The Beckley Foundation is currently organising a series of seminars, 'Society and Drugs: A Rational Perspective,' to address the issue of drug use in society from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The aim of the series is to achieve a rational overview of the scientific, medical, social, political and economic issues surrounding the use and abuse of drugs, both legal and illegal, promoting evidence-based practice in all jurisdictions.

These seminars bring together experts from a wide range of disciplines to examine the latest evidence on:

• The effects of different drugs on the brain, behaviour and health.
   
• The effectiveness of different methods of informing and educating the public (particularly young people) about drugs and the consequences of their use.
   
• Issues in prevention and treatment of addiction, including the relative merits of education and rehabilitation versus penalties and incarceration.
   
• The likely consequences of changes in legislation, and their implications for public health, law and order, and the economy.
   

In 2002 the first seminar in this series was held at Magdalen College, Oxford. It was entitled 'Drugs and the Brain', and was organised in conjunction with Prof. Colin Blakemore, now Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council. Events in 2003 included a meeting at the Royal Society to discuss, 'The Role of Drugs in Society' and a seminar held at Admiralty Arch, London, organised in association with the UK Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, entitled 'An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Alcohol and other Recreational Drugs'. The next seminar is to be held at the House of Lords, Westminster Palace, in October 2004, and is entitled, 'Global Drug Policy - Future Directions'.

The Beckley Foundation is also currently organising a series of Trialogues on Consciousness.