Sam Shirley-Beavan
@samshirls.bsky.social
PhD in harm reduction, drug policy and drug peace.
📍Maputo, Mozambique
📍Maputo, Mozambique
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
On #WorldAIDSDay, remember that people are still catching HIV from sharing injecting equipment. And this can be prevented. #HarmReduction
December 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM
On #WorldAIDSDay, remember that people are still catching HIV from sharing injecting equipment. And this can be prevented. #HarmReduction
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n
British Politics' Midlife Crisis
Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters
benansell.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:40 AM
On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
www.bbc.com/news/article...
An estimated 13,000 opioid-related deaths have been left out of official drug deaths from 2013-2022 - 50% higher than previously known.
This means what was already dire numbers were actually worse than expected. But would things have been different with this info?
An estimated 13,000 opioid-related deaths have been left out of official drug deaths from 2013-2022 - 50% higher than previously known.
This means what was already dire numbers were actually worse than expected. But would things have been different with this info?
Thousands of opioid deaths missed off official figures
The error - affecting England and Wales - raises concerns about the impact on the government's approach to drug deaths.
www.bbc.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:50 AM
www.bbc.com/news/article...
An estimated 13,000 opioid-related deaths have been left out of official drug deaths from 2013-2022 - 50% higher than previously known.
This means what was already dire numbers were actually worse than expected. But would things have been different with this info?
An estimated 13,000 opioid-related deaths have been left out of official drug deaths from 2013-2022 - 50% higher than previously known.
This means what was already dire numbers were actually worse than expected. But would things have been different with this info?
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Call from Palestinian Scholars to boycott the European Society of Criminology #EuroCrim2025
Link below
Link below
August 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Call from Palestinian Scholars to boycott the European Society of Criminology #EuroCrim2025
Link below
Link below
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Abolish the Home Office.
UK Home Office tells parents their children should return to Brazil alone
While Ana Luiza Cabral Gouveia and Hugo Barbosa can remain, letter says sons, 11 and eight, must go back to Brazil
www.theguardian.com
June 19, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Abolish the Home Office.
Exactly this. Let’s not give the drug war yet another tool to mask the real problem.
The main problem worthy of public attention with Musk isn't his drug consumption, it's that he is a white supremacist, the wealthiest person on earth and continues to have access to immense power to achieve his truly dystopian future
May 31, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Exactly this. Let’s not give the drug war yet another tool to mask the real problem.
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
More information on the L&SERWFL Trophy final between Clapton CFC Women's First Team and Dulwich Hamlet Reserves at Maidstone United today 🇵🇸✊
www.claptoncfc.co.uk/2025/05/25/c...
www.claptoncfc.co.uk/2025/05/25/c...
May 25, 2025 at 6:19 PM
More information on the L&SERWFL Trophy final between Clapton CFC Women's First Team and Dulwich Hamlet Reserves at Maidstone United today 🇵🇸✊
www.claptoncfc.co.uk/2025/05/25/c...
www.claptoncfc.co.uk/2025/05/25/c...
I'm not an expert in this by any stretch, but I am uncomfortable with 'do this or stay in prison' being presented as "voluntary".
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Shabana Mahmood considers chemical castration for serious sex offenders
Justice secretary expected to back radical sentencing reforms, including use of libido-suppressing drugs in England and Wales
www.theguardian.com
May 22, 2025 at 1:07 PM
I'm not an expert in this by any stretch, but I am uncomfortable with 'do this or stay in prison' being presented as "voluntary".
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
🔎 Special Issue Alert 🔍
This Special Issue seeks to provide ways in which we can understand drug-related violence. Submission Deadline is September, 15th, 2025.
Link: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
#InternationalDrugPolicy #DrugRelatedViolence
This Special Issue seeks to provide ways in which we can understand drug-related violence. Submission Deadline is September, 15th, 2025.
Link: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
#InternationalDrugPolicy #DrugRelatedViolence
May 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
🔎 Special Issue Alert 🔍
This Special Issue seeks to provide ways in which we can understand drug-related violence. Submission Deadline is September, 15th, 2025.
Link: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
#InternationalDrugPolicy #DrugRelatedViolence
This Special Issue seeks to provide ways in which we can understand drug-related violence. Submission Deadline is September, 15th, 2025.
