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Empowering Students to promote harm reduction and challenge narratives and drug use.
Breaking the Mould
Many universities have adopted zero tolerance policies on drugs. In practice this very often means zero action – no open and honest discussion about drugs and a disciplinary response to students who need support. This puts students at risk.
Universities must end zero action.
Students must be empowered to challenge the narratives around drug use.
Our objectives include:
1. Encouraging universities to adopt harm reduction approaches: achieved through awareness, education and policy change led by students.
2. Enabling student-led efforts to tackle stigma around drugs and addiction: Students must be able to ask for help without fear of disciplinary or legal consequences.
3. Empowering students to challenge cultures around drug use through clearer understanding of risks and behaviours: it is important to find out the true scale of harm caused by drug use at places of higher education including along the supply chain.
4. Educating students to support and refer fellow students who may be getting into difficulties with drugs: addiction is a recognised mental health disorder that should be treated in the same way as we would treat something like depression or anxiety.
5. Connecting Universities and students to local drug charities and to bereaved families. Please see major report from Universities UK published 2 July 2024 and coverage of our charity launch in the Guardian.
(based on the report "Enabling student health and success" by Universities UK, click here to read it.
Media inquiries to:
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Byfield Reputation Counsel
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Meg Tillay Account Manager
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DD 0204 558 6113
A big thank you for your amazing help pro bono
A message from our Trustees
Sir Robin Knowles:
“Some university policies about drugs can, without meaning to, do harm. Yet good examples of best practice are now available. SafeCourse is dedicated to reliable help to universities, to help students, to reduce harm.”
Sir Robin Knowles CBE was appointed a High Court Judge in 2014. He has a lifelong commitment to access to justice for those without means, here and overseas, and is the Chair of the National Pro Bono Centre. Sir Robin is a former Chair of the UK umbrella body for children’s palliative care and children’s hospices, and of London’s first children’s hospice. A former Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association, Sir Robin is the Judge with day-to-day responsibility for the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts (the global forum of the world’s commercial courts), and a board member of the Financial Markets Law Committee.
John de Pury:
"I am pleased to be working with SafeCourse to accelerate student-led efforts to tackle stigma and implement harm reduction. Drugs have been an unspoken issue across the university sector, impacting on student lives, wellbeing and success. It is time for university leaders to be bold and to implement the recommendations of the UUK Drugs Taskforce. SafeCourse is here to support you"
John de Pury is an independent health and education advisor. He was Assistant Director of Policy at Universities UK (UUK) for ten years, leading policy programmes on Health and the Future University as well as providing strategic direction across the wider student experience including Culture, Conflict, Safety, Disability and Disciplinary.
Alongside a number of national initiatives on health workforce and health research and innovation, John developed the frameworks “StepChange: Mentally Healthy Universities” and “Suicide-Safer Universities”, both adopted as UK sector standard. He also led the work of the UUK Drugs Taskforce report just published this year. He has advised the Australian and Canadian federal governments on the development of their national frameworks for student safety and health. He has coached a number of senior executive teams on their strategic approach to wellbeing. Previously, he worked in health policy, leading the Research & Innovation desk at NHS Confederation, and in global consultancy with a focus on east, south east and central Asia.
Martin Rushton-Turner
“For young people university offers excitement and freedom. But without the interactions of daily family life, early warning signals and the ability to help becomes more delayed and distant. SafeCourse aims to get students informed and engaged in looking out for the welfare of other students (actively supported by universities and drug charities). This may reduce the catastrophic consequences of drug misuse for students and their families and start a process for finding an optimal drugs policy”
Martin Rushton-Turner is chairman of a number of start up engineering companies and a retired former banker. He is an Honorary Fellow of University College London and a supporter of a number of children and young adult charities.
Short video message from Hilton Mervis
on why zero tolerance means zero action:
