In GDS Corona Conversations episode one Prof. Adam Winstock speaks with senior policy analyst Steve Rolles from Transform Drug Policy Foundation. During the conversation Steve talks about drug policy and the changes needed to make in order to help people who use drugs to get through this period [17.15 minutes].

Adam speaks with Alex Stevens who is a Professor in Criminal Justice and Director of Public Engagement at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kent. During the conversation Prof. Stevens highlights that drug use treatment and delivery were already in crisis in the UK before the COVID-19 pandemic and that there are lessons we need to learn from this period when we have time to look back. [16.51 minutes]

Adam speaks with Niamh Eastwood, executive director of Release. In the conversation Niamh talks how the corona virus is forcing drug traffickers to think outside the box as well as that the police need to focus their attention elsewhere/ Release is the national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law in the UK. [25.04 mins].

Adam speaks with Zara Snapp, co-founder of the Instituto RIA based in Mexico. Zara talks about drugs and COVID19 in Mexico, precursor supply interruption and the impact the current situation has on the most vulnerable population of society. [28.34 minutes]

Adam speaks with Shaun Shelly, TB HIV Care’s Policy, Advocacy and Human Rights Manager for People Who Use Drugs in South Africa [25.07 minutes]

Adam speaks with Judy Chang, Executive Director of INPUD - International Network of People who Use Drugs. Judy talks about the challenges facing people who use drugs around the world and how peer support and solidarity in different regions is guiding governments to change what they do and how - for better and occasionally for worse. [33.28 minutes]

Adam speaks with Mat Southwell, Project Manager from EuroNPUD - The European Network of People who Use Drugs. During the conversation Mat talks about peer support networks and harm reduction practices in relation to COVID19. Mat also presents a leaflet that provide harm reduction advice for people who use drugs. The flyers were done together with INPUD - International Network of People who Use Drugs.[15.59 minutes]

Adam speaks with Prof. Alison Ritter, Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) at the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales. During the talk Prof. Ritter gives an update on the Covid-19 situation in Australia, especially Sydney area. Prof. Ritter is an international expert on drug policy. She explains how policy and treatment might end up evolved for the better because of Covid-19. Based at a UNSW, pragmatism, civil liberties and a belief in equality drive her work that spans more than three decades [28.35 minutess].

Adam speaks with Dr. Jon Goldin who is a British Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. They discuss about the impact of Covid-19 on children's mental health and how we can have honest, reassuring conversations. Dr. Goldin stresses the need for parents to look after their own mental health as well. Structure, calm and honest conversations that acknowledge the reality of the current situation are key messages. [15.37 minutes]

Adam gives GDS Corona Conversations - tips for reducing harm from alcohol [11.44 minutes]

Adam speaks with Dr Magdalena Harris, Associate Professor in Sociology of Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She has spent her life exploring and promoting safer ways for people to inject and smoke drugs. Here she highlights the risks with crack smoking, the need for running water and informal peer supported consumption rooms. [29.12 minutes]

Adam speaks with Dr. Michael Kelleher, Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist and Clinical Advisor to Public Health England's Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco and Justice Division. In this episode he describes the pragmatic responses that have been made to ensure drug treatment is delivered in the safest way during Covid-19 and how harm reduction comes into its own. He describes some the ongoing challenges as well. [18.19 minutes]

Adam speaks with Dr. Saket Priyadarshi, a consultant addiction psychiatrist based in Glasgow. He works with marginalised homeless populations and had launched Scotland’s first injectable heroin clinic just before Covid-19 arrived. During this conversation he talks about the challenges facing Scotland’s drug using populations and treatment responses [27.08 minutes].

Adam speaks with Dr. Adrian Dunlop, an Addiction Medicine Specialist in New South Wales, Australia. Adrian talks about how opioid treatment services are having to rip up the rule book on delivering methadone and buprenorphine to ensure people get treatment safely during this period [16.37 minutes].

Adam speaks with Dr. Antoni "Tony" Gual, an addiction specialist working in Barcelona. With a quarter of his staff off, treatment has moved online. Tony discusses the positives of remote consultations but also talks how we will need guidelines to optimise confidentiality for people who can fund little privacy to talk about such issues in their own home [17.52 minutes].

Dr. Winstock speaks with Brad Finegood who is a Strategic Advisor in Public Health in Seattle / King County, USA. A passionate harm reduction advocate he describes the integrated substance use related policy as well as the health and social responses to Covid-19 in one of the first locations in the USA with confirmed Covid-19 cases. Covid-19 pandemic has led to changes in the way treatment is delivered [23.09].

