Profile
Biography
Ian is an honorary fellow (associate professor) in addiction at the Department of Health Sciences. Ian has experience of providing clinical help to people who have problems with drugs and mental health prior to joining the University of York in 2004. This blend of clinical and academic experience has informed his teaching and role as a facilitator.
Ian engages with a range of media outlets providing expert commentary on topical news stories related to drugs and alcohol as well as working with producers on investigative stories and documentaries. He writes a weekly column for The Independent and contributes regularly to the British Medical Journal and the Conversation.
Qualifications
- Registered Mental Health Nurse
- MSc in health research
- Post graduate teaching
Research
Overview
Ian's research interests are in all aspects of drug use including policy, treatment and prevalence.
Research group(s)
Publications
Selected publications
2022
2021
- 2021 How to measure cannabis use. The Mental Elf, https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/substance-misuse/cannabis-use-icanntoolkit/
- 2021 Get a grip, Priti Patel laughing gas isn't a major threat to individuals or society. The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/priti-patel-drug-policy-laughing-gas-b1939647.html
- 2021 Less than human: dehumanization of people who use heroin, Health Education Journal. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/HE-07-2021-0099/full/html
- 2021 Losing your sense of smell with Covid isn't just annoying. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/covid-smell-sex-life-health-b1930608.html
- 2021 Scotland is right - punishing drug users won't help. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/scotland-drugs-crime-health-b1925639.html
- 2021 Cannabis products being sold as sleep remedies - here's the evidence about their effectiveness. The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/cannabis-products-are-being-sold-as-sleep-remedies-heres-the-evidence-about-their-effectiveness-168166
- 2021 Overprescribing medicine is the result of social problems, not health issues. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/overprescribing-medicine-governement-report-b1924726.html
- 2021 Long NHS waiting lists have led to a dangerous explosion in opiate use. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-waiting-lists-drug-dependency-opiates-b1923905.html
- 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic has meant changes to the drug market and our habits. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/covid-party-drug-deaths-summer-b1889862.html
- 2021 Criminalising nitrous oxide users is no laughing matter if it distracts from more serious drug problems. The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/criminalising-nitrous-oxide-users-is-no-laughing-matter-if-it-distracts-from-more-serious-drug-problems-167297
- 2021 Covid has devastated the North of England. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/covid-north-england-inequality-health-b1917681.html
- 2021 Children under 12 are 'sexting' - we must confront this reality to protect them. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sexting-children-grooming-drugs-b1911639.html
- 2021 More data on drug related deaths - a clear warning sign that not all is well in the UK. British Medical Journal,https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/08/05/more-data-on-drug-related-deaths-a-clear-warning-sign-that-all-is-not-well-in-the-uk/
- 2021 Bearing down on recreational drug users distracts from the real problems, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/priti-patel-cocaine-drug-middle-classes-b1903429.html
- 2021 Why codeine deaths have reached a record high, The Week,https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/953708/why-codeine-deaths-have-reached-a-record-high
- 2021 Opioid agonist treatment associated with lower mortality, The Mental Elf,https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/substance-misuse/opioid-agonist-treatment-lower-risk-of-mortality/
- 2021 Treat illegal drug use as a health issue, says UK government review - here's why, The Conversation,https://theconversation.com/treat-illegal-drug-use-as-health-issue-says-uk-government-review-heres-why-163953
- 2021 Alcohol related deaths are the highest in Scotland since 2008, The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/alcohol-deaths-scotland-drugs-b1904481.html
- 2021 We demanded action on covid - so where is the outcry over drug related deaths ?, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/covid-drug-deaths-heroin-cocaine-b1895743.html
- 2021 Drug deaths in Scotland continue to rise - and a political blame game isn't helping, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/drug-deaths-scotland-nicola-sturgeon-b1893692.html
- 2021 The covid-19 pandemic has meant changes to the drug market and our habits, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/covid-party-drug-deaths-summer-b1889862.html
- 2021 Alcohol related deaths are soaring - British drinking is out of control, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/alcohol-deaths-rise-covid-alcoholic-b1885351.html
