LEAP UK

We are humbled to share this video which highlights addiction and overdose from two different perspectives: The Family and The Police. To mark #OverdoseAwareness we would like to pay our respect to all who have experience. Let’s save lives!

‘Need for drugs checking services 'urgent' as 50% of Scots street drugs contaminated with other substances’ Purity will continue to fluctuate in an unregulated market. High and low purity presents their own respective risks. scotsman.com/news/politics/… By @CatrionaStewart

‘After a hard-fought victory to legalise medical cannabis in the UK, why is it still so hard to access?’ By @KojoKoram A look at the system that still doesn’t allow for everyone’s needs. Anecdotally we can attest that tier systems exist and exclude. theguardian.com/news/2026/may/…

We have a similar situation in the UK. Mental health, trauma, and wellness, all major factors we need to address for any person who sees the inside of the prison walls, whether that’s officers or incarcerated people.

“Velinor’s testimony reflects a growing movement within the law enforcement community to confront systemic inequities and promote policies that prioritize fairness, accountability, and community trust on a global scale.” Thanking @noblenatl as LEAP speaker Police Commissioner Trevor Velinor is featured in their newsletter. See in full: myemail.constantcontact.com/NOBLE-Monthly-…

A ‘new’ strategy is being put forward in the U.S. for dr*g policy. @IDPCnet has put together this briefing on what to look for and what we can expect. It needs to be remembered - what the U.S. implements will impact the rest of the world. idpc.net/blog/2026/05/s…

@Wass2020 We have a great many testimonies from people with lived-experience who find the push for abstinence to be detrimental for their recovery. Hence we need many treatment options. We have to listen to everyone who’s in recovery or finding recovery

@UKLEAP Leading to abstinence and free from mental illness

@Wass2020 We are also guided by many people with lived-experience too. The treatment paths you mention are a useful option and work for many. But we need many treatment option to allow for everyone’s needs and circumstances.

@UKLEAP aye, mostly from addicts or empathisers. what do you think of the good work done by NA and AA

@Wass2020 We have a great number of members who are addiction specialists, mental health workers and professionals. We do have extensive personnel experience in those fields too.

@UKLEAP Like you say, you are a law enforcer, not a mental health or addiction specialist.

Are you aware of the suicide and mental health rates around corrections and correctional officers? As we mark #NationalCorrectionalOfficersWeek, LEAP speaker and retired Chief Probation Officer Dr. John Watts gives us personal testimony as to why the health inside prison walls reflects on public health.

@Wass2020 And we as an international collective of law enforcement, police chiefs, prison and probation officers and every level of the justice system are able to testify that those laws not only do not work but compound the issues for individuals and communities.

@UKLEAP but we get criminalised for smoking, drinking alcohol, and running the street with COVID. there are laws to report infectious disease and laws to lock us up when manic. sometimes we need a law to protect ourselves

@Wass2020 Exactly, do no harm. So being criminalised for a mental illness, being left to unregulated sources and lacking nuance in treatment options. All reasons we need sensible and dignity-led reform and quash the stigma.

@UKLEAP Addiction is a mental illness. You do not treat an illness by giving people more of what causes the illness, you remove the cause of the disease. “Do no harm”. The problem with addiction though, the addict is delusional, manipulative, tries to persuade you they need their drug

@Wass2020 @CatrionaStewart The model you describe is interdiction and prohibition. We have over 50 years of a modern policy that demonstrates that failure, and we have historical examples of equal failure. We can’t keep repeating the same mistakes and expect different outcomes. We need to learn.

@UKLEAP @CatrionaStewart How about, if you find drugs destroy them. What absolute nonsense. What other public health precautions suggest you get a batch tested. 1 pkt of food has ecoli, every pkt is destroyed and factory closed. This is a health emergency.

@Livingston34455 @PoliceForReform Thank you for your feedback, especially interesting to note ‘The Prison Times’. We shall most certainly have to look more into this. Very much appreciate your responses.

@UKLEAP @PoliceForReform 1)Here in the UK, a newspaper for prisoners, 'The Prison Times', & other interested participants has been promoting the need for drastic prison reform since inception. If a CNMDU is sentenced & becomes drug free, on discharge, the usual first port of call is usually to a dealer~

We need to remember that incarcerated people are - and will be - our neighbours. We truly recommend you watch this video from our head office @PoliceForReform, Laura’s words ring true across international boundaries. We need better approaches in our prisons.

“Prisons are filled with our neighbors. They’re within our own communities and we should be treating them like community members." Please watch & share: LEAP’s Laura Boesen worked in prisons, creating space for connection, dignity, growth -centering humanity where it can be lost

A discussion on Sky around MDMA and emerging treatments. We have to be careful how we discuss this. It’s a complicated tapestry. Without the many advocates who have brought this issue to light we wouldn’t be as advanced in the conversation as we are.

Significant move in the U.S. A simple step but also necessary, one that the UK could benefit from too in our own comparative system.

Breaking news. The U.S. has just rescheduled cannabis: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…