Dr Rachael Andrews, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath writes: When teachers confiscate a vape from a student, they often assume it contains nicotine or perhaps even cannabis. What many don’t realise, is that some of these vapes contain Spice, a dangerous synthetic drug that young people […]
Guest blog: How Social Media Is Fuelling a School Drug Crisis Read More »
What needs to be done to prevent harm from drugs? A Whole-System Response to Drug Prevention in the UK (ACMD, 2025) When it comes to addressing drug-related harms, and reducing the risks from drugs to young people, prevention has long been overshadowed by the urgency of rising numbers of drug-related deaths, and the damage to society
What needs to be done to prevent harm from drugs? Read More »
As a charity founded in response to the loss of a young life to drugs, the work of the DSM Foundation has always been driven by a strong sense of values – a belief that harm to young people can and must be prevented, and that our work can and must do that, and do
In response to findings that one in six confiscated vapes from UK schools contained the illegal and dangerous drug Spice, drugs education charity the DSM Foundation has collaborated with the  University of Bath which undertook the original research to produce an innovative training resource aimed at helping school and college staff identify and address the
Fiona writes: For two busy days in November last year, three of our team joined the crowds of people who flocked to the Larchfield Estate from near and far to buy beautiful artisan crafts and gifts at the celebrated annual Christmas in the Barn – and all the funds raised went to our drug education
Data out last week shows the number of under 18s in drug and alcohol treatment in 2023-24 has risen by 16% from the previous year. To the extent this reflects an increase in numbers accessing the professional support they need, this is good. To the extent it represents a significant increase in numbers of children
Increase in young people who use drugs seeking treatment – good or bad news? Read More »
A lot of the work we do at the DSM Foundation is around social norms: the context young people find themselves in when it comes to drugs. The reason this is front and centre for us is because reality is often quite far from what people think, and that’s true for the adults in young
Analysis of the latest NHS Digital data on young people and drugs Read More »
In certain circles, Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is always a hot topic. There is no doubt that the adults in the lives of young people want them to have the knowledge and skills they need in order to be safe, but the views of those adults differ hugely in terms of what they
RSHE: looking beyond sex ed Read More »
Last month, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) published its new guidelines on how it classifies films. This was informed by the organisation’s largest ever public consultation, which involved gauging the opinions of 12,000 people across the UK to find out what matters most to audiences when it comes to age appropriateness. Before
The possible impacts of easing restrictions on depictions of drug use on screen Read More »
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has gained a lot of publicity. In this blog, we look at the changes it is proposing, the impact these are likely to have (particularly on young people), and when it is likely to be in place. The Bill is ambitious in its aims, which are to introduce measures
Understanding the Tobacco and Vapes Bill Read More »
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