Help with drugs, alcohol and staying safer

Recognise an emergency and call 999

Call 999 for suspected overdose or alcohol poisoning. Warning signs include being unable to wake the person, slow or irregular breathing, blue or grey lips, a seizure, collapse or severe confusion. Do not assume the person is sleeping it off. Tell the call handler your location, symptoms and what may have been taken, including medicines or alcohol; say if you do not know. Do not wait to identify a substance or complete this guide before getting help.

Stay with the person while help comes

If it is safe, stay with them and follow the 999 call handler’s instructions. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR with the call handler’s help; occasional gasps are not normal breathing. If unconscious but breathing normally, use the recovery position on their side and keep checking breathing. Do not make them vomit, give coffee or put them in a cold bath. Do not give food or drink to someone drowsy or unconscious. Keep packaging for clinicians if safe, without delaying care.

Ask about naloxone for opioid overdose

Opioids include heroin, some strong pain medicines and synthetic drugs such as nitazenes. Naloxone is an emergency medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose. It does not treat alcohol poisoning or every other kind of overdose. If available and an opioid overdose is suspected, use it following the product instructions and 999 advice. Do not delay CPR or calling an ambulance. Its effects can wear off, so stay until help arrives even if the person improves. Ask a local drug service about take-home naloxone and accessible training for you and willing supporters. Some authorised professionals can also supply it; availability varies locally.

Get support without blame or blanket assumptions

People use substances for different reasons, including pleasure, pressure, pain, loneliness or coping with difficult feelings. You can seek advice before things reach a crisis, even if you are unsure about stopping. Having a learning disability does not automatically mean an adult cannot decide about alcohol or treatment. Support should address the person’s actual needs and risks, with help to understand choices. A diagnosis alone is not a reason to ban ordinary lawful activities. Punishment, humiliation or forcing treatment is not a support plan; seek appropriate clinical and legal advice when safety or capacity is in question.

Find an England service you can contact

A GP can discuss concerns and help arrange treatment. You can also contact a local drug treatment service yourself. FRANK’s service finder lists free drug and alcohol support in your local authority area in England; the NHS also has an alcohol-service finder. Ask about self-referral, age criteria, appointments and urgent advice while waiting. FRANK offers confidential drug advice on 0300 123 6600, 24 hours a day, or by text to 82111. Calls and texts may cost your normal network rate and appear on bills. These are advice routes, not emergency services.

Make assessment and treatment accessible

Ask for Easy Read information, shorter or longer sessions, a quiet space, reminders, pictures, communication aids or a chosen supporter. Explain what helps before the first appointment. Staff should discuss substance use, physical and mental health, medicines, housing, relationships and your goals. Treatment can include talking support, prescribed medicines, help with withdrawal, peer support and practical support. Ask for a named worker and a plan you understand. Drug, alcohol and learning disability services should coordinate appropriate help; difficulty with a form or missed appointment should prompt discussion of access barriers.

Get medical help before stopping when dependent

Dependence means your body has adapted to a substance. Needing alcohol to feel normal, or shaking, sweating, feeling sick or anxious when reducing it, can indicate withdrawal. Sudden stopping or a large reduction can cause dangerous withdrawal in someone dependent on alcohol. Contact a GP or alcohol service promptly before trying to stop; use NHS 111 if you need urgent advice and cannot reach them. Severe shaking, hallucinations, confusion or seizures after reducing alcohol need emergency help: call 999. Regular benzodiazepine use can also cause dependence and dangerous withdrawal; get medical advice before stopping. Do not use a homemade detox schedule.

Street drugs and counterfeit pills have uncertain contents

A familiar name, colour, packet or trusted seller cannot establish what an illegal drug contains or its strength. Fake tablets sold as medicines and other street drugs have contained powerful synthetic opioids, including nitazenes. A substance can cause an opioid overdose even when the person did not expect an opioid. Appearance, taste or previous use cannot make a new supply safe. Explain this risk in a way the person understands and ask a drug service for an individual harm-reduction and overdose plan.

Check mixing, prescriptions and epilepsy risks

Benzodiazepines are medicines sometimes used for anxiety, sleep or seizures. Alcohol, opioids and benzodiazepines can dangerously slow breathing, especially when combined. Some other prescribed medicines, including pregabalin or gabapentin, can add to this risk. Tell your pharmacist or prescriber about all medicines and substances so they can check the particular combination. Do not take someone else’s prescribed medicine or skip prescribed treatment to make substance use possible. Too much alcohol can increase seizure risk in epilepsy; withdrawal can cause seizures too. Do not change epilepsy treatment without your clinician. If pregnant, planning pregnancy or managing another health condition, ask for advice specific to you.

Agree practical steps and a plan for setbacks

Start with the change you want, such as fewer harmful situations, better sleep or attending support. With a clinician or keyworker, plan manageable steps and what to do if cravings or withdrawal occur. Arrange safe transport and avoid driving or operating dangerous equipment when affected. Identify who can recognise an emergency and how to get help; being alone during an overdose leaves nobody to respond. Include enjoyable activities, enough support and help with housing or money where relevant. If substance use returns after a break, seek advice promptly. Returning to opioids after a break increases overdose risk because the body has lost some tolerance.

Understand privacy and tell someone about pressure

Ask what the service records, who can see it and when information could be shared. Agree whether family or supporters are involved and what they may be told. Services should explain confidentiality limits, including lawful sharing to protect someone from serious harm or meet safeguarding duties; do not rely on a promise that nothing will ever be shared. Tell a trusted professional if someone pressures you to use, controls your money, supplies drugs in exchange for sex or takes over your home. Use the safeguarding, domestic-abuse and cuckooing guides. Call 999 for immediate danger.

Support families and keep reviewing the plan

Families and friends can ask the service about support for themselves, including local groups, information and naloxone training where relevant. Their role is to listen, explain concerns calmly and support agreed steps, not to provide a medically supervised withdrawal programme themselves. Agree practical boundaries and an emergency plan without threats or shaming. A carer’s assessment may help where an adult has unpaid caring responsibilities and possible support needs. Review the plan with the person, including communication, mental health, safety, relationships and what help is actually working.

Help with alcohol and drugs

Get emergency help for an overdose

Naloxone for opioid overdose

Ask for support that respects you

Stopping and mixing substances

Make and review your support plan

What you can do next

More useful links