Adam speaks with Clarice Madruga, a researcher and affiliate professor at Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil. She currently works with epidemiology, focusing on psychoactive substance use. In this conversation, which was recorded on 26th of March 2020, Clarice speaks about the situation in Brazil and in Sao Paulo in particular focusing on crack cocaine users [15.48 minutes].

Adam speaks with David Stuart, who has been at the forefront of advocating for honest and effective education and harm reduction for gay men and is an expert in ChemSex (even credited for coining the term in the first place!). Drug counsellor, social worker and innovator David talks here about GHB, online sex parties, keeping safe and being honest [28.37 minutes].

Adam speaks with Marie Jauffret-Roustide who is a Sociologist and a Research Fellow at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris, France. She leads sociological studies on drug use practices and social processes of at-risk practices among people who inject drugs and crack users [29.51 minutes].

Adam speaks with Dr. Nicole Lee from Melbourne, Australia. Dr Nicole has authored 15 books and guides, and delivered 2000 top rated talks to more than 40,000 global leaders spanning every industry [17.43 minutes].

Adam speaks with Kirsten Horsburgh, the National Naloxone Coordinator for Scottish Drugs Forum. She is an expert in preventing drug-related deaths. Based in Glasgow Kristen talks about how Scotland has responded to Covid-19 and describes innovative practice including postal naloxone and e-learning for saving lives [28.50 minutes].

Adam speaks with Daan van der Gouwe, a sociologist and has worked at the Trimbos Institute since 2005. He works in the Drug Monitoring & Policy program, especially the DIMS (Drug Information and Monitoring System) which monitors both the online and offline market of illegal drugs and NPS [19.45 minutes]

Adam speaks with Dr Austin O'Carroll, an amazing GP who works with homeless people who use drugs in Dublin, Ireland with a deep interest in health inequalities. He says things they have tried to achieve in decades have happened in 5 weeks. Rapid access to treatment and places to live. Give people the basics of life and you can build things that will change their lives for ever. It’s inspiring [16.41 minutes].

Adam speaks with Dr Till Kinkel German medical doctor based in Berlin. He works with homeless and vulnerable communities delivering drug treatment and primary care. With experience working in Nepal and Afghanistan Till challenges us not to be afraid of radical change in drug treatment and social care [21.18 minutes]

Adam speaks with Dr Marianne Jauncey who is the Medical Director of Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in Sydney, Australia .Marianne talks about how you can run a supervised drug consumption facility during Covid19. She highlights the resilience of her client group [26.03 minutes]

Adam speaks with Péter Sárosi from Rights Reporter Foundation. Péter is the Editor-In-Chief of the affiliated drug policy website @Drugreporter which is an international hub for English and Russian language news articles, blogs and films about harm reduction and drug policy reform around the world [23.07 minutes].

Adam speaks with Robert West, Professor of health psychology. A tobacco and behaviour change expert based at University College London. Robert has been the Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Addiction for more than a decade. [22.52 minutes]

Adam speaks with Prof. David Hammond focusing on cannabis and vaping. David Hammond is a Professor (tenured) in Public Health in the School of Public Health & Health Systems at the University of Waterloo, Canada [18.43 minutes].

Adam speaks with Ian Hamilton, an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Addiction and Mental Health at the University of York, UK. Ian has worked in the field of mental health and addiction for over 20 years [29.33 minutes].

Adam speaks with Kate O’Brien, a general nurse working in the front lines in London with homeless populations. Specialising in Hepatitis-C treatment in this interview done exactly a month ago she talks about the initiatives that have occurred to bring people that have previously never been on methadone or buprenorphine into treatment and get them accommodation. Covid19 has opened doors and offered opportunities. [18.21 mins]

Adam speaks with Associate Professor Gjalt-Jorn Peters who works at the Dutch Open University, where he teaches methodology and statistics. He also does research into health psychology, specifically behavior change, applied also to nightlife-related risk behavior, like drug use. [13.43 mins]

Adam speaks with Arild Knutsen, drug user activist from Oslo, Norway. [22.22 mins]

Adam speaks with Dr. Nat Wright, a Clinical Research Director at Spectrum Community Health CIC and Associate Professor at Leeds University. He is an expert in drug use in community and prison settings. [23.53 minutes]