Professor Paul Griffiths

Photo of Paul Griffiths

Professor Paul Griffiths was appointed in February 2025 as Director of the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) located in Perth, Australia. He has worked for nearly 40 years in the drug and alcohol field. Prior to 1999, at the National Addiction Centre (NAC) in London, UK, his academic work focused on drug risk behaviours. He also represented the UK on the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group expert committee on drug epidemiology, and he was involved in capacity-building programmes in applicant countries to the European Union (EU). In 1999, he joined the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, Austria, where his responsibilities included the development of a global capacity-building programme. In 2002, he joined the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) as head of the epidemiology unit, and in 2005, he was appointed Scientific Director with responsibility for guiding the agency's scientific activities. This included the developmental scientific work necessary for the launch of the European Union Drug Agency (EUDA) in 2024. He has been an active member of EU agencies' network of senior scientific advisors (EU-ANSA) and until recently chaired the group's cluster on foresight and future studies. In 2012, Professor Griffiths received an international award for excellence in leadership in the addictions field from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, USA). He has served as co-chair of the programme committee for all editions of the Lisbon Addictions series of international conferences and was instrumental in establishing this event. He has held an honorary senior lectureship in Addictions at the Department of Psychiatry, King's College London, since 2013.

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Griffiths, P., N., Parry, C., D., Ambekar, A., Vicknasingam, B., Basutu, A., Myers-Franchi, B., Bo, A., Dietze, P., Douglas, K., Ezard, N., Fiore, M., Hynes, M., Jones, C., M., Kent, P., Mounteney, J., Niaz, K., Palczak, K., Pascale, A., Peacock, A., Rychert, M., Sturua, L. and Zhang, Y. (2025). The Need to Revitalise Drug Use Monitoring to Keep Pace With a More Dynamic, Digitally Enabled and Globally Connected Drug Market. Drug and Alcohol Review. doi:10.1111/dar.70029 [RJ2297] View web page

Giraudon , I., Abel-Ollo, K., Vanaga-Arāja, D., Heudtlass, P., . and Griffiths, P., N. (2024). Nitazenes represent a growing threat to public health in Europe. The Lancet Public Health, 9, (4), pp. e216. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00024-0 [RJ] View web page

Soderholm, A., Mansfield, D., Groshkova, T., Sedefov, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2024). Commentary on Pardo et al.: Whatever the past situation, drug precursor chemicals may in future represent an important source for synthetic drug production in Afghanistan and surrounding countries. Addiction, 119, (6), pp. 1021-1023. doi:10.1111/add.16496 [RJ] View web page

Griffiths, P., N., Seyler, T., ., De Morais, J., M., Mounteney, J. and Sedefov, R. (2023). Opioid problems are changing in Europe with worrying signals that synthetic opioids may play a more significant role in the future. Addiction, 119, (8). doi:10.1111/add.16420 [RJ] View web page

Singleton, N., ., Cunningham, A., Groshkova, T., Royuela, L., ., Sedefov, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2023). Using Supply Indicators in the Evaluation of Drug Supply Reduction – Challenges and Opportunities. In Rossi, C. and Conti, S. (eds.) Evaluating the impact of Laws Regulating Illicit Drugs on Health and Society. Bentham Science Publisher. pp. 134-152. doi:10.2174/9789815079241123010012 [CH] View web page

Lorenzetti, V., Hindocha, C., Petrilli, K., ., Griffiths, P., N., Brown, J., ., Castillo-Carniglia, Á., ., Caulkins, J., P., Englund, A., ., Elsohly, M., A., Gage, S., H., Groshkova, T., Gual, A., ., Hammond, D., Lawn, W., Lopez, H., ., Manthey, J., Mokrysz, C., ., Liccardo Pacula, R., ., Van Laar, M., Vandrey, R., ., Wadsworth, E., ., Winstock, A., R., Hall, W., Curran, H., V. and Freeman, T., P. (2022). The iCannToolkit: a consensus‐based, flexible framework for measuring contemporary cannabis use. Addiction, 117, (9), pp. 2558-2560. doi:10.1111/add.15956 [RJ] View web page

