Tue 12 Oct 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3615656
2:12pm (UK)
By Ben Pindar, Community Newswire
The charity behind one of the world’s longest running drugs magazine is today preparing to celebrate 30 years of frontline drugs reporting.
This November Druglink, the magazine produced by national charity DrugScope, will mark reaching the 30-year milestone with a retrospective issue that will look at the changes in UK drug culture over the last three decades.
When the magazine launched in 1974 there were just under 2,000 drug addicts in the UK, 30 years later official estimates put the figure at 250,000.
The then emergent drug treatment sector has now become a multi-million pound business and Ecstasy was unheard of in 1974 – today it is the third most-used drug in the UK.
In the 1970s opium production in Afghanistan was negligible – it is now the world’s biggest producer.
The commemorative edition of Druglink magazine studies each of these terrifying changes and also includes guest articles from leading journalists, an insider’s view of the politics of drugs from ex-deputy drug czar Mike Trace, a retrospective look at how the world of drugs has changed from policing and education through to production and drugs culture and finally a look at the future of drug use.
Harry Shapiro, editor of Druglink, said: “This is a fantastic achievement. The world of drugs has gone through some tremendous changes over the past thirty years, and Druglink has been there every step of the way documenting and commentating on the changes as they happen with unbiased, cutting edge reporting.
“We look forward to building on this success in the years to come.”
The commemorative issue is also being produced in conjunction with the Thin Lines, White Lies event, a retrospective exhibition of drug images from the past thirty years.
The DrugScope charity is the UK’s leading centre of expertise on drugs. It aims to inform policy and reduce drug-related risk, provide quality information, promote effective responses to drug taking, undertake research at local, national and international level and speak for its member bodies working on the ground.
