DrugScope news:
Follow us on Twitter for all our latest news
19 February 2009
DrugScope is now on twitter. Follow our latest news here
Welfare Reform Bill
10 February 2009
Video of DrugScope before the Welfare Reform Bill
Working with young people about drugs and alcohol
January 2009
DrugScope are holding a series of five one-day regional workshops for those who work with young people around drugs and alcohol. Find out more...
Regional fora
January 2009
In 2009 DrugScope will be hosting new regional forums. Find out more here
DrugScope letter to the Times Online
06 October 2008
Rehab does work: Get your facts straight: drug treatment is improving lives. Letter from Martin Barnes, DrugScope CEO
New DrugScope guide for professionals tackling substance misuse among young people
01 October 2008
DrugScope is pleased to announce the publication of The Essential Guide to Working with Young People about Drugs and Alcohol, edited by Jenny McWhirter and Hajra Mir. Find out more...
DrugScope needs your help to bring good practice to light
28 September 2008
DrugScope is working with the Home Office to try and bring some of your experiences to light. We're interested to know about the things that worked or are working - but we'd also like to hear about the learning experiences. Find out more...
DrugScope Street Drug Trends 2008
03 September 2008
Concern as increasing numbers of drug users turn to benzodiazepines. Find out more...
DrugScope regional forums
27 August 2008
In 2007 DrugScope hosted a number of regional events in the lead-up to the consultation on the UK government's drug strategy. Building on the success of these events, we are hosting a series of regional forums across England and Wales. The first of these planned regional forums will be taking place in Newcastle, Norwich, Bristol and Cardiff during September and October 2008. DrugScope members and all drug service providers in these areas will have received their invitation to their regional forums. If you have not received an invitation and are interested in attending, please contact our Membership Development Officer, Carlita McKnight on 020 7520 7558 or carlitam@drugscope.org.uk.
The purpose of these events is to hear your views and any concerns about the delivery of the drug strategy in your area, to share information and good practice, and also for DrugScope to update you on developments in national drug policy and practice.
North East Region: Tuesday 23rd September Newcastle
Eastern/ East Anglia: Thursday 25th September Norwich
South West Region: Tuesday 30th September Bristol
Wales: Thursday 2nd October Cardiff
All events will begin with lunch at 12.30 and the meetings will start at 1pm- 3.30pm. Places at these events are limited and early booking is recommended. If you would like to attend one of the forums or would like more information please contact Carlita at carlitam@drugscope.org.uk or 020 7520 7558.
New communications officer
August 2008
DrugScope welcomes Andy McNicoll to our communications team.
DrugScope's new contact numbers
3rd July 2008
Our main line number is 020 7520 7550
Our fax number is 020 7520 7555
DrugScope has moved
10th June 2008
Our new address is:
DrugScope, Prince Consort House, Suite 204 (2nd Floor), 109/111 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3BW.
DrugScope Members Questionnaire
12th May 2008
We will shortly be sending out a Members Questionnaire to improve our knowledge and understanding of who you are, what your concerns are and what your views are on our current and future range of services. This really is an opportunity for you to actively contribute to the future direction of DrugScope. If the named DrugScope member within your organisation has not received this email by Wednesday 14th May, please contact the Membership Development Officer, Carlita McKnight carlitam@drugscope.org.uk 020 7940 7503.
Cannabis reclassification: DrugScope interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and Five.
8th May 2008
DrugScope's chief executive, Martin Barnes, was interviewed (7th May) on BBC Radio 4's Today programme (7.35am) and Radio Five Live about the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) report on cannabis reclassification:
Today (Wednesday - 7.35am): http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/
Radio Five Live (interview starts at 02:16:08 ends at 02:20:44): http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/fivelive_aod.shtml?fivelive/5L_breakfast_wed
BBC Five live interview: 'Addicts gifted Toon tickets'
19th April 2008
DrugScope's chief executive contributed to a discussion on BBC Five live (19th April) about tickets provided by Newcastle United football club for drug users in treatment.
A replay of the programme (Weekend Breakfast) can be accessed here - starts at 02:07:56, ends 02:14:11
New appointments
14th April 2008
DrugScope is delighted to announce two new appointments this month.Dr Marcus Roberts, formerly Head of Policy at Mind, the mental health charity, is joining DrugScope as Director of Policy.Carlita McKnight, formerly a Development Worker at Voluntary Action Camden, has been appointed as Membership Development Officer - more...
