The British model of harm reduction has been referenced as a pioneering approach to substance use in Europe. While many have described the development of UK drug policy through different governments, few studies have focused on the role that drug user activists played in the UK drug policy reform movement. In the paper, 'Who is the drug user activist?: recounting the conceptualisation of drug user activism in the United Kingdom,' we examine the different conceptualisations of UK drug user activists in literature, including published academic journals and grey literature (news articles, podcasts, websites and unpublished dissertations). We describe the different conceptualisations of 'the drug user activist' based on chronological periods relevant to drug policy, namely: Pre-Misuse of Drugs Act (1870-1971), Misuse of Drugs Act (1971-1988), Thatcherite and AIDS crisis (1988-1998), New Labour and Internet (1998-2010), and Contemporary (2010 to present). Throughout this work, we identify where further forms of documentation are needed to develop a more holistic historical account of drug user activism in the UK. This talk will include an overview of the findings of our paper, as well as insights from the community engagement phase which informed this paper and developments thus far in a follow up paper which formally interviews living activists and former stake holders in the drugs movement in the UK.