DDN is an independent publication, entirely funded by advertising.
Publishers:
Partners:
Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals
Supporting organisations:
4
NEWS
DDN’s round-up of national and local news.
7
PAINFUL INHERITANCE
NACOA have launched an action plan to support children of alcoholics.
8
COVER STORY
Michael Linnell recalls the controversy of his harm reduction campaigns.
10
BEHIND THE STATS
Russell Webster looks at inventive business of getting drugs into prison.
11
I'MWORTH…
A new campaign to help people living with hepatitis C.
12
LETTERS AND COMMENT
13
FIRST PERSON
Anne-Marie Cockburn’s fight for effective drugs education; George Allan
takes up his position in Resources Corner.
14
DIFFERENTWAVELENGTHS
Kit Caless shares debate from Addaction’s NPS conference.
15
VOICES FROMTREATMENT
Launch of Collective Voice; reaction from ESH on their capital funding win.
16
EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
John Taylor shares the ups and downs of family support.
17 VIEW FROMTHE COALFACE
Keith Stevenson discusses the highs and lows of a difficult role.
April 2016 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 3
editor’s letter
‘Don’t be afraid to challenge
or offend to get a life-saving
message across’
Contents
M
ichael Linnell’s cover story will still have the capacity to
shock (page 8). Is it the graphic drawings? Is it the
confrontation of difficult and taboo subject matter? Or is it
the fact that he refused to be deterred in creating campaigns for ‘the
most marginalised and stigmatised’ in society? How many of us
would have given up at the threat of prosecution, the press attacks,
the repeated obstruction?
‘There are two ways of producing a communication,’ he told us.
‘Either you do something you think will be inoffensive and not upset
anybody outside of the target audience, or you do something to appeal
to the target audience.’With commissioning so tightly governed by
local budgets, this might seem like a wistful glance at bygone days. But
it’s also a reminder to stay passionate about things that matter, and not
be afraid to offend to get a life-saving message across.
Addressing a group of parliamentarians and professionals the
other week, Anne-Marie Cockburn placed her daughter’s shoes on
the House of Commons committee room table, before delivering a
resonating speech about the irrelevance of young people’s drugs
education (page 12). It came from the heart: her daughter Martha’s
experiment with MDMA would not have become tragedy had she
known some basic harm reduction, and Anne-Marie was asking us to
confront the woeful irrelevance of ‘just saying no’. How hard this
routine must be for a grieving parent; but how many people must be
revising their views because of those shoes?
Claire Brown, editor
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Cover artwork by Michael Linnell
ON THE COVER
Michael Linnell & Lifeline Publications