Link: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
#InternationalDrugPolicy #DrugRelatedViolence
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
As I argue in the article linked below, "concerns about immigration" are created in a top down manner and focusing on this only serves to legitimise and normalise the far right
Starmer is not trying to counter Reform, he's normalising far right politics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Starmer is not trying to counter Reform, he's normalising far right politics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
May 12, 2025 at 10:15 AM
As I argue in the article linked below, "concerns about immigration" are created in a top down manner and focusing on this only serves to legitimise and normalise the far right
Starmer is not trying to counter Reform, he's normalising far right politics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Starmer is not trying to counter Reform, he's normalising far right politics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Very excited to share our new paper in @ijdrugpolicy.bsky.social 🎉
In this paper we look at experiences of people who use drugs in public and semi public drug consumption environments and the need for OPCs in England.
In this paper we look at experiences of people who use drugs in public and semi public drug consumption environments and the need for OPCs in England.
May 5, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Very excited to share our new paper in @ijdrugpolicy.bsky.social 🎉
In this paper we look at experiences of people who use drugs in public and semi public drug consumption environments and the need for OPCs in England.
In this paper we look at experiences of people who use drugs in public and semi public drug consumption environments and the need for OPCs in England.
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
People often claim psychedelics have been used globally, for millennia, & in rituals of psychological healing.
In today's Guardian Long Read, I show what these stories get wrong & why the reality is far more interesting: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
From "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"
In today's Guardian Long Read, I show what these stories get wrong & why the reality is far more interesting: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
From "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"
The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’
The narrative of ancient tribes around the world regularly using ayahuasca and magic mushrooms in healing practices is a popular one. Is it true?
www.theguardian.com
May 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
People often claim psychedelics have been used globally, for millennia, & in rituals of psychological healing.
In today's Guardian Long Read, I show what these stories get wrong & why the reality is far more interesting: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
From "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"
In today's Guardian Long Read, I show what these stories get wrong & why the reality is far more interesting: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
From "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Is the UK shifting its approach to drug policy? Why is drug policy more important than ever in today's geopolitics? What does global evidence say about OPCs?
It was great to join Sam Lewis from the Human Condition Podcast to discuss these questions...check out our full discussion below 👇
It was great to join Sam Lewis from the Human Condition Podcast to discuss these questions...check out our full discussion below 👇
April 8, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Is the UK shifting its approach to drug policy? Why is drug policy more important than ever in today's geopolitics? What does global evidence say about OPCs?
It was great to join Sam Lewis from the Human Condition Podcast to discuss these questions...check out our full discussion below 👇
It was great to join Sam Lewis from the Human Condition Podcast to discuss these questions...check out our full discussion below 👇
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
good for booker, good for crawford, but really, this should be the top news story and nothing else is close
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Palestinian paramedics shot by Israeli forces had hands tied, eyewitnesses say
Senior doctor who saw bodies says men appeared to have been ‘executed’, adding to evidence of potential war crime
www.theguardian.com
April 2, 2025 at 5:45 AM
good for booker, good for crawford, but really, this should be the top news story and nothing else is close
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Trump is cutting billions from treatment and health interventions that keep people safe from fentanyl to justify increasing border control funding. Shifting funds to enforcement jeopardizes the solutions that we know work. We need to protect programs that keep people safe.
April 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Trump is cutting billions from treatment and health interventions that keep people safe from fentanyl to justify increasing border control funding. Shifting funds to enforcement jeopardizes the solutions that we know work. We need to protect programs that keep people safe.
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Read our full statement on the UK in the World.
Labour must be a beacon not a weathervane – neither national nor human security is advanced by jeopardising the world’s poorest, nor making things harder for its most fragile states.
Labour must be a beacon not a weathervane – neither national nor human security is advanced by jeopardising the world’s poorest, nor making things harder for its most fragile states.
March 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Read our full statement on the UK in the World.
Labour must be a beacon not a weathervane – neither national nor human security is advanced by jeopardising the world’s poorest, nor making things harder for its most fragile states.
Labour must be a beacon not a weathervane – neither national nor human security is advanced by jeopardising the world’s poorest, nor making things harder for its most fragile states.
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
“The entire staff of the federal government's Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off.”
RFK Jr. to gut vaccine promotion and HIV prevention office, sources say
Much of the federal government's efforts to buoy lagging childhood vaccination rates have been run through the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy.
www.cbsnews.com
March 28, 2025 at 9:37 PM
“The entire staff of the federal government's Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off.”
