Benzo Research Project
An independent grassroots initiative seeking to understand and improve the lives of young people in the UK who use benzodiazepines.
During summer 2021, I aided in the creation of the Benzo Research Project: an independent grassroots small charity seeking to understand and improve the lives of young people in the UK who use benzodiazepines.
As Co-Head of Research, I co-led a voluntary, international research team analysing 73 anonymous testimonies from young people with lived experience of non-medical benzodiazepine use. I co-authored a qualitative research report titled The Benzo Research Project: An evaluation of recreational benzodiazepine use amongst UK young people (18-25), which has been re-published by Drugs and Alcohol Ireland's Health Research Board and the International Drug Policy Consortium. Our project has been featured by Sky News, ITV, KCL Newsroom, The News Movement among others, and our founder presented our work at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
I have authored two articles for Volteface, a drug policy think tank. My first article titled Benzodiazepines and Post-War America sought to investigate how the tumultuous post-war period became the perfect breeding ground for a new anti-anxiety drug class to enter the public consciousness. In my second article titled Benzos are Like a Box of Chocolates: How Tough Drug Laws Lead to Counterfeit Drugs, I discussed the circulation of dangerous counterfeit benzos in the UK illicit drug supply following the ban on designer benzos.
In December 2022, I presented our research findings alongside my colleagues at our report launch event hosted at King's College London. My co-lead, Joanna, and I presented at the Drug Science Street Drugs Discussions webinar on benzodiazepines (see below) to over 350 attendees spanning the healthcare, research, and policy sectors – their most popular webinar to-date! I have since collaborated with drug education and support service providers and healthcare practitioners to translate them into actionable change. In July 2023, I spoke to MPs at the House of Commons on behalf of the project regarding the recent policy U-turn on back-of-house drug testing at UK festivals.
Key Responsibilities & Achievements
Leadership
As a Founding Trustee and Co-Head of Research of the Benzo Research Project, I have:
Recruited and interviewed new volunteers for our Research, Policy, and Media teams.
Attended regular meetings with multidisciplinary teams to devise long-term research and outreach strategies.
Designed and delivered training for our volunteers (see below).
Fostered professional relationships with key stakeholders in the drug education, support, and policy field.
Carried out administrative work including writing our governing document (constitution) in line with UK Charity Law.
Research
As Co-Head of Research, I have led an international team in two research projects: a qualitative analysis of testimonies, and a mixed methods analysis of FOI data from local councils in England and Wales. This involved:
Delivering training on bias in research, and qualitative and mixed methods approaches to our Research team.
Conducting an inductive thematic analysis of 73 anonymous testimonies from young people with lived experience of non-medical benzodiazepine use across the UK.
Co-authoring a research report which has been republished by international stakeholders: Bright, J., Martin, A. et al. (2022). The Benzo Research Project: An evaluation of recreational benzodiazepine use amongst UK young people (18-25). Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7813470
Leading a content analysis of Freedom of Information (FOI) responses from 91 local councils, collected by our (now adjourned) FOI team.
Communication
In my role at BRP, I have presented our findings to a broad range of stakeholders including drug support staff, healthcare professionals, academics, policymakers, and the general public. I have demonstrated excellent oral communication skills, having been invited as a guest speaker to several high-profile events including:
The Benzo Research Project's Report Launch & Drug Policy Debate – 5th December 2022, King's College London
Drug Science's Street Drugs Discussions: Deep Dive into Benzodiazepines – 10th March 2023*
*NB: This was Drug Science's most highly-attended webinar in their Street Drugs Discussions series, enabling us to present our work to ~350 attendees including psychopharmacologists and NGO leaders.
University Mental Health Charter's Online Insight Sharing Event: Mental Health & Drug Use – 14th November 2023
London Harm Reduction Reading Group's Engaging Young People Who Use Drugs in Harm Reduction – 30th November 2023, Release
I have authored several articles, and co-authored a research report and intervention statement delivered at the United Nations:
Bright, J., Martin, A. et al. (2022). The Benzo Research Project: An evaluation of recreational benzodiazepine use amongst UK young people (18-25). Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7813470
Martin, A. (2022). Benzodiazepines and Post-War America. Volteface. volteface.me/benzodiazepines-post-war-america/
Martin, A. (2023). Benzos are like a box of chocolates: How tough drug laws lead to counterfeit drugs. Volteface. volteface.me/how-tough-drug-laws-lead-to-counterfeit-drugs/
Richards, M. & Martin, A. (2023). United Nations CND Thematic Discussions Intervention Statement 2023. Benzo Research Project. benzoresearchteam.weebly.com/blog/un-cnd-intervention-statement
Stakeholder engagement
To move towards our aims as a charity, I have maintained partnerships with several key stakeholder organisations. As a representative of BRP, I have:
Fostered professional relationships with stakeholders including Drugs and Me – a drug education and harm reduction organisation who hosted our story-sharing testimony collection platform.
Collaborated with the national drug support service NHS Inclusion to design and develop a comprehensive benzodiazepine-specific treatment pathway.
Worked with charities such as Cranstoun and Crew to incorporate our research findings into their support staff training programmes and Crew's Annual Drug Trends Report 2021-22, which was presented to the Scottish First Minister.
Invited to the House of Commons MP drop-in session supporting The News Movement's #BringBackDrugTesting campaign regarding the recent policy U-turn on back-of-house drug testing at UK festivals.
Training
I have designed and delivered internal training sessions to up-skill our volunteers, including:
Research Team: Data protection
Research Team: Researcher Bias
Research Team: Content Analysis
Social Media Team: Design Guide
Web development & graphic design
Using the graphic design skills I developed during my time at SSDP Imperial, I have designed social media posts such as Counterfeit Benzos: What is actually in street benzos?, internal and external presentation slides, and website elements.
In addition to my leadership role, I act as BRP's webmaster with the responsibility of managing our website. This has included:
Regularly updating content to highlight our teams' progress to stakeholders and the public.
A major redesign to align more closely with our brand image.
Implementation of dynamic features including collapsible elements, button animations, and bento-style menus highlighting our incredible volunteers.
Coding a dark mode feature to improve accessibility, using HTML/CSS and Javascript JQuery. This can either be toggled or syncs with your system preference.
NB: This website was built with Google Sites, which is free but means I can't edit the code – I promise BRP's website is much better!