I AM VERY PLEASED
to announce the
launch of
DrugWise, a new
online drug
information service
carrying on the
drug information
tradition of DrugScope and – for those of you
with long memories – its predecessor, the
Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence.
As you can imagine, 2015 was a ‘bit of a
year’, but with the generous assistance of the
field, my colleague Jackie Buckle and I were
able to continue with the seamless delivery of
DS Daily directly to subscribers, five days a
week. We also set up a legacy website so that
people would have access to all the reports
and information sources of DrugScope. But
this did set me wondering.
DrugScope had two main functions; one
was to be the advocacy agency for drug and
alcohol treatment and focus on the attendant
policy issues affecting drug users, such as
welfare reform and mental health. The other
half of our work focused around general drug
information in all its various manifestations,
for anybody who needed it – information that
was up to date, evidence-based and non-
judgmental.
With the demise of DrugScope, the
advocacy work was taken up by Collective
Voice while Making Every Adult Matter
(MEAM) carried on with the related policy
issues. But there remained an information
vacuum and I was still being contacted by
journalists for comment and background on
the usual wide range of issues. And so Jackie
and I came to the decision to set up DrugWise
and with the very welcome assistance of the
Brit Trust, the site is now up and running.
DrugWise will perform a number of
functions. For a UK audience, we will update
and develop drug information from
DrugScope, write new thematic reports on
topical issues and provide an archive not only
of DrugScope reports, but hopefully in time, a
complete and searchable archive of
Druglink
magazine articles back to 1986. The site will
also be a platform for the public affairs work I
am currently involved in around the issue of
prescribed and over-the-counter drug
February 2016 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 19
ResouRces
Find a wealth of resources at:
Harry Shapiro
has launched a new drug information service with
his former DrugScope colleague, Jackie Buckle. He tells us more
Words for theWise
DrugWise deputy
director, Jackie
Buckle is also the
editor of DS Daily
and responsible for
its day to day
running.
dependency through the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Prescribed Drug
Dependence and the Opiate Painkiller
Dependency Alliance. I will also be continuing
the media, lecturing and public speaking work
under the DrugWise umbrella.
But the ambition is for DrugWise to be
more international and to broaden the focus
beyond drugs to alcohol and tobacco. From a
health and wellbeing perspective, it has never
made much sense to separate out these
substances when there are so many synergies
in terms of harm reduction, treatment and
recovery and education and prevention – and
not least because most of those with serious
drug problems are also often smoking and
drinking.
Certainly across the spectrum of global
drug policy, there is a growing demand that
policy should be evidence rather than morally-
based – and since the advent of e-cigarettes, a
public health hearts and minds battle has
broken out between experts with all the
rancour normally associated with the drugs
war. So it seems that now more than ever, it is
important for policy-makers and practitioners
to have access to the best evidence available
across substances and interventions.
One problem though is that the material is
often spread across national and international
agencies and so what the DrugWise I-Know
international knowledge hub aims to do is to
try and bring together the most robust and
reliable documentation in one place. However,
every country has its own health, prevention
and criminal justice systems and cultures and
so there is no attempt to analyse the material
– simply bring it to the attention of
professionals across the disciplines.
These are the basic building blocks of
DrugWise and despite the solid foundations on
which it is built, it is nevertheless early days. But
we are very keen to get your ideas and feedback
about the service and how you think it might
develop – and we will be very keen also to
engage in partnerships where drug information
and communications input is required.
There is every indication that the
treatment sector will be coming under
increasing financial pressure, so here’s hoping
you all can navigate safe passage through the
choppy waters of the coming months.
Contact Harry Shapiro or Jackie Buckle at
