Dr. Russell Newcombe

Dr Russell Newcombe has been a specialist researcher, trainer and lecturer on drug use for 28 years, and helped to pioneer the harm-reduction movement in Merseyside from the mid-1980s. His main interests include trends in drug use and drug problems; the psychological and social effects of drugs; harm-reduction interventions; and the scientific evaluation of drug strategies and services. His drugs research posts include Research Associate on the Wirral Misuse of Drugs Research Project (Liverpool University, 1985-87); Director of the Drugs & HIV Monitoring Unit (Mersey Region Health Authority, 1988-1991); and Senior Researcher for Lifeline Publications & Research (Manchester, 2005-10).

Russell also has extensive experience of training and teaching on drugs issues, including being a trainer for North West regional health authorities and drug services from 1987 to 1994, and Joint Programme Leader of the MSc. in Drug Use& Addiction at Liverpool John Moore’s University from 1998 to 2005. He is also on the editorial board of two peer-reviewed academic journals - Drugs & Alcohol Today and Adiktologie – and is a peer-reviewer for the International Journal of Drug Policy and Addiction Research & Theory. His books include 'Living with Heroin' (co-author 1988), 'The Reduction of Drug-Related Harm' (co-editor 1992), and 'Tripology – Guide to Mind-Bending Drugs' (writer 2005). In addition to writing over 100 research reports, journal articles and online papers about drug use and drug services, he also contributes regularly to drug training events and conferences.

Since April 2010 Russell has been Director of 3D Research, an independent drugs research and training agency based in Liverpool. Over that period, he has been presented with three awards. In April 2010 he was presented with the National Rolleston Award for outstanding contributions to reducing drug-related harm in the UK by the International Harm Reduction Association (now Harm Reduction International). In July 2011 he was presented with the Bing Spear Award for work in the field of drug policy reform by the Drug Policy Review Group. Most recently, in November 2011 he was jointly awarded the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs & Drug Addiction) Scientific Committee Award for papers of particular merit in understanding the European drugs problem – for the first peer-reviewed social scientific paper published on mephedrone use in 2010.

Recent publications:

Tripology: Guide to Mind-bending Drugs. Manchester: Lifeline Publications (2005)
Trends in the prevalence of illicit drug use in Britain. IN M. Simpson et al. (eds), “Drugs in Britain: Supply, Consumption and Control”. Basingstoke: Palgrave-MacMillan (2007)
Ketamine case study: the phenomenology of a ketamine experience. Addiction Research & Theory, 16, 209-15 (2008)
Tweaking, bombing, dabbing and stockpiling: the emergence of mephedrone and the perversity of prohibition. Drugs and Alcohol Today, 10/1, 14-21 (2010) [with F. Measham, K. Moore & Z. Welch]

For more detailed information: www.3dresearch.org.uk