Drug treatment - the great debate
24th March 2008
Following the controversy and debate on the abstinence record of English drug treatment services DrugScope and partners have organised a series of half day seminars Register here.
Drug strategy: DrugScope CEO interview Guardian Daily podcast
28th February 2008
Martin Barnes, chief executive of charity DrugScope, welcomes elements of the government's new drugs strategy, announced yesterday. But he says there should be more effort to help drug users in the workplace. Interview starts at 22.02 mins (lasts 3 mins 40 secs). Listen here.
For more links to DrugScope in the press please see our media mentions page.
Druglink Readers Survey 2008
20th February 2008
It has been some while since we conducted a survey of our readers and since we have upgraded the design and included more contributions from professional writers, we would like to know what you think about it. Participate here.
Get Involved
8th February 2008
Our new page lists projects and activities that are looking for assistance and has some useful information on volunteering in the drugs field. Find out more here.
DrugScope features in BBC Newsnight report on cannabis reclassification.
1st February 2008
DrugScope featured in a BBC Newsnight special report on cannabis reclassification (Thursday 31st December).
'Working with Parents' newsletter
1st February 2008
We are gathering material for the next issue of our newsletter for those working with drug and alcohol using parents. More information, including how to receive the newsletter is available here
New DrugScope publication - Essential Student Reader
15th January 2008
The Essential Student Reader on Drugs is a fully updated edition of Drugs: your questions answered, bringing together articles and extracts from books from the UK's leading drug experts to help answer some of the most popular quations sent into DrugScope information service including: 'How many drug users are there?', 'What are the costs associated with problem drug use?', 'What are the UK's anti-drug strategies?', and 'Where to get help'. This book is aimed at all students doing projects or dissertations on drugs and drug use from A-level upwards - including those at college, university or doing pre-vocational or in-service training. Price £9.50. Order from Hit here
Recruitment
14th January 2008
DrugScope is recruiting a Membership Development Officer and a Director of Policy.
Burning Questions about Drug Treatment
December 2007
Exclusive critique about the evidence for success used by both the treatment system and its critics. Please see our treatment pages
DrugScope's reponse to the Government consultation on the national drug strategy
24th October 2007
This response was produced by DrugScope with the support and input of many organisations and individuals who have worked with us throughout our 2007 policy review. Please see our policy page.
DrugScope and the APPG
12th October 2007
DrugScope provides administrative support to the All Party Parliamentary Drugs Misuse Group. We have recently updated our Parliamentary web page to include more information about this work. You can now download copies of the Group's previous reports, find information about the Group's current inquiry into the misuse of prescription-only and over-the-counter medication and find details of how to arrange attendance at Group meetings.
Online media mentions
24th August 2007
DrugScope provides authoritative comment to media outlets both in the UK and abroad. We now have a new page listing a selection of links to recent articles published online to which DrugScope spokespeople have contributed.
Welcome to the new DrugScope website
12 July 2007
A guide to what's new
As well as having a brighter look and feel, a more intuitive interface, and updated content, we have also added some brand new features. This is just the start however. We will be adding many more features and content over the following months - particularly for DrugSope members. Watch this space!
New developments:
Interactive elements:
Other elements:
Page features:
All web pages are:
- printer friendly
- have a contact for comments
- can be emailed and/or linked to
- can be added to favourites
- can be be converted to PDF format
What's improved:
Accessibility
The site now meets W3C standards for accessibility. The site is built using scalable fonts and can be viewed in a variety of formats:
Events calendar
As before we aim to have a comprehensive listing of all events but now you can search for events on particular dates with our new calendar search facility.
Membership
We are planning lots of new developments for members over the coming months. You can now join and amend your details online. When you join your membership will be almost instantaneous too - just click the confirmatory email to activate your login.
Related links
DrugScope's website has always been packed with information but now, with the aid of our related links, you can easily get to other information relevant to your interests.
Helpfinder and DrugData
Both our databases have a new look and feel plus you can now search by Document Number and / or Keyword.
Coming soon:
Effectiveness bank - A fully searchable good practice database of "What Works" information Regular podcasts Wikis - an area of our site where you can add and edit content. (Autumn 2007)
If you have any comments about our website we would like to hear from you. Please email jackieb@drugscope.org.uk
