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TD Drug Awareness HubEvidence · harm reduction · learning
Understand drugs.
Reduce harm.
Support change.
Evidence-based information about drugs, the brain, behaviour, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
Brainreward · stress · learning
Drugeffects · risks · law
Contexthistory · trauma · environment
Better
understanding→ safer decisions
understanding→ safer decisions
TD ConsultancyPublished 5 August 2026Reviewed 5 August 2026UK sources first
Built for people, families and professionals — without stigma, scare tactics or simplistic explanations.
Start where you are
What brought you here?
Choose a route. The same evidence is organised differently depending on what you need to do next.
01
I want information about a drug
Search names, street names, categories and UK legal status.
→02I use drugs and want safer information
Practical harm reduction without judgement or false reassurance.
→03I am worried about someone
Understand risk, start a conversation and know when to act.
→04I want treatment or recovery information
Explore UK treatment routes and different goals for change.
→05I work with people who use drugs
Evidence, practice resources, publications and professional learning.
→06I want publications or learning resources
Manuals, leaflets, professional tools and future self-paced learning.
→07I want current UK drug intelligence
Move from drug knowledge to live trends, harms and emerging signals.
↗Explore substances
Drug A–Z
Start with the drug, then move outward to brain effects, interactions, history, harm reduction, treatment and current UK intelligence.
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Stimulant
Cocaine
A powerful stimulant sold mainly as cocaine hydrochloride powder or as crack cocaine. Effects are relatively short-lived, which can encourage repeated use in a session.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Depressant
Alcohol
Alcohol (ethanol) is a psychoactive depressant found in beer, wine, cider and spirits. Legal availability does not mean low risk: harm varies with amount, pattern of drinking, health and other drugs or medicines.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Drug mixture / opioid-containing drink
Lean
Lean is not one drug or a standard recipe. The term is commonly used for drinks containing codeine cough medicine, often with a sedating antihistamine such as promethazine, mixed with a soft drink. Contents and strength can differ substantially.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Cannabinoid
Cannabis
Cannabis contains many cannabinoids; THC is primarily responsible for intoxication, while CBD has a different pharmacology. Effects vary with THC/CBD content, route, dose, setting and individual vulnerability.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Dissociative
Ketamine
Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic with legitimate medical uses. Non-medical use can produce detachment from the body and surroundings, impaired coordination and, at higher exposure, profound dissociation.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Opioid
Heroin
Heroin is an opioid, usually encountered in the UK as a powder. Its main acute danger is opioid toxicity: sedation can progress to life-threatening respiratory depression.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Depressant / sedative
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are sedative medicines used for a limited range of clinical indications. Illicit tablets may contain unexpected benzodiazepines or other substances, so appearance and branding are unreliable.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Empathogen / stimulant
MDMA
MDMA is an empathogenic stimulant usually sold as tablets or crystals/powder. Products sold as ecstasy vary in content and strength, and a logo or colour cannot identify what is present.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Synthetic opioidsEmerging
Nitazenes
Nitazenes are a family of synthetic opioids, not one drug. They have been detected in UK illicit markets and can produce life-threatening opioid toxicity, including when people do not know an opioid is present.
Read guide →
Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonistsEmerging
Synthetic cannabinoids
Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are laboratory-made substances that act on cannabinoid receptors. Products sold as 'Spice' are variable mixtures and can behave very differently from cannabis.
Read guide →Appearance varies. A substance cannot be reliably identified by colour, shape, packaging or an image.
Signature guide
Drugs and the brain — without the myths
Drug effects are not a simple dopamine story. Reward, stress, memory, learning, sleep, inhibition, social context and relief from distress can all influence repeated use.
MYTH
Explore the brain hub“Dopamine is the pleasure chemical and addiction means the brain has been hijacked.”
Better explanationDopamine contributes to learning, motivation and the importance we assign to cues. Behaviour remains shaped by biology, experience and environment.
01Signalneurotransmitters & receptors
02Learncues · memory · reinforcement
03Regulatestress · sleep · emotion
04Adapttolerance · dependence · change
Recovery is also brain change. Neuroplasticity continues throughout life.