- 2021 Even if you lack sympathy for drug users investing in better treatment makes good economic sense, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/drugs-treatment-policy-healthcare-b1879771.html
- 2021 NHS plans to mine patient records is a colossal invasion of privacy - and it won't stop there, The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-patient-records-data-privacy-b1858793.html
- 2021 Codeine related deaths spike by almost 25% in a year, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/03/codeine-related-deaths-spike-almost-25-per-cent-last-year/
- 2021 Deaths from MDMA, cocaine and sleeping pills such as Xanax have risen, The Daily Mail,https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9855579/Drug-related-deaths-England-Wales-hit-highest-level-2020-records-began-30-years-ago.html
- 2021 Taliban seizing of Afghanistan will flood British streets with super-strength heroin, experts warn, The Daily Mail,https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9904323/Talibans-seizing-Afghanistan-flood-British-streets-deadly-super-strength-heroin.html
- 2021 The truth about magic mushrooms and depression, The Independent - https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/magic-mushrooms-depression-psilocybin-b1832098.html
- 2021 Women reveal the words that lead to the female orgasm, The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/orgasm-sex-language-pleasure-b1842392.html
- 2021 Sharp decline in sexual activity during lockdown will soon be a big problem for the government, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/sex-lockdown-masturbation-contraception-b1826443.html
- 2021 People don't report sexual harassment out of embaressment, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sarah-everard-sexual-assault-me-too-b1821103.html
- 2021 Women have been let down too often when it comes to the health system, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/matt-hancock-nhs-women-health-research-b1817972.html
- 2021 It's not just a bad hangover - this is how alcohol affects the environment, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/alcohol-climate-crisis-environment-b1812946.html
- 2021 This is what drug dealers and users really did during lockdown, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/drug-dealers-covid-lockdown-b1815021.html
- 2021, Stigma really does kill, people with learning disabilities are being let down by this government. The Independent,https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/learning-disability-vaccine-coronavirus-b1793353.html
- 2021, We need to acknowledge the significant rise in women dealing crack and cocaine. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/women-cocaine-crack-drugs-dealers-b1796855.html
- 2021, Cocaine,cannabis or ecstasy - whatever your drug it has an impact on the planet. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/climate-crisis-drugs-cocaine-cannabis-b1801612.html
- 2021, Increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic: explained. The Mental Elf, https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/substance-misuse/alcohol-consumption-pandemic/
- 2021, From trippy drugs to therapeutic aids - how psychedelics got their groove back. The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/from-trippy-drugs-to-therapeutic-aids-how-psychedelics-got-their-groove-back-154438
- 2021, Alcohol related deaths are on the rise, but we remain a nation in denial. British Medical Journal, https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/02/11/ian-hamilton-alcohol-related-deaths-are-on-the-rise-but-we-remain-a-nation-in-denial/
- 2021, Scandalous decisions: explaining shifts in UK medicinal cannabis policy. Journal of Addiction, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.15350
- 2021, Those with the least have suffered the most during the covid-19 pandemic. British Medical Journal, https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/22/those-with-the-least-have-suffered-the-most-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
- 2021, Its a sin is a warning not to repeat the mistakes of the HIV epidemic. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/its-a-sin-covid-hiv-epidemic-b1791718.html
- 2021, Stigma really does kill – people with learning disabilities are being let down by this government. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/learning-disability-vaccine-coronavirus-b1793353.html
- 2021, We are not all in this pandemic together – inequality is stealing so many lives. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/coronavirus-pandemic-inequality-rich-poor-b1789903.html
- 2021, Clarity is needed on the use of vitamin D in the fight against coronavirus. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/covid-vitamin-d-deficiency-b1786581.html
- 2021, It will take more than tweaking the Mental Health Act to end racial inequality. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mental-health-act-reform-2021-bame-b1786676.html
- 2021, Dry January will be especially difficult this year, thanks to coronavirus. The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/covid-dry-january-alcohol-b1781446.html
Full publications list
2020
Ian Hamilton's publications 1995-2020 (PDF , 754kb)