Lorenzetti, V., Hindocha, C., Petrilli, K., ., Griffiths, P., N., Brown, J., ., Castillo-Carniglia, Á., ., Caulkins, J., P., Englund, A., ., Elsohly, M., A., Gage, S., H., Groshkova, T., Gual, A., ., Hammond, D., Lawn, W., Lopez, H., ., Manthey, J., Mokrysz, C., ., Pacula, R., Van Laar, M., Vandrey, R., ., Wadsworth, E., ., Winstock, A., R., Hall, W., Curran, H., V. and Freeman, T., P. (2022). The iCannToolkit: a tool to embrace measurement of medicinal and non‐medicinal cannabis use across licit, illicit and cross‐cultural settings. Addiction, 117, (6), pp. 1523-1525. doi:10.1111/add.15855 [RJ] View web page

Pirona, A., Matias, J., Montanari, L., Škařupová, K., Ferri, M., ., Giraudon , I., Mounteney, J., Sleiman, S., ., Natoniewska, K., ., Guarita, B., ., Vandam, L., ., Surmont, T. and Griffiths, P., N. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on drug markets, use, harms and drug services in Europe. Journal of Geography Politics and Society, 12, (1). doi:10.26881/jpgs.2022.1.02 [RJ] View web page

Schneider, E., Bronzwaer, S., ., Catchpole, M., Cockburn, W., de Coen, W., Foltz, C., Goodey, J., ., Griffiths, P., N., Herold, R., ., Ikomonou, D., ., Jepsen, M., ., Raineri, A., ., Reingardé, J., . and Uhel, R., . (2022). Learning from the COVID-19 experience: Strengthening EU-ANSA Agencies' cooperation and preparedness to support evidence-based policymaking in times of crisis. Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN: 978-92-9499-407-3 doi:10.2805/402212 [T] View web page

Ferri, M., . and Griffiths, P., N. (2021). Good Practice and Quality Standards. In el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., Galanter, M. and Baldacchino, A. (eds.) Textbook of Addiction Treatment. pp. 783-800. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_54 [CH] View web page

Griffiths, P., N., Mounteney, J. and Sedefov, R. (2021). The same fundamental drivers but differently expressed: what can we learn from comparing the recent experiences with synthetic opioids in the US and Europe? Addiction, 116, (6), pp. 1314-1316. doi:10.1111/add.15340 [RJ] View web page

Groshkova, T., Liem, M., ., Cunningham, A., Sedefov, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2021). Drug-related violence: Will COVID-19 drive better data for safer and more secure EU? International Journal of Drug Policy, 93. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103143 [RJ] View web page

Guarita, B., 2., Běláčková, V., van der Gouwe, D., Blankers, M., Pazitny, M., . and Griffiths, P., N. (2021). Monitoring drug trends in the digital environment–New methods, challenges and the opportunities provided by automated approaches. International Journal of Drug Policy, 94. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103210 [RJ] View web page

Hughes, B., Vandam, L., ., Mounteney, J. and Griffiths, P., N. (2021). Regulatory approaches to cannabidiol in the European Union: are market developments sowing the seeds of confusion? Addiction, 117, (1), pp. 3-4. doi:10.1111/add.15587 [RJ] View web page

Lorenzetti, V., Hindocha, C., Petrilli, K., ., Griffiths, P., N., Brown, J., ., Castillo-Carniglia, Á., ., Caulkins, J., P., Englund, A., ., Elsohly, M., A., Gage, S., H., Groshkova, T., Gual, A., ., Hammond, D., Lawn, W., Lopez, H., ., Manthey, J., Mokrysz, C., ., Pacula, R., Van Laar, M., Vandrey, R., ., Wadsworth, E., ., Winstock, A., R., Hall, W., Curran, H., V. and Freeman, T., P. (2021). The International Cannabis Toolkit (iCannToolkit): a multidisciplinary expert consensus on minimum standards for measuring cannabis use. Addiction, 117, (6), pp. 1510-1517. doi:10.1111/add.15702 [RJ] View web page

