'Prevention, Treatment and Science in the Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Policy’

Professor A Thomas McLellan, appointed by President Obama as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has accepted an invitation from the Conference Consortium, DrugScope and Drug and Alcohol Findings to visit the UK, on Monday 8^th March 2010. He will be en route to represent the United States at the Commission on Narcotics Drugs, in Vienna, and has agreed to deliver a public lecture, hosted at the National Addiction Centre.

Download the announcement: http://www.conferenceconsortium.org/index.php/downloads-mainmenu-27/category/6-lectures.html

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The lecture entitled: ‘Prevention, Treatment and Science in the Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Policy’ will be held in the Wolfson lecture theatre, at the Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, commencing at 1530 and Professor McLellan will be introduced by Professor John Strang, from the NAC. In it Professor McLellan will describe the rationale and scientific underpinnings for the demand reduction components of President Obama’s national drug control strategy, with the three key elements of evidence-based interventions, community-level involvement and shared responsibility – an abstract of the lecture can be found below, together with some biographical information on Professor McLellan. After Professor McLellan speaks there will be a short time for questions and comments from the audience.

Places to attend the lecture are limited and demand is likely to be high. Available places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. In order to secure your place, please contact Conference Consortium ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) as soon as possible. Admission will be via an invitation that will be e-mailed to you which will have to be presented on the day.

Abstract of Professor McLellan’s Lecture

'Prevention, Treatment and Science in the Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Policy’

The presentation will describe the rationale and scientific underpinnings for the demand reduction components of President Obama’s national drug control strategy.  Three themes pervade this strategy – evidence-based interventions, community-level involvement and shared responsibility.  Evidence-based interventions are the foundation for the proposed strategy, particularly those that can be practically applied and sustained within community settings.  The strategy emphasizes the role of  “Prepared Communities” in preventing, treating and managing substance use disorders and their public health and safety consequences.  Responsibility for monitoring and maintaining a proactive public health and safety infrastructure will be shared by individuals, families, and institutions within the community.  Responsibility for developing, training and supporting these communities will be shared by state and local governments.  Responsibility for developing new and better evidence based interventions will fall to the federal government.  These themes will inform a five-fold demand reduction initiative:

Professor McLellan’s Biography

On August 10, 2009, A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D. was sworn in as the Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. As Deputy Director, Dr. McLellan serves as the primary advisor to the Director on a broad range of drug control issues and assists in the formulation and implementation of the President's National Drug Control Strategy.

Dr. McLellan brings 35 years of addiction treatment research to the position, most recently at the Treatment Research Institute, a non-profit organization that he co-founded in 1992 to transform the way science is used to understand substance abuse. Dr. McLellan's contributions to the advancement of substance abuse research and the application of these findings to treatment systems and public policy have changed the landscape of addiction science and improved the lives of countless Americans and their families.

In his career he has published over 400 articles and chapters on addiction research. From 2000-2009 he was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, and he has also served on several other editorial boards of scientific journals.

Dr. McLellan is the recipient of several distinguished awards including the Life Achievement Awards of the American and British Societies of Addiction Medicine (2001 & 2003); the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Innovator Award (2005); and awards for Distinguished Contribution to Addiction Medicine from the Swedish (2002) and Italian (2002) Medical Associations.

Dr. McLellan holds a B.A. from Colgate University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. He received postgraduate training in psychology at Oxford University in England.