ISSDP trustee Rebecca Askew will be hosting the ISSDP conference at Manchester Metropolitan University from the 11 to 13 June 2025. We look forward to seeing you there.
Introduction
The 18th annual ISSDP conference 11-13 June 2025, hosted by the Drugs, Policy, and Social Change (DPSC) research group at Manchester Metropolitan University, envisions a transformative dialogue on drug policy grounded in social justice. Our aim is to foster an inclusive platform where diverse voices from affected communities, practitioners, and policymakers converge to explore and address the complexities of drug policy processes and formation.
Social justice is important in drug policy to ensure that policies are fair, equitable, and inclusive, addressing the needs of all individuals, especially marginalised and vulnerable populations. Drug policy consistently shows that the most marginalised are disproportionately impacted and that many new reforms either exacerbate gaps or fail to reduce these gaps. Novel ways of thinking about how to improve social justice in drug policy is thus a key focus for this conference.
With ISSDP’s primary focus on connecting and facilitating world-leading drug policy research, the conference will also highlight novel methodological approaches to analysing drug policy and a broad range of scholarship across the drug market, incorporating use, supply, cultivation/production and trafficking as well as other sub-themes (see below).
The conference invites contributions from scholars from the Global North and the Global South. By doing so, it aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of drug policy issues worldwide and identifying ways to advance drug policy and practice.
Podcast
This podcast is the first of two about the ISSDP 2025 Conference. It involves conference host Rebecca Askew; ISSDP President and Vice President Caitlin Hughes & Beau Kilmer; keynote speaker Mat Southwell; and ISSDP Secretary Elle Wadsworth. The podcast is also available via Spotify.
Contact us
Please contact us by email to issdp2025@mmu.ac.uk if you have any enquiries.
Registration
Registrations are now open for the ISSDP 2025 Conference.
There is a reduced fee ticket available for ISSDP members and delegates who are Students or Person with lived experiences.
Early bird [ISSDP member]: £253
Early bird [Non ISSDP member]: £337
Regular rate [ISSDP member]: £295
Regular rate [Non ISSDP member]: £380
Conference Abstracts
ISSDP 2025 – Conference Abstracts
Conference Programme
ISSDP 2025 – Final Conference Programme
Conference Papers
You will need the password provided to conference delegates by ISSDP to submit and view conference papers.
Please contact us by email to issdp2025@mmu.ac.uk if you have any enquiries.
Submit a paper for the conference
Themes
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Drug Markets, Production, and Supply
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Methodological Innovations
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Equity and Equality in Drug Policy
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Geopolitics of Drug Policy
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Harm Reduction
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Culture and Moralities
Organising Committee
Scientific Committee
- Laura Atuesta, PhD CIDE Mexico, Mexico.
- Lisbeth Vandem, PhD, EUDA, Portugal.
- Marie Jauffret-Roustide, PhD French Institute of Health and Medical Research, France.
- Gideon Lasco, MD, PhD University of the Philippines Diliman, The Philippines.
- Rosario Queirolo, PhD Catholic University of Uruguay, Uruguay.
- Alex Stevens, PhD Kent University, UK.
- Claudia Stoicescu, PhD Monash University Indonesia, Indonesia
- Margriet van Laar, PhD Trimbos Institute, The Netherlands
- Shaun Shelly Department of Family Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Karen Laidler, PhD University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Alberto Aziani, PhD, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Researcher at Transcrime, Italy
- Fay Dennis, PhD, Research Fellow, Goldsmiths, London, UK
- Bisi Akintoye, PhD RAND Europe
- Daniel Bear, PhD, Director, Humber College Centre for Social Innovation.
- Ahsan Ahmad, Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program at the Yale School of Medicine, USA and Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Atul Ambekar, PhD, National Drug Dependence and Treatment Centre, India
- Caitlin Hughes, PhD Flinders University, Australia & ISSDP President
- Beau Kilmer, PhD McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation
Codirector, RAND Drug Policy Research Center & ISSDP Vice-President - Magdalena Harris, PhD Professor of Inclusion Health Sociology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, England, UK
- Monica Barratt, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT
- Paul Keilata, PhD, Drug Policy Modelling Program, UNSW, Sydney
- Mark Monaghan, PhD, Professor in Criminology, Loughborough University, UK
- Giulia Zampini, PhD, Associate Professor in Criminology, Greenwich University.
- Karen Duke, PhD, Professor Criminology, Middlesex University.
- Judith Aldridge, Professor in Criminology, University of Manchester.
- Lisa Williams, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Manchester.
