In response to the global pandemic, people around the world have adjusted their ways of life. 

Governments have imposed restrictions on the time people can spend with one another, forcing people to find alternative means of communication and connection.

For people who use drugs or people who are going through recovery, this period of time is particularly challenging as opportunities for support and contact are reduced.

In this article Tim Ryan, addiction expert, describes his own experiences of addiction and recovery and reflects on the challenges that people who are struggling with...

The  National Center for Education and Training on Addiction ( NCETA), The National Drug and Alcohol Research Center (NDARC) and the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) have compiled a list of some online information and resources that may be of help to people working in the alcohol and other drug sector.

The resources are listed under:

• Wellbeing

• Information and training 

• Support, counseling and treatment

We are witnessing, arguably, the greatest public health issue of our time. However, that is not to say the public health concerns that were present before the pandemic have disappeared.

Opioid addiction and opioid-related deaths continue to cause great harm to society.

This article discusses the way these two critical issues are interacting and causing damage to particularly vulnerable groups of people.

The author describes how social determinants- the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age- influence levels of risk and overall wellbeing.

He comments on the...

As people across the U.S. and the rest of the world contend with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this article warns that the research community should be alert to the possibility that it could hit some populations with substance use disorders (SUDs) particularly hard.

Because it attacks the lungs, Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) warns that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be an especially serious threat to those who smoke tobacco or marijuana or who vape. People with opioid use disorder (OUD) and methamphetamine use disorder may...

COVID-19 and the lockdown present particular challenges for people affected by homelessness and substance use and services working with them. SDF's second free COVID-19 webinar included speakers from across Scotland describing local services responses from which other areas may learn and improve their service provision to a high risk vulnerable group. Speakers: - Dr John Budd, The Access Practice, Edinburgh - Hugh Hill, Director of Services and Development, Simon Community Scotland - Lynsey Allan, Substance Use and Homelessness Services Manager, Turning Point Aberdeen - Danny Kelly, Hillcrest...