text: The internet has revolutionised the way that drugs are created and sold. There is an increasing number of online drug dealing sites and now treatment is getting in on the online act with a proliferation of computer assisted therapies.	
  Share This Post
  Share on twitter
  Share on facebook
  Share on linkedin
  Share on email
  Online Drug dealing
  In Carole Cadwalladr’s (@carolecadwalla) recent review of Drugs 2.0, the new book by Mike Power (@mrmichaelpower), she noted that long before Amazon, people were selling marijuana online.
  Drugs 2.0 (full title: The Web Revolution that’s changing how the world gets high) explores the wide range of ways that the internet has changed the drug scene.
  Most people know that there a number of large scale drug selling websites – Silk Road, the best known, was temporarily knocked offline by a hacker earlier this month.
  However, Drugs 2.0 also delves into the world of online chemistry and how new legal highs are being created and shared all the time.
  The book charts the incredibly rapid rise of mephedrone when underground chemist Kinetic posted the formula and step-by-step production process online.
  It also includes information about the drug processing labs in China who are turning out hundreds of new synthetic drugs (whose side-effects are, inevitably, unknowable) and shipping them to Europe.
  If you want to read more about drugs and rogue chemists, super-labs and criminal drugs, Drugs 2.0 is well worth a read.
  Drug treatment follows suit
  There have been a number of online approaches to drug and alcohol treatment developed over recent years and a bunch of apps.
  The ones I’ve looked at have been, in the main, not very well thought through.
  One exception is the excellent app by @UturnTraining which guides people through the process of saving the life of an overdosed heroin user by administering naloxone.
  Recently I was sent through information about Breaking Free Online – an online treatment and recovery programme.
  It is essential a Computer Assisted Therapy which uses a range of multi-media formats.
  I’ve had a cursory look and after a self-assessment process, the programme suggests areas of your life to work on, providing both a range of strategies and downloadable resources.
  I’m not a treatment expert but it looks as if there has been considerable effort and thought put into the design with a focus on using evidence-based interventions in a user-friendly way.
  There is also a section which enables people to find local treatment services, and AA, NA and SMART recovery meetings.
  My initial impression is that this sort of service would work very well in combination with mainstream services, especially when the existing worker is aware of the programme and understands the basics of the Computer Assisted Therapy approach.
  I’ve always thought online support is particularly valuable to people who are isolated and vulnerable or restricted to home because of caring duties.
  The alcohol version of the progamme is now available as an app on IoS with other platforms to follow.
  The drug version will also be coming out as an app this year.
  Here’s the promotional video:
  I’d be very interested in readers’ experience of using Computer Assisted Therapies for substance misuse issues – please comment below.
  [Note: I have no commercial interest in Breaking Free, other applications are available. Check out this post for other online drug treatment resources.]
  Amazon.co.uk Widgets
  Share This Post
  Share on twitter
  Share on facebook
  Share on linkedin
  Share on email
  Related posts
  Alcohol & Drugs
  How many people carry take-home naloxone?	
  A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of take-home naloxone (THN) ownership and carriage
  3rd June 2021	
  Alcohol & Drugs
  National Overdose Awareness and Naloxone campaign	
  The first national Overdose Awareness and Naloxone campaign highlights the importance of carrying life-saving medication to prevent fatal opiate overdose.
  9th April 2021	
  Alcohol & Drugs
  Preventing fatal opioid overdoses for prison leavers	
  Take Home Naloxone: Forward Trust best practice to prevent fatal heroin overdoses on release from prison.
  10th July 2019	
  Alcohol & Drugs
  Smartphone apps for problem drug users	
  The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction surveys the latest apps responding to drug use and associated harms.
  16th January 2019	
  Alcohol & Drugs
  The Global state of harm reduction 2018	
  The number of countries providing harm reduction interventions to prevent
  drug-related death, HIV and hepatitis C has stalled since 2016.
  17th December 2018	
  Alcohol & Drugs
  Stopping the rise in drug-related deaths	
  ONS deep dive study suggests a vulnerable, at-risk population taking drugs alone and consuming multiple different types of drug alongside alcohol.