicit opioids (such as heroin) have benefited from the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP), which allows them to be prescribed a ‘substitute’ opioid such as methadone or buprenorphine. A replacement program like that for people who use stimulants (such as methamphetamine) doesn’t exist. However, some promising research into possible stimulant replacement treatment is happening.

This video was produced by Ukrainian drug user organisation VOLNa, for Support Don’t Punish Day 2023. They say: “Every year on June 26, on the day of the Support, Don’t Punish campaign, the All-Ukrainian Association of People with Drug Addiction “VOLNa” throughout Ukraine expresses its protest against the cruel and senseless state policy regarding drugs and people who use drugs. This year is no exception. The war is going on, all the people of Ukraine have united to fight back against the vicious and dangerous enemy - Russia. And when the unification of the people takes place, it is important to remember all the citizens of the country.”

On May 10, the Commonwealth Government announced additional funding for, and changes to, the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program (ODTP). Read about them here.

“Can’t get angry though, because one angry blackfella means we’re all angry blackfellas. Yet a handful of incompetent whitefellas means what? The system. I want you to care. I want you to be angry, too. I want you to hate this.”
Hate This, is a powerful piece written by Carissa Lee, a Noongar actor and writer whose work has featured in The Guardian, Junkee, Witness Performance, IndigenousX and The Conversation. We are happy to be able share the piece both as written text and spoken word performed by First Nations actor Angeline Penrith.

A one-women radio play about life after jail. Performed by Jarrah

Exhaustion is a one-women radio play about life after jail. Jarrah, a woman in her 40s, gives the audience a massive dose of ‘real talk’, offering her vulnerability and her struggles to overcome the challenges of life after release from jail. She inspires empathy and concern as she shares the things that are important to her and how she feels.

A poem by one of our readers, Rhosa.

Dr Karen Hitchcock is one of Australia’s first authorised prescribers of medicinal cannabis and a supporter of its benefits. She recently spoke at the “Garden States” conference, run by Entheogenesis Australis (EGA), where she outlined how the medicinal cannabis world has changed over the last 4 years. She busted some old myths like “If you don’t have multiple sclerosis (MS) or epilepsy, you can't get prescribed cannabis”, “Only a few doctors in Australia can prescribe”, “There’s only a couple of cannabis oils that can be prescribed.” The following is based on her informative and insightful responses at a Q&A at the conference.