Griffith Edwards

Griffith Edwards, CBE was born in India and received his M.D. from Oxford University, since which time he has focused on the study and treatment of alcohol and other drug dependence and related aspects of addictions. He has been a major international figure influencing the development of the discipline of alcohol and drug studies, promoting rigorous scientific and clinical standards in approaching the broader aspects of these problems.

He was director of the Medical Research Councils funded Addiction Research Unit from 1968 until his retirement. He established the UK National Addiction Center in London and was its first Chair and Director. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Addiction and has received many awards for his work.

Professor Edwards has written extensively on policy aspects of alcohol and other drug problems and has promoted a balanced public health population based approached to the tackling of alcohol and other drug problems. He wrote the original description of alcohol dependence and the terminology of dependence has become the global term adopted in international disease classification systems including the DSM and ICD classifications.

Edwards has published a wide range of original scientific studies on alcohol and other drugs and has also written several popular science books including Alcohol, The Worlds Favourite Drug, Matters Of Substance: Drugs, and Why Everyone is a User.

Research and community development projects
Professor Edwards has combined a career of developing research and knowledge on aspects of alcohol and drug problems with also promoting community based actions and supporting the development of a broad structered response to alcohol and other drug problems. This includes the importance of appropriate and high quality medical and psychiatric services for such problems. Professor Edwards conducted research and supported the development of new approaches to those who are homeless and also people in prison with alcohol problems. He was instrumental in supporting the establishment of the first Therapeutic Community for treatment of Drug Dependence, Phoenix House. In addition he supported the development of community drug agencies in the late sixties and was involved in the early work piloting community based services for alcohol problems. Along with Lady Parkinson he supported the founding of the Charity Action on Addiction that has worked to support the development of research and service innovation in Addictions. Through his interest in developing country issues and links with the World Health Organisation he has strongly supported and encouraged projects to assist research and service development in resource poor settings.

Professor Edwards academic work has involved research in tobacco, alcohol and other drugs and has supported a training, research, treatment and policy approach that combines all substances that are addictive into a coherent theoretical framework. He has promoted an approach that combines the basic sciences of addiction, to the more applied and social sciences and sought to promote an evidenced based policy approach that is fully scientifically informed.

The book Alcohol Policy and the Public Good, was developed by a team of international experts and is the reference text on a balanced approach to international and national alcohol policy. He supports a similar balanced approach to other addictive substances and promotes the importance of an independent minded, scientifically robust and public health informed approach to future policy development.