- Anna Ross, PhD, Lecturer in Health and Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh.
- Toby Seddon, PhD, Professor of Social Science, University College London.
- Aileen O’Gorman, PhD, Professor of Substance Use and Social Policy, University of West Scotland.
- Yatan Pal Singh Balhara, Additional Professor of Psychiatry at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
- Sarah Larney, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- David Decari Hetu, PhD Professor of Criminology, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Keynote Speakers
We’re excited to welcome Dr. Kojo Koram – Reader in Law at Birkbeck School of Law, University of London – as a keynote speaker at the 18th ISSDP Conference 2025! A legal scholar, author, and commentator, Dr. Koram explores the impact of drug laws, race, and empire on global inequalities. He has also served for 11 years as a legal advisor at Release, the UK’s centre on drugs, law and human rights. His expertise in law, policy and historical inequalities makes him a leading voice in drug policy reform and social justice.
Mat Southwell is a pioneering harm reduction advocate and one of the UK’s first community-led service founders. He established the Healthy Options Team (HOT) and later led East London and City NHS Drug Services.
ISSDP funded-scholarships
The ISSDP will sponsor at least three scholarships for the annual conference in Manchester: 1) For an early career researcher (5 years since most recent degree); 2) For a researcher from a low- or middle-income country (using the World Bank’s classification for fiscal year 2025); and 3) For a person with lived and/or living experience of drugs, including family members. The scholarship will include a reimbursement of your registration fee and up to 1500 British pounds to cover travel and lodging. Applicants must check the scholarship option when submitting their abstract and upload a short paragraph about why they should be selected (max 250 words).
Pre-Conference Workshops
‘Drug-related deaths: national and international challenges and perspectives’
On Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 – the day before the ISSDP conference – there will be a special ISSDP half-day workshop ‘Drug-related deaths: national and international challenges and perspectives’, hosted jointly by Manchester Metropolitan’s Drugs, Policy and Social Change (DPSC) research group and the European Network on the Social and Structural Determinants of Drug-related deaths.
This workshop has been designed to provide regional and national stakeholders with the opportunity to hear from world-leading experts in the drug policy field. It will offer key stakeholders (e.g., frontline professionals, service managers, commissioners, and policymakers) the chance to learn about the latest international responses to drug-related deaths and to meet and network with international and national academics, policymakers, and professionals. This event will consist of two panels and related workshop activities. Panel 1 will focus on regional and national perspective and priorities and Panel 2 will focus on insights from ISSDP scholars.
This workshop will take place at Manchester Metropolitan University, Tuesday 10th June 2025, 10:00 – 13:00.
Please register for the workshop when you register for the conference.
Methods Matter Workshop with Professor Alex Stevens (University of Sheffield)
On the day before the conference, 10th June 2025, there will be a one-day workshop on methods in drug policy research, hosted in Manchester by the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester. The event will give participants opportunities to explore cutting edge methods with world-leading experts in the field in the aim of extending and improving participants own research practice.
There will be special sessions on Quantitative Causal Inference Methods with Professor Rosalie Liccardo Pacula; Critical Social Science Methods with Professor Kari Lancaster; the Challenges of Evaluating Drug Policy, and how to overcome them with Professor Alex Stevens; and Participatory Research Methods with Professor Alison Ritter.
The workshop will be held at the University of Manchester from 9.00am-4.:30pm. The full agenda is now accessible via this link.
Please register for the workshop when you register for the conference.
Conference Dinner
Manchester Art Gallery Dinner – £65 per person
Date: Thursday 12th June at 6 pm – 10 pm
Don’t miss our special conference dinner set in the iconic Manchester Art Gallery.
Your ticket includes:
- Exclusive after-hours access to the gallery with a private curator tour (1 hour)
- Drinks reception
- Three-course meal
- A commemorative speech in honour of Professor Dave Bewley-Taylor given by Ann Fordham
Book your place here.
Conference Events and Accommodation
Consistent with prior conferences ISSDP 2025 will feature a welcome event on the opening night and a conference dinner.
Marketing Manchester Convention Bureau is the official accommodation booking provider for the 18th Annual ISSDP Conference and are offering specially negotiated accommodation rates for delegates and visitors.
The accommodation website will be open until 14th May 2025; however early booking is recommended to ensure you are able to book your preferred hotel. Through the website you can book, modify or cancel your accommodation reservation.
https://book.passkey.com/event/50928215/owner/9745128/home
ISSDP Panel on ‘Human Rights, Drug Policy and Social Justice’
