Thinking About Drugs: Theories of Addiction, Research Funding, and Stigma

Sarah interviews Anya Aggarwal @addictionwithanya, an honorary research assistant at Drug Science in the UK about theories of addiction and drug policy. After growing up in Singapore, a country with some of the strictest drug laws in the world, Anya became a proponent of harm reduction tactics and works to demystify drug use and humanize people who use drugs. Later, Sarah brings back her boyfriend Mark to discuss his experience with using Suboxone, a medication-assisted therapy (MAT) for his opiate addiction.

Anya Aggarwal has a psychology degree from the university of Bristol and is doing a master’s in addiction at Kings College London. Currently, she is involved in a research project in conjunction with Columbia University (New York) and this has a particular focus on naloxone carriage. After this, she has a PhD offer in public health which will look at ‘understanding and fostering public support for policies designed to improve the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs’

More learning:

@addictionwithanya

@harm.reduction.saves.lives

@harmreductioncoalition