Seyler, T., ., Giraudon , I., Noor, A., Mounteney, J. and Griffiths, P., N. (2021). Is Europe facing an opioid epidemic: What does European monitoring data tell us? European Journal of Pain, 25, (5), pp. 1072-1080. doi:10.1002/ejp.1728 [RJ] View web page

Groshkova, T., Stoian, T., ., Cunningham, A., Griffiths, P., N., Singleton, N., . and Sedefov, R. (2020). Will the Current COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Long-term Cannabis Buying Practices? Journal of Addiction Medicine, 14, (4), pp. e13-e14. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000698 [RJ] View web page

Degenhardt, L., Wolfe, D., ., Hall, W., Hickman, M., Chang, J., Bruneau, J., ., Farrell, M. and Griffiths, P., N. (2019). Strategies to reduce drug-related harm: responding to the evidence base. The Lancet, 394, (10208), pp. 1490-1493. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32232-9 [RJ] View web page

Ferri, M., ., Mounteney, J. and Griffiths, P., N. (2019). Low-risk drinking guidelines: a pragmatic approach to health promotion? Addiction, 114, (4), pp. 605-607. doi:10.1111/add.14532 [RJ] View web page

Freeman, T., P., Groshkova, T., Cunningham, A., Sedefov, R., Griffiths, P., N. and Lynskey, M. (2019). Increasing potency and price of cannabis in Europe, 2006‐2016. Addiction, 114, (6), pp. 1015-1023. doi:10.1111/add.14525 [RJ] View web page

Hines, L., Trickey, A., Leung, J., Larney, S., Peacock, A., Degenhardt, L., Colledge-Frisby, S., Hickman, M., Grebely, J., Cunningham, E., B., Stone, J., Dumchev, K., Griffiths, P., N., Vickerman, P., Mattick, R. and Lynskey, M. (2019). Associations between national development indicators and the age profile of people who inject drugs: results from a global systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 8, (1), pp. e76-e91. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30462-0 [RJ] View web page

Leung, J., Peacock, A., Colledge-Frisby, S., Grebely, J., Cunningham, E., B., Hickman, M., Vickerman, P., Stone, J., Trickey, A., Dumchev, K., Lynskey, M., Hines, L., Griffiths, P., N., Mattick, R., Degenhardt, L. and Larney, S. (2019). A Global Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis C Virus, and Hepatitis B Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs—Do Gender-Based Differences Vary by Country-Level Indicators? The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 220, (1), pp. 78-90. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiz058 [RJ] View web page

Leung, J., Peacock, A., Colledge-Frisby, S., Grebely, J., Cunningham, E., B., Hickman, M., Vickerman, P., Stone, J., Trickey, A., Dumchev, K., Lynskey, M., Hines, L., Griffiths, P., N., Mattick, R., Degenhardt, L. and Larney, S. (2019). A global meta-analysis on HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B among people who inject drugs - do gender differences vary by country-level indicators? The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 220, (1), pp. 78-90. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiz058 [RJ] View web page

Mounteney, J. and Griffiths, P., N. (2019). Monitoring Trends: Use of Local Data. In Slobodin, O., Petras, H., Robertson, E. and Hingson, R. (eds.) Prevention of Substance Use. Springer Nature. pp. 223-232. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-00627-3_14 [CH] View web page

Mounteney, J., Griffiths, P., N., Sedefov, R. and Evans-Brown, M. (2019). Fentanils: a serious threat to public health. Addiction, 114, (5), pp. 783-785. doi:10.1111/add.14542 [RJ] View web page

Peacock, A., Bruno, R., Gisev, N., Degenhardt, L., Hall, W., Sedefov, R., White, J., Thomas, K., V., Farrell, M. and Griffiths, P., N. (2019). New psychoactive substances: challenges for drug surveillance, control, and public health responses. The Lancet, 394, (10209), pp. 1668-1684. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32231-7 [RJ] View web page

