How do I teach my son not to take drugs when I did myself?

You need to focus on what you’ve achieved in beating your addiction, says Annalisa Barbieri. Be calm and factual: tell him how it really was

‘Social mothers’: the women who helped a Brazilian city halve its child death rate

Sobral had one of Brazil’s highest infant mortality rates, but a groundbreaking health scheme has drastically reduced its number of child deaths

‘I didn’t know if he’d recover’: NHS staff on the patients they’ll never forget

From physios working with stroke survivors to radiographers identifying 7/7 victims, it isn’t just doctors and nurses who form bonds with patients

DIY drugs: should hospitals make their own medicine?

The long read: If pharmaceutical companies rapidly inflate the price of their products, is there an alternative? One Dutch chemist thinks so

Rabbits may hold key to solving mystery of human female orgasm

Study suggests climax may be an evolutionary hangover – but crucial questions remain

‘My mother-in-law called me Walter White’: how magic mushrooms rescued me from grief

After our daughter’s death I was overwhelmed by pain and anxiety. Microdosing home-grown mushrooms helped me cope

‘They broke my mental shackles’: could magic mushrooms be the answer to depression?

New trials have shown the drug psilocybin to be highly effective in treating depression, with Oakland the latest US city to in effect decriminalise it last week. Some researchers say it could become ‘indefensible’ to ignore the evidence – but how would it work as a reliable treatment?

Why parents are addicted to Calpol

The long read: It is the one medicine we reach for whenever our babies are feverish or in pain. What’s the secret of its success?

CBD: a marijuana miracle or just another health fad?

The cannabis-derived compound is popping up in everything from mineral water to bath bombs. We ask experts and users if it actually works

‘It makes me enjoy playing with the kids’: is microdosing mushrooms going mainstream?

Before the school run, or commuting to work, increasing numbers are taking tiny doses of psychedelic drugs in the UK. Why?

‘I shouldn’t have to look over my shoulder’: Carly Barton’s fight for medicinal cannabis

It is the only thing that relieves Carly Barton’s crippling pain, but she can’t take cannabis legally. So she’s growing her own – and has told the police

So Brits have a lot of sex on drugs – why?

It’s more common than you might think, and the reasons may have surprisingly little to do with sex and drugs, says sex and relationships author Nichi Hodgson

With councils and the NHS at loggerheads, vital services are at risk

As with Brexit negotiations, some people prefer to walk away or refuse to budge, rather than work together to find solutions

Out of my mind: Sarah Perry on writing under the influence of drugs

When a medical condition left her in agony, The Essex Serpent author was prescribed powerful opiates. They gave her terrifying visions - and a new insight into literary drug culture

First ever trials on the effects of microdosing LSD set to begin

In Silicon Valley they say taking tiny amounts of the hallucinogenic drug increases creativity and productivity, but is it all in the mind?