Next week the university, Students Union and The Drop will be continuing the All About Drugs campaign with another programme of events. Take a look below to see what you can get involved in:
Tuesday 9th 2-5pm:
Harm reduction at the North Village – Have a quick chat with someone from The Drop so you can pick up a free reagent drug testing kit. You can also stop by to have any of your questions about alcohol and other drugs answered. Look out for the truck by the transport hub!
Wednesday 10th February 2-4pm:
All About Drugs Education Session – The session covers: the identification and categorisation of many common drugs; potential risks associated with alcohol and other drugs; the effects of mixing drugs and explores why people use drugs. The session is facilitated by an NHS specialist. No need to sign up, just follow the link near the bottom of this page to join via Teams on the day.
Thursday 11th 6-7.30pm:
All About Drugs x The Drug Science and Psychedelic Research Society Webinar – This time round it’s all about ketamine, drugs online and your wellbeing during covid, with guest speakers Sorcha Ryan from The Drop, Paul North from Voltefaceand Arda Ozcubukcu from Neurosight. Join the webinar by following this link.
Every Friday 10am-4pm:
Harm Reduction Sessions at Bristol Drugs Project – Visit The Drop for harm reduction tips or support for your use of alcohol and other drugs. Get trained to use and pick up a free reagent drug testing kit! Contact TheDrop@bdp.org.uk to book in. Sessions can be offered online if you’re not in Bristol, are self-isolating or are shielding.
If you’ve got questions about any of the activities we have planned or would like to chat to someone about your use of alcohol and other drugs please get in touch on 07903799104, at thedrop@bdp.org.uk or on our socials @TheDrop_BDP.
New PPE Face Shields allows BDP outreach staff to continue to respond to potential overdoses and support our most vulnerable clients in Bristol
Each year BDP’s Assertive Engagement team respond to many unintentional overdoses, checking whether people can be roused and administering naloxone (which reverses opioid overdose) while paramedics arrive. We are delighted to have a supply of donated Face Shields to add to BDP’s PPE kit, allowing our staff to give naloxone safely to potential overdoses, particularly those people sleeping out on the street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Face Shields have been made by students and staff at Cotham School who have donated thousands of face shields to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, GP Practices and Care Homes across Bristol and beyond.
As a school we have committed our equipment and time to make face shields for local NHS frontline workers. Cotham School, Bristol, have the materials arriving, the people willing and need to raise the funds to cover the costs.
– Cotham School
We would like to say a huge thank you to the staff and students at Cotham School for donating 15 Face Shields to BDP’s frontline staff. Your generosity allows us to continue to support some of the most vulnerable and at -risk people living in Bristol, particularly those still out on the streets.
– Rachel Ayres, BDP
If you work for a local frontline health or social care organisation, you can request Cotham School to produce Face Shields for your organisation via their online form.
Cotham School are continuing to raise money to purchase the raw materials to produce at least another 1000 face shields. To support their efforts please visit their GoFundMe page below.
COVID-19 has changed the party scene in 2020 dramatically. Festivals have been cancelled, nightclubs are a thing of the past and many of us have moved our social lives online by keeping in touch with friends through apps like Zoom and House Party. Whilst these measures are necessary to help limit the spread of coronavirus, they present certain risks to those who choose to use alcohol and other drugs. The following advice will help keep you, your friends and family safe if you choose to use drugs.
Your General Health
Using alcohol and other drugs is harmful to your immune system. This is why it is important that you avoid using drugs if you are feeling unwell (whether its coronavirus or not). Make sure you take regular breaks from partying to give your body time to recover.
Looking after yourself by eating well (lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds) will help minimise the damage done by taking drugs. As will staying hydrated before, during and after a session.
Be mindful of your mental health. We are all under a lot of stress at the moment and many of us are feeling more anxious than normal. If your mental health isn’t up to it, save the partying for another time.
Meeting your Dealer
Meeting your dealer will always carry some risk but picking up is likely to be more conspicuous during lockdown. Weigh up the risks of picking up outside in a public place (risk of arrest) vs letting someone in your house or getting in someone’s car (risk of coronavirus). The balance of these risks will likely vary depending on your circumstances.
When making your order, ask what the delivery/pick-up process is going to look like. If you know what to expect, it’s easier to minimise the risks. For example, if you know you’re going to have to get into your dealers car, make sure you put on a mask and some gloves.
Dealers are likely to have come in to contact with lots more people than the average person during lockdown. To avoid the transmission of coronavirus, wipe down baggies/wraps with anti-bac or alcohol gel to kill any germs and wash your hands.
Tolerance and Contamination
With venues closed and festivals cancelled you might have been using party drugs less than you usually would. This means your tolerance is likely lower than it was at the beginning of lockdown.Make sure you dose accordingly. Ideally, you should be weighing out your doses using a milligram scale. Another option is to learn how to do volumetric dosing (it’s easier than it sounds!). If at all possible, avoid eye-balling your dose. As always, follow the mantra “Start Low, Take it Slow”. You can always take more but if you take too much, you’re in it for the long haul.
There’s little evidence to suggest the drug supply has become more adulterated since lockdown began however it’s likely that this is not true across the board. To reduce the risk of taking adulterated drugs, test your stash. You can send off a sample to WEDINOS. Another way you can reduce the risk of an unpredictable experience is to only use one drug at a time.
