Fellow's Profile
Niamh Eastwood
Fellow's Profile
Niamh Eastwood
Building a Healthier, More Inclusive UK for Marginalised People by decriminalising drug possession
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
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Advancing drug policies grounded in human rights and public health.
- Countries
- Fellowship year
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2026
Contact
Biography
I am Executive Director of Release, the UK's centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws. As a charity, we provide legal and drug advocacy services to people who use drugs, particularly where drug use intersects with dependency and poverty. Having worked in this field for more than 20 years, I have seen first-hand the harm caused by punitive drug laws and have consistently advocated for policies grounded in human rights, dignity, equity, and public health - and informed by evidence.
I aim to learn more about models that have moved away from the criminalisation of people who use drugs. While I have undertaken extensive research into approaches from around the world, I want to understand how these systems operate in practice. I will visit Colombia, Spain, and Portugal to explore how people who use drugs experience legal frameworks that have decriminalised drug possession for decades. I hope to bring this learning back to my work in the UK to help effect change and realise a more evidence-based, rights-based framework for drug policy.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
