Release is the oldest drugs charity in the world (we think!).
For almost 60 years we have fought for the rights of people who use drugs despite intense criminalisation and stigma.
You can read an in-depth academic overview of Release’s history here.
1967
The Summer of Love: Release is founded
The Summer of Love. Rock ‘n’ Roll and youth culture explodes into the generation gap. Mick Jagger busted. Outraged at the treatment handed down by police and courts to hippies using drugs, two art students – Caroline Coon and Rufus Harris – create Release in the studio of Coon’s basement flat in Shepherd’s Bush. The world’s first 24-hour drugs and free legal advice telephone line is installed.
Britain’s first legalise pot rally in Hyde Park where Coon and Harris give out Release’s first “know your rights” bust cards. Organised by Steve Abrams (SOMA) and financed by the Beatles, the Times newspaper carries the first Cannabis Law Reform advertisement, signed by the great, the good and the groovy. Dangerous Drugs Act passed with minimal debate in Parliament.
1968
Release moves to an office/drop-in centre on two floors in London’s Princedale Road. Oz magazine is next door. Revolution is in the air as international youth takes to the streets protesting against the Vietnam War. Release gives evidence to both the Wootton Advisory Committee on Drug Dependency and the Deedes Committee on Police Powers of Search and Arrest.
Release’s reputation as a “friend of a generation” is reinforced by support from people as diverse as Judge Charles Wyzanski and the Vera Institute of Justice in the U.S.A, to Jeffrey Archer MP, David Bailey and Germaine Greer. Civil rights work now extends to panoply of youth issues including under-age runaways, homelessness, squatting and abortion advice. Britain’s first liberal abortion law attracts hundreds of women from abroad to seek Release’s advice.
1969
The Wootton Committee’s call for Cannabis Law Reform is rejected by Labour Home Secretary James Callaghan.
Royal Albert Hall refuses Release use of the venue for a benefit as “not being an organisation with which we wish to deal”.
The All-Nighter, roving clubs, UFO, Middle Earth and Implosion continue to help Release with an underground “community” tax – 6 pence from every ticket sold. The Release Report on Drug Offenders & the Law details police corruption and excessive sentencing by courts. Scotland Yard tries and fails to suppress the report.
George Harrison donates £5,000 to Release.
1970
Mick Jagger dedicates the world premiere of his film ‘Performance’ to Release. Eric Clapton donates £4,000 to Release.
Release office trashed and burned by anonymous so-called White Panthers who steal all the files and demand that Release “is given to the people”. Release calls their bluff and agrees. The “coup” evaporates into farce as “the people” fail to show. The files are returned and Release carries on.
1971
The Misuse of Drugs Act is passed, which reduces the maximum penalty for cannabis possession to five years while increasing the penalty for supplying to 14 years.
1973
Release publishes the “Trucker’s Bible”, a guide to drug laws, searches, arrests and sentencing pattern around the world. Tory MP Ronald Bell calls it “a guide to pot smuggling” while the Home Office and House of Commons orders extra copies.
Paul McCartney and Wings plus Brinsley Schwartz headline a Release benefit concert at the Hard Rock Cafe. Release establishes the Foreign Arrests Unit.
1974
Release’s pregnancy, contraception and abortion services work overtime to cope with demands for help and campaigning activity following the Lane Committee report. Release decline an invitation to apply for Home Office Grant “for the time being” amidst growing financial crisis.
Release attends Knebworth along with Van Morrison and the Doobie Brothers. Mayhem at Windsor Great Park Free Festival as Thames Valley Police break records for searches, arrests and alleged assaults during a dawn raid to stop festival. Release complains to Home Secretary Roy Jenkins and calls for public Enquiry.
1975
Release receives its first Home Office grant and publishes “Truncheons in the Park”, a report on the Windsor Free Festival. Police undercover operation at Watchfield Free Festival leads to Operation Julie, the largest ever investigation by the UK.
1976
Release, active in supporting the burgeoning squatting campaign, publishes activists’ handbook “Squatters and the Law”, as well as “Diving Off the Deep End” – a report on the sentencing of cannabis offenders in the UK.
Release was also present at the Olympia Music Festival with Status Quo, Bad Company, Procal Harem and Barclay James Harvest. People’s Free Festival moves from Watchfield to Stonehenge after the Government refuses to provide the site for its second year. Release continues to provide emergency service there.
1977
The Criminal Law Act brought in, giving government new powers to control squats and occupations. Festival season considered “a horror story of inadequate facilities, no organisation and endless barbiturate overdoses”.
Release publishes “Stop & Search” a report into the use of police powers under the Misuse of Drugs Act. First “Smokey Bears” Hyde Park smoke-in against cannabis laws results in 15 arrests.
1978
Release criticises London Drug Dependency consultants for restricting heroin and injectable drug prescribing, and predicts massive increase in illicit heroin market. Our housing work increases, particularly legal advice on squatting and illegal evictions.
Release continues to deal with numerous cases of British prisoners in foreign jails including Turkey and Iran.
1979
The Release Bust Book, “Trouble with the Law” wins the Cobden Trust’s annual prize for civil rights work.
1980
Continuing increase in the use of heroin linked to its availability and falling price prompts major public concern. Release produce a report on the escalation of police use of stop and search powers, and warns of dangers to civil rights and community relations.
1981
Zero tolerance policing and intensive use of stop and search powers in relation to drugs in Bristol, Brixton and Toxteth leads to the biggest civil unrest in mainland Britain this century.
Peace camps are established at Greenham Molesworth and other US bases. Release presence at free festivals is high, assisting clients facing public order offences. Howard Marks is found “not guilty” of importing 15 tons of cannabis into Scotland.
1982
Release highlights an increase in calls about the availability of Turkish and Iranian heroin following a dramatic fall in price and the opening up of new trafficking routes.
Release Women’s department is active in abortion law advice and referrals.
1985
Release provides emergency legal advice and assistance to travellers and festival goers after police make 535 arrests and destroy travellers’ homes whilst stopping the Stonehenge free festival at the “Battle of the Beanfield”.
1986
The Drug Trafficking Offences Act comes into force, increasing powers to confiscate assets and “paraphernalia”. The Public Order Act introduces new range of offences including increased powers to move on travellers and squatters. Concern grows about AIDS risk to people injecting drugs. The Government also makes concessions on legality of needle exchanges.
1988
Release is awarded a three-year grant by the Department of Health to develop professional drug related training programmes. Considerable work is done around HIV and legal problems. Ecstasy calls recorded separately for the first time and comprise 7% of total drug calls over the year as Release publish the first ecstasy fact sheet.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs calls for more flexible and responsive services to meet the treatment needs of AIDS and HIV positive clients.
1992
Release celebrates its 25th anniversary. A new full-page Times advertisement calling for legislation of cannabis is published as Release issues its own White Paper on the case for Reform of the Drug Laws. Increasing number of calls noted about school pupils being excluded for possession of cannabis. Police blockade of annual Avon Free festival results in 25,000 travellers and ravers converging into the Castlemorton Common Festival.
1993
Separate reports confirm that over 30% of the population believe in some form of decriminalization or legislation of drugs. “Operation Nomad” and “Operation Snapshot” are launched, major multi-force intelligence gathering operations against travellers and outdoor “rave” organizers. New Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill published, eroding the right to silence and introducing new restrictions on raves, festivals, protests, travellers and squatting.
1994
Launch of the Release Drugs in Schools Helpline, funded by the Story of Christmas Appeal and opened by Dame Judy Dench. “Drugs in Schools”, an initiative in partnership with OFSTED, the Central Drug Co-ordination Unit and local schools and authorities, was set up by Release and implemented to address the increasing number of pupils excluded from further education due to drug use.
1995
Home Secretary Michael Howard introduces a five-fold increase in the maximum fine for possession of cannabis.
1997
Release publishes “Drugs and Dance Survey” and “Sex Workers and the Law”.
1998
Safer Clubbing, an initiative by Release, provides first aid and information (including a booklet produced in association with the Home Office) to a generation of party goers. The aim: to help people avoid drug problems and keep safe while clubbing.
1999
Social Inclusion, a project aimed at helping and highlighting the plight of people facing social exclusion because of drug use, launches. This involves distributing the highly acclaimed “Room for Drugs” publication, and keeping the field abreast of issues relating to drug use on premises and homelessness.
2001
Release opens the Young Peoples Legal Help Line.
The Paddick experiment runs for a year from July 2001. Under the plan floated by Senior Police Officer Cdr Brian Paddick, head of the Metropolitan Police Lambeth division, which covers Brixton, proposes that drug users found with small amounts of cannabis should be let off with a formal warning rather than being arrested.
2002
Release launches Heroin Help Line, which produces first booklet Safer Heroin Use and conducts 1700 subject survey on heroin using trends
The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, announces intention to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug.
2003
The Release Heroin Help Line project publishes its second booklet, “Treatment Options for Opiate Users”. Its specialist Legal and Heroin help lines fields about 200 calls a week.
2005
Release releases a major new publication – “Sex Workers and the Law” – providing accessible information on the rights of women and men working in the UK’s burgeoning sex industry. It also provides advice on minimising and dealing with the legal, social, and health-related risks that sex workers face.
2006
Government plans legislation that would presume guilt for drug supplying based on the quantity of the drug seized, rather than by establishing intent to supply. We challenge this, and the government backs down.
2007
Release publishes ‘Drugs and the Law’, a comprehensive booklet detailing the various aspects of the criminal justice system.
Release hosts its 40th Anniversary Conference.
2008
Release successfully campaigns against the drug testing and mandatory treatment of welfare claimants, and work with the English Collective of Prostitutes to oppose government plans of criminalising people who buy sex.
The Labour Government tries to bring in drug testing and mandatory treatment of welfare claimants. Release works with parliamentarians to challenge the proposal, and it successfully does not become law.
2009
TalkingDrugs is born
Release’s multimedia platform ‘TalkingDrugs’ is launched.
2010
The Coalition government publish its new drug strategy; for the first time, the UK moves from a harm reduction approach to an abstinence-focused approach to drug treatment. Release warn that this will put people’s lives at risk.
2011
On the 40th Anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Release publish a letter in the Guardian calling for reform of the drug laws. The letter is signed by Dame Judi Dench, Sir Richard Branson, Sting, Julie Christie, and other high profile individuals.
2012
Release publish ‘A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Across the Globe’ highlighting evidence from 21 countries that have ended criminal sanctions for the possession of some or all drugs. The report goes on to be cited by several UN agencies and the WHO.
2013
Release, in partnership with the London School of Economics & Political Science, publish ‘The Numbers in Black and White: Ethnic Disparities in the Policing and Prosecution of Drug Offences’ highlighting that black and Asian communities are unreasonably targeted for drug offences. The Voice magazine call it a ‘landmark’ study.
Y-Stop, a youth project created by Release in partnership with StopWatch, is launched to empower young people to deal with police encounters in a confident manner that reduces harm to them.
2014
Release lead on an action in the UK under the “Support Don’t Punish” campaign. A letter signed by over 90 high profile individuals and groups – including the National Black Police Association and the Prison Governors Association – calls on the Prime Minister to end criminal sanctions for possession offences. A demonstration is held outside Parliament.
Release’s legal team is now providing legal surgeries in 15 drug and sex work projects across London; they are awarded “Centre of Excellence” by the London Legal Support Trust.
2015
Five years after Release warned of the dangers of the Coalition’s abstinence-focused drug agenda, drug-related deaths hit an all-time high – including a 107% increase in heroin deaths in just three years.
Release provides briefings to Parliament on the proposed legislation to ban novel psychoactive substances (so-called “legal highs”), describing the legislation as unworkable.
2017
Release turns 50! To celebrate, Release hosts the Museum of Drug Policy in Bermondsey, where over the weekend over 5,000 people attended, exploring an exhibition sharing our history and highlighting the harms of criminalisation for people who use drugs, those involved in the drugs market, and sex workers. Release share the space with the Sex Workers Opera, friends from the racial justice movement and those working in harm reduction.
The Government launch the UK Drug Strategy for the next five years; Release condemns it as an utter failure to address this crisis.
2018
Release launches “The Colour of Injustice: ‘Race’, drugs and law enforcement in England and Wales”. This report updates and extends earlier analysis from 2013, continuing to highlight the disproportionate impact of drug law enforcement on Global Majority communities.
Release collaborates with racial justice activists to host RE:GENERATE, a Black-centred UK arts festival focused on the intersections of drug policy, racial justice, and liberation.
2019
Release, in partnership with the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London and with people from community, produces “Best Practice Guidelines” on the provision of naloxone for people who might experience or witness an opioid. This work builds on reports produced by Release in the previous two years that showed the scale of naloxone was seriously inadequate at meeting demand.
Ultimately, this work on naloxone would lead to legislative reform expanding access to people at risk of overdose.
2020
In response to the pandemic Release quickly mobilises people from community to monitor the impact of border closures on the drugs market, this network continues today. We produced a range of tools to support people through the early period of COVID-19.
In this same year, our Head of Drug Services, Gary Sutton died. Gary was the soul of Release and had been with Release for 20 years. He was an intelligent, funny, kind, compassionate and exceptional human being who was highly respected as an expert witness and counsellor. We miss him everyday.
2021
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is 50 years old! Drug use is still widely spread, drug related deaths break another annual record – which they have done every year from 2012 onwards.
We launch the first of our new virtual legal services in Hull and Middlesbrough, taking Release’s legal community work outside of London for the first time. By 2026, we have 12 virtual sites across different parts of England, supporting people with homelessness, housing insecurity, financial problems and access to benefits. These services are often located in under-served communities, with high rates of drug related deaths and legal aid deserts.
2022
Release publishes “Regulating Right, Repairing Wrongs. A call to ensure a just, fair, and equitable legal cannabis market in the UK” This report proposes 14 guiding social equity principles to be integrated into the UK’s future legally regulated cannabis market.
The Home Affairs Select Committee holds an enquiry on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Release submits evidence and our Executive Director provides oral testimony.
We support a group of clients to bring legal action against their treatment provider for withdrawing their diamorphine medication. The case is settled in our client’s favour.
In response to the Conservative Government’s consultation paper ‘Swift, Certain, Tough: New Consequences for Drug Possession’, which would have escalated punitive approaches for possession offences, Release alongside Transform organised a public letter signed by more than 500 public health, criminal justice, and human rights experts. The letter was covered by the Daily Mail, The Telegraph and Al Jazeera.
2023
Release’s Executive Director becomes an expert advisor to the Mayor’s Commission on Drugs. The Commission, led by Lord Charlie Falconer, would go on to recommend decriminalisation of cannabis – the Commission’s remit was limited to cannabis – with no police search powers and no punishment for possession.
In collaboration with eight other community organisations, Release authors a chapter in Liberty’s “Holding Our Own: A Guide to Non-Policing Solutions to Serious Youth Violence“. The report calls for better funded youth services and rolling back of police powers. This includes a call for drug decriminalisation to keep services funded and youth out of police reach.
2024
Release opens a Harm Reduction Hub from our offices in Aldgate, London, to demonstrate to the sector how a low threshold service should be operated. The Hub, now located in Bethnal Green offers a safe, warm space to access harm reduction advice and equipment, pick up naloxone, use a computer or a phone, have a conversation—or simply have a cup of tea.
New legislation introduced to expand the number of professionals who can supply naloxone. Release is named in the Government’s consultation process leading up to the law change, and our work recognised as driver for the needed reforms. We respond saying the proposals do not go far enough.
2025
Release secures a public law legal aid contract enabling us to support clients to bring proceedings against local authorities related to homelessness decisions.
Release also attends the Harm Reduction International conference in Bogota, Colombia.
2026
UNAIDS publishes technical guidance on the implementation of decriminalisation for improving HIV/AIDS outcomes, an important document which Release played a critical role in developing.