Mixing drugs
A combination can change the risk
See overlapping effects and the main concerns to look for. No combination is labelled “safe”.
SelectedOpioids
AddBenzodiazepines
PARTICULARLY HIGH RISKOverlapping sedation + respiratory depression
Both can suppress alertness and breathing. Reduced consciousness may be an opioid emergency.
Practical harm reduction
Useful before, during and after use
Clear actions, not moral judgement. Risk changes with the drug, route, tolerance, health, setting and what else has been taken.
01
Overdose
Recognise reduced consciousness, abnormal breathing and other emergency signs.
Read guidance →02Naloxone
An emergency opioid-antagonist medicine that can temporarily reverse opioid overdose.
Read guidance →03Tolerance changes
Risk rises after a break, detox, hospital stay, prison release or other reduction in use.
Read guidance →04Unknown contents
Colour, packaging and logos cannot confirm identity, strength or contamination.
Read guidance →Treatment and recovery
More than one route can support change
Assessment, harm reduction, prescribing, psychological support, residential care, peer support and practical help can be combined around the person — not forced into one recovery script.
Withdrawal & medication
Alcohol, benzodiazepine and opioid dependence can require substance-specific clinical planning rather than a generic detox approach.
Change is rarely linear
Lapse or recurrence can increase risk, especially after tolerance falls; it can also show what needs changing in the plan.
Drug history
Every drug has a social history
Medicine, trade, culture, prohibition, racialised policy, marketing and harm-reduction movements have all shaped what drugs mean — and who experiences the consequences.
Explore Drug HistoryCocaine isolated in Europe
UK drug controls expand during wartime
Misuse of Drugs Act creates modern A/B/C framework
Synthetic markets challenge fixed drug categories
StressCueAccessenvironment → behaviour → opportunity
Original TD Consultancy work
Designing Out Addiction
Drug-related behaviour is shaped by more than individual choices. Housing, waiting rooms, hostels, treatment access, digital platforms, public space and institutional rules can amplify cues and stress — or make safer choices easier.
- Reduce friction in treatment access
- Design for privacy, safety and neurodivergent needs
- Understand how spaces reinforce routines and drug-market opportunity
Featured publication · available now
Lean (Purple Drank): A Practitioner’s Guide
A practitioner-focused guide to understanding Lean as a pattern of use rather than one fixed drug, with attention to ingredient-related risk, culture, harm reduction and professional response.
LeanCodeineOpioidsHarm reduction
39publication slots
A scalable library for current and forthcoming TD practitioner manuals.
Resources
Leaflets, tools and practical learning
Public information, downloadable personal-use resources and professional packs — connected to the drug guide they support.
LeafletsWorksheetsQuizzesBrain diagrams
Browse resourcesTraining
From a five-minute concept to team learning
Live organisational training now, with self-paced courses and micro-learning structured for the future learning platform.
Drugs & the BrainNeurodiversity & Substance UseTrauma, Craving & Regulation
Explore trainingKnowledge → intelligence
What is the UK picture now?
The Awareness Hub explains substances, behaviour and harm. The separate UK Drug Trends Intelligence Platform tracks current trends, emerging substances, prevalence, regional harms and wastewater evidence for professional use.
Open UK Drug Trends IntelligenceLIVE PLATFORM
Current trends · emerging threats · regional intelligence
Recently reviewed
Freshly checked launch resources
Clear review dates make it easier to see when safety, legal and practice content was last examined.
Cocaine guide
Effects, cardiovascular risk, mental health, cocaine-and-alcohol interaction, harm reduction and UK Class A / Schedule 2 status.
Read the cocaine guide →Nitazenes guide
Emerging synthetic opioids, overdose response, naloxone, uncertain contents and current UK control framework.
Read the nitazenes guide →Mixing Drugs checker
Curated interaction summaries with visible uncertainty, emergency warning signs and no “safe” combination label.
Open Mixing Drugs →Stay useful, not noisy
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TD Consultancy
Evidence into practice.
UK specialist training, workforce development, harm reduction, treatment, neurodiversity, trauma and commissioned resources.