Using Drugs Alone
Using drugs alone is never recommended because if something goes wrong there’s no-one there to help. However, under lockdown, this may be unavoidable. The best way to minimise the potential dangers of using drugs alone is to let someone know what you’re taking, when you’re going to be taking it and agree to check in with them at certain times to let them know you are ok. Make a plan for what you want your friend to do if they can’t reach you. For example, getting in touch with your housemate/neighbour. If you know a friend is using alone, make sure to check in on them too.
Using Drugs with Other People
Putting something in your nose that has been in someone else’s is a great way to transmit coronavirus and blood borne viruses (BBVs) such as Hepatitis C. It’s now more important than ever that you do not share snorting equipment.Money is not a good choice for snorting drugs with- just think of how many hands have touched it! Use post-it notes instead (making sure the sticky bit is on the outside once it’s rolled up). A good tip is to use different colours so yours doesn’t get mixed up with your friends. If you’re dabbing drugs, divide the bag between your friends before you start taking it so you avoid dipping your finger in the same bag as everyone else. Any surfaces you use for preparing drugs (a mirror/your phone etc) should be disinfected between each use. If you’re taking nitrous oxide, make sure you aren’t sharing balloons.
The risk of a virus entering your body is increased if you have small cuts in your nose from snorting drugs that aren’t crushed up properly. Use a card and a piece of paper (or even better, a small pestle and mortar) to crush your drugs as finely as possible. At the end of a drug taking session,flush out your nose. Most damage is done by unabsorbed drugs sitting if your nose while you sleep. Invest in some nasal saline solution or, if you can’t get hold of any, snort some water.
If you’re smoking cannabis with other people, instead of rolling a king skin and sharing it, roll a single skin each. If you’re worried about your lung health, perhaps try changing how you consume cannabis and make some edibles! Remember the effects will take longer to appear; be patient and don’t be tempted to re-dose. Many a seasoned smoker has been caught out by an unexpectedly strong edible.
Additional Things to Consider
Using alcohol and other drugs will lower your inhibitions and you might be tempted to finally go and meet that Tinder match you’ve been chatting to since lockdown began. If you can’t help yourself, make sure to practice safe sex (this won’t protect you against coronavirus but at least you won’t get chlamydia too) and let someone know where you’re going and who you’re meeting.
Finally, be aware that without the usual structure to our lives, it’s easy to slip into more harmful patterns of drug taking. Try to keep track of how often you’re using drugs and how much you’re using each time. If you notice a change you’re not happy with, or feel like things are getting out of control, take a break and speak to someone about it. If you’re having issues, it’s possible you’re friends are too. Having open and honest conversations about your drug use helps reduce stigma in your friendship group and means that if someone is having a hard time, they know their friends will be there to support them.
Alternatively, contact BDP to talk to one of our harm reduction advisors (open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm. Any messages left outside these hours will be picked up as soon as possible).
Titled ‘New Psychoactive Substances: the response by probation and substance misuse services in the community in England’, the inspection was undertaken to identify good probation practice in tackling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) use, such as Spice, given reports of rising concerns about its use among offenders.
The report makes it clear that NPS use is still relatively limited compared to the problematic use of alcohol and drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
NPS are used largely by the homeless community and by other vulnerable people, including those who offend.
The case study looks at a service user who was referred from hospital to BDP for a brief intervention around his Spice use, having started using it in prison.
The BDP keyworker spoke to Peter’s CRC responsible officer after every appointment. She could see that the responsible officer had a good relationship with Peter, and on occasion if he turned up in an aggressive mood, she would direct him to see his responsible officer and return when he was calmer, which he did.
With the collaborative support of his BDP keyworker and CRC officer, the service user successfully detoxed from Spice and was offered a place on our relapse prevention programme.
The BDP keyworker was quoted as saying that success was partly due to “really good interagency working” between BDP and the CRC officer, who they praised for going “the extra mile” in supporting the service user’s treatment.
His BDP keyworker has since said that the service user “looked like a different person”.
A recent study led by the University of Bristol & the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with the support of Rachel Ayres from BDP has shown that providing clean injecting equipment is a highly cost effective way of preventing the transmission of hepatitis C.
The research estimated the cost effectiveness of three existing needle and syringe programs like our needle exchange in cites with varying levels of hepatitis C infection amongst the injecting population – Bristol, Dundee and Walsall.
Using several mathematical models the researchers estimated what might happen if all the programs stopped for the first 10 years of a 50 year period and found that the cost savings for Bristol alone would be £159,712. In
The study also showed that needle and syringe programs would continue to be cost effective even if hepatitis C treatment rates increased or the treatment costs reduced due to the ability of these programs to prevent re-infection.
We have evaluated the impact and cost-effectiveness of needle and syringe programmes in the UK for the first time. The results are clear. Needle and syringe programmes not only reduce the number of new HCV infections among people who inject drugs and improve their quality of life, they are also low-cost, excellent value for money and, in some areas, save money, which is good news for our cash-strapped local authorities. We hope that Public Health England and local government commissioners and policy makers will take note and continue to commission needle and syringe programmes, which are currently under threat of funding cuts.
