“Nothing about us, without us”: Negotiating the personal and professional as activists and academics who use drugs

Reviewers who exclaimed that submissions by activists were not sufficiently ‘academic,’ or, conversely, that submissions by academics were too personal, were one group who was forced to grapple with pre-existing beliefs. We would like all readers to do the same. We aim to reach a point where positive stories of drug use are so normalized that ones that are less positive, or imbued with chaos, grief, and pain, are not seen as reflecting the inherent properties of drugs. Only then will consent – around use, abstinence from using, reduction of use, increased use, or treatment for use – truly be accessible.