Briefing on Benzo Analogue Etizolam Released Today

Today sees the release of an Etizolam briefing by the Scottish Drugs Forum. I have been wondering how long it would take for this benzo analogue to come to the attention of (typically experienced) drug users, national and local drug services, and ultimately the UK government. You can read it here.

In Manchester, local services are seeing clients presenting with specific problems in relation to “blues” including withdrawal difficulties, memory loss, rebound anxiety and so on. My verdict on “blues”? Maybe okay to take to get oneself off to sleep post-clubbing, but definitely not something to get into on a daily basis, and certainly not something to be taken lightly.

Look out for a forthcoming study on ‘blag benzos’ by Club Research at Lancaster University.

Best wishes

Krenz

Druglink review of our Key Concepts in Drugs and Society book

As a Lecturer in Sociology at Lancaster University, helping students gain an understanding of the contested nature of ‘drugs’ and what we might call ‘the drugs problem’ is often at the forefront of my mind. The challenge is to support student learning about an incredibly complex issue presented in often simplistic and moralistic terms by the media and politicians.

Teaching my final year module Drugs, Crime and Society has been a pleasure this year, with the students really getting stuck into the debates that are crucial in critical drug studies. I hope the book my colleagues and I recently published helped them, and will help others in years to come.

Coomber, R., McElrath, K., Measham, F. and Moore, K. (2013) Key Concepts in Drugs and Society, London: Sage.

Review as published June 2014