Singleton, N., ., Ballotta, D., Costa Storti, C., Quigley, E., Vandam, L., . and Griffiths, P., N. (2019). Getting real: Lessons learnt from the EMCDDA’s experience of supporting real life policy evaluations. Journal of Addiction Research and Practice, 65, (5). doi:10.1024/0939-5911/a000627 [RJ] View web page

Catchpole, M., Cockburn, W., Comby, B., Deluyker, H., Eichler, H., Goodey, J., ., Griffiths, P., N., Hugas, M., ., Ikomonou, D., ., Knight, D., Mezger, E., Mortensen, L., Murphy, T., Needham, H., Purser, S., Ranieri, A., Schmidt-Abbey, B., Stanners, D. and Szcześniak, A. (2018). EU–ANSA agencies' engagement in the European Union research knowledge cycle: an overview. Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN: 978-92-9499-054-9 doi:10.2805/32422 [T] View web page

Freeman, T., P., Van der Pol, P., Kuijpers, W., Wisselink , J., Das, R., K., Rigter, S., Van Laar, M., Griffiths, P., N., Swift, W., Niesink , R. and Lynskey, M. (2018). Changes in cannabis potency and first-time admissions to drug treatment: A 16-year study in the Netherlands. Psychological Medicine, 48, (14). doi:10.1017/S0033291717003877 [RJ] View web page

Griffiths, P., N., Quigley, E., Vandam, L., . and Mounteney, J. (2018). The challenge of responding to a more globally joined-up, dynamic, and innovative drug market: Reflections from the EMCDDA's 2018 analysis of the European drug situation. Dusunen Adam Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 31, (3), pp. 231-237. doi:10.5350/DAJPN20183103001 [RJ] View web page

Hughes, B., Matias, J. and Griffiths, P., N. (2018). Inconsistencies in the assumptions linking punitive sanctions and use of cannabis and new psychoactive substances in Europe. Addiction, 113, (12), pp. 2155-2157. doi:10.1111/add.14372 [RJ] View web page

Kraus, L., Seitz, N., Piontek, D., Molinaro, S., Siciliano, V., Guttormsson, U., Arpa, S., Monshouwer, K., Leifman, H., Vicente, J., Griffiths, P., N., Clancy, L., Feijão, F., Florescu, S., Lambrecht, P., Nociar, A., Raitasalo, K., Spilka , S., Vyshinskiy, K. and Hibell , B. (2018). 'Are The Times A-Changin'? Trends in adolescent substance use in Europe. Addiction, 113, (7), pp. 1317-1332. doi:10.1111/add.14201 [RJ] View web page

Laniel , L., Gandilhon, M., Adès, J., Cunningham, A., Singleton, N., ., Sedefov, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2018). EMCDDA Papers Captagon: Understanding today's illicit market. Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN: 978-92-9497-349-8 doi:10.2810/855785 [T] View web page

Peacock, A., Leung, J., Larney, S., Colledge-Frisby, S., Hickman, M., Rehm, J., Giovino, G., A., West, R., Hall, W., Griffiths, P., N., Ali, R., L., Gowing, L., R., Marsden, J., Ferrari, A., J., Grebely, J., Farrell, M. and Degenhardt, L. (2018). Global statistics on alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use: 2017 status report. Addiction, 113, (10), pp. 1905-1926. doi:10.1111/add.14234 [RJ] View web page

Pirona, A., Matias, J., Giraudon , I., Montanari, L., Mounteney, J., Surmont, T., Laniel , L., Wcisło, A., Bo, A., Christie, R., Jekabsone, I., Škařupová, K., Singleton, N., . and Griffiths, P., N. (2018). Results from an EMCDDA trendspotter study Recent changes in Europe's cocaine market. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. doi:10.2810/49990 [T] View web page

Szcześniak, A., Goodey, J., ., Stanners, D., Ikomonou, D., ., Mortensen, L., Mezger, E., Comby, B., Griffiths, P., N., Purser, S., Hugas, M., ., Murphy, T., Ranieri, A., Catchpole, M., Schmidt-Abbey, B., Cