Russell Newcombe, who has died aged 66 of lung cancer, was an advocate of progressive policies on illicit drug use and the first person to use the term “harm reduction” to describe an alternative path to the punitive goals of the “war on drugs”.
His reputation as a leading researcher in the field led Russell to be engaged by the Home Office to study drug-using populations, and he also lectured at police training colleges, ran courses for drugs workers, collaborated with progressive policymakers abroad, and lent his energies to drug user organisations and anti-prohibition campaigners.