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
We are seeking two new trustees with strong commitment to HRI’s vision and mission to join our board of trustees. hri.global/vacancies/trustee-vacancy-2/
March 24, 2025 at 9:33 AM
We are seeking two new trustees with strong commitment to HRI’s vision and mission to join our board of trustees. hri.global/vacancies/trustee-vacancy-2/
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
We know immigration as a concern is a top-down construction that allows the mainstream elite to avoid tackling real crises
We know it only serves to mainstream the far right further
Labour (and the Conservatives) are complicit rather than an alternative to the far right which is running the show
We know it only serves to mainstream the far right further
Labour (and the Conservatives) are complicit rather than an alternative to the far right which is running the show
So, so glad we got the Tories out so we can send Them to The Camps with a clear conscience
March 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
We know immigration as a concern is a top-down construction that allows the mainstream elite to avoid tackling real crises
We know it only serves to mainstream the far right further
Labour (and the Conservatives) are complicit rather than an alternative to the far right which is running the show
We know it only serves to mainstream the far right further
Labour (and the Conservatives) are complicit rather than an alternative to the far right which is running the show
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Just out in #HarmReductionJournal: another article from our realist review of international evidence on overdose prevention centres (AKA drug consumption rooms, supervised injecting facilities), showing how and for whom they work #harmreduction #OPCPrep 1/7 links.springernature.com/f/a/hWOfNJIE...
March 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Just out in #HarmReductionJournal: another article from our realist review of international evidence on overdose prevention centres (AKA drug consumption rooms, supervised injecting facilities), showing how and for whom they work #harmreduction #OPCPrep 1/7 links.springernature.com/f/a/hWOfNJIE...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Meet Evan Anzoo, a five-year-old boy in South Sudan who died when Elon Musk shut down USAID and the boy lost access to his HIV meds. Musk says no one has died because of the aid shutdown, but that's because he didn't look. RIP, Evan, you deserved better. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
March 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Meet Evan Anzoo, a five-year-old boy in South Sudan who died when Elon Musk shut down USAID and the boy lost access to his HIV meds. Musk says no one has died because of the aid shutdown, but that's because he didn't look. RIP, Evan, you deserved better. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Which countries carried out the most executions for drug offences?
🔴Iran: 485 (79% of known cases globally).
🔴Saudi Arabia: 122 —a 6000% surge from 2023.
🔴China: unknown, like hundreds.
🔴Singapore: 8.
Learn more: https://shorturl.at/bf6Td
#StopExecutions #EndTheDeathPenalty
🔴Iran: 485 (79% of known cases globally).
🔴Saudi Arabia: 122 —a 6000% surge from 2023.
🔴China: unknown, like hundreds.
🔴Singapore: 8.
Learn more: https://shorturl.at/bf6Td
#StopExecutions #EndTheDeathPenalty
March 12, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Which countries carried out the most executions for drug offences?
🔴Iran: 485 (79% of known cases globally).
🔴Saudi Arabia: 122 —a 6000% surge from 2023.
🔴China: unknown, like hundreds.
🔴Singapore: 8.
Learn more: https://shorturl.at/bf6Td
#StopExecutions #EndTheDeathPenalty
🔴Iran: 485 (79% of known cases globally).
🔴Saudi Arabia: 122 —a 6000% surge from 2023.
🔴China: unknown, like hundreds.
🔴Singapore: 8.
Learn more: https://shorturl.at/bf6Td
#StopExecutions #EndTheDeathPenalty
There's a lot to unpack in this very affecting story, and better people than me to do it.
One thing that stands out, though: 'zero tolerance' on drugs means nothing more than washing your hands of responsibility. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
One thing that stands out, though: 'zero tolerance' on drugs means nothing more than washing your hands of responsibility. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘It’s hell on earth for me’: how did Joe Black overdose in a homeless hostel with zero tolerance for drugs?
Joe was a gifted musician who struggled with addiction and poor mental health. When he got a place at an award-winning ‘sanctuary’ in London, it sounded perfect. The reality was shockingly different
www.theguardian.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:14 AM
There's a lot to unpack in this very affecting story, and better people than me to do it.
One thing that stands out, though: 'zero tolerance' on drugs means nothing more than washing your hands of responsibility. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
One thing that stands out, though: 'zero tolerance' on drugs means nothing more than washing your hands of responsibility. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Trump is shifting into Duterte mode — an autocrat he has admired for years. He killed up to 30,000 Filipinos during his term and they’re still flush with drugs.
Trump: "If you notice, every country that has the death penalty has no drug problem. They execute drug dealers. And when you think about it, it's very humane, because every drug dealer on average they say kills at least 500 people ... I don't know if our country is ready for it. I am ready for it."
February 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Trump is shifting into Duterte mode — an autocrat he has admired for years. He killed up to 30,000 Filipinos during his term and they’re still flush with drugs.
Reposted by Sam Shirley-Beavan
Just a reminder that if you're working at a UK university and want to talk about cuts at your institution, my DMs are open. For a piece for Prospect.
February 10, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Just a reminder that if you're working at a UK university and want to talk about cuts at your institution, my DMs are open. For a piece for Prospect.