International Centre for Drug Policy launch

The International Centre for Drug Policy (ICDP) at St George's Hospital Medical School will be formally launched on Tuesday 16 November 2004. Guest speakers are Melanie Johnson, Minister for Public Health, and Dr Benedetto Saraceno, Director, Mental Health and Substance Dependence, World Health Organisation.

The Centre will promote excellence in substance abuse prevention through supporting the development of effective drug policy and initiatives in the areas of treatment and prevention. Concentrating on the international arena, the Centre will provide education, training, research and development.

Melanie Johnson, Minister for Public Health, will also launch the annual report from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD), based at St George's Hospital Medical School at this event. This report into last year's statistics has found that there was a notable six per cent drop in the annual rate for drug related deaths from 1,583 in 2002 to 1,487 in 2003.

Professor Hamid Ghodse, Director of the International Centre for Drugs Policy, said "Substance abuse has a particular impact on the freedom and development of young people, who represent the most valuable asset of every country. In addition to the effect on particular individuals, substance abuse also has a significant impact on families, friends, and eventually the whole community. There is therefore an urgent need for prevention. No form of non-medical drug use is healthy and substance abuse prevention should therefore be seen as one part of general public health measures to ensure a healthy society. This is the ICDP's main objective with a focus on the development of training and education programmes in the higher educational institutions.