{{Short description|British substance use researcher (1957–2024)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox person | birth_date = {{birth year|1957}} | birth_place = Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England | death_date = {{death date and given age|2024|04|04|66|df=y}} | occupation = Researcher, harm reduction advocate }}
'''Russell D. Newcombe''' (1957 – 4 April 2024) was a British substance use researcher. His 1987 article "High Time for Harm Reduction" in ''Druglink'', the magazine of the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence, helped popularize the concept of harm reduction.
==Early life and education== Russell D. Newcombe was born in Shrewsbury, England in 1957, to Bill and Vera ({{Nee|Davies}}) Newcombe. In 1979, Newcombe graduated from the University of Sussex, where he studied social psychology. He earned a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Kent in 1983.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |last1=Jay |first1=Mike |date=28 April 2024 |title=Russell Newcombe obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/28/russell-newcombe-obituary |access-date=28 April 2024 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
==Career== ===1983–2010: Academic and nonprofit career=== Newcombe began his career as a research assistant at the Chelsea College of Science and Technology, where he worked on a project concerning secondary school policies towards smoking. From 1985 to 1987, he served as a research associate on the Wirral Misuse of Drugs Research Project team at the University of Liverpool, where he explored the crisis of injected drugs, which was amplified by the AIDS pandemic. In 1987, he published his article "High Time for Harm Reduction" in ''Druglink'', which popularized the concept of harm reduction.<ref name="obit" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shapiro |first1=Harry |date=21 November 2017 |title=Guerrilla public health |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/WgsiQiEAABXB1KCS |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=Wellcome Collection}}</ref> Newcombe next took research positions at the South Sefton District Health Authority and the Mersey Region Health Authority. Between 1991 and 1993, he managed the Alcohol, Drugs & Crime Research Project at The University of Manchester.<ref name="obit" />
In 1998, Newcombe joined the Liverpool John Moores University faculty as an associate professor. He left the university in 2005 for a position at Manchester Lifeline.<ref name="obit" />
In March 2024, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs passed a resolution accepting Newcombe's term "harm reduction.<ref name="obit" />
===2010–2024: 3D Research and independent endeavors=== Newcombe founded the 3D Research Bureau in the late 1980s, with a focus on harm reduction among MDMA users in Liverpool's rave scene.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |date=2018-10-04 |title=EX.426 The Hour: Harm reduction, Lobster Theremin |url=https://ra.co/exchange/426 |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=Resident Advisor}}</ref> In 2010, Newcombe relaunched the agency as 3D Research to pursue freelance research and advocacy.<ref name="obit" /><ref>{{cite web |last1= |title=Home |url=http://www.3dresearch.org.uk/?p=home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204223706/http://www.3dresearch.org.uk/?p=home |archive-date=4 December 2023 |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=3D Research}}</ref> In his consulting, he worked with film and television agencies to appropriately portray drug use. This including working with Benedict Cumberbatch for his role in the 2018 mini-series ''Patrick Melrose''.<ref name="obit" />
== Personal life == Newcombe married and divorced Jane ({{Nee|Gregory}}), with whom he had two children. In 2012, he married his second wife, Cher ({{Nee|White}}), a Canadian drugs expert.<ref name="obit" />
In March 2024, Cher Newcombe-White tweeted that Russell had been hospitalised for terminal lung cancer resulting from long-term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1774434324953129449 |user=chereverywhere |title=Hi. As some of you already know, my dearest husband, Dr Russell Newcombe, is in hospital with terminal cancer related to his long-term COPD. I am trying to raise money for his care and funeral through my jewellery shop. Any support is greatly appreciated. |first=Cher |last=Newcombe-White |date=March 31, 2024 |access-date=July 1, 2024}}</ref> On 4 April 2024, Steve Rolles of the Transform Drug Policy Association announced Newcombe's death on Twitter. He was 66.<ref name="obit" /><ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1775925093396316576 |user=SteveTransform |title=Desperately sad news that Russell Newcombe has died. Educator, campaigner, harm reduction trailblazer, psychonaut, and an endlessly fascinating, generous and lovely human - He will be terribly missed. RIP 😔 |first=Steve |last=Rolles |date=April 4, 2024 |access-date=July 1, 2024}}</ref>
==Key publications== *{{cite journal |last1=Newcombe |first1=Russell |title=High time for harm reduction |journal=Druglink |date=1987 |volume=January/February |pages=10–11 |url=https://www.drugwise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/High-time-for-harm-reduction.pdf |access-date=11 April 2024}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Lara |title=Russell Newcombe Dies - Legacy Of UK's Longtime Harm Reduction Advocate, Committed Drug Researcher |url=https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/24/04/38119247/russell-newcombe-dies-legacy-of-uks-longtime-harm-reduction-advocate-committed-drug-researcher |access-date=11 April 2024 |work=Benzinga |date=5 April 2024 |language=English}}
{{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, Russell}} Category:1957 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Academics of Liverpool John Moores University Category:British drug policy reform activists Category:Psychonautics researchers Category:Alumni of the University of Kent Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex Category:British public health researchers Category:People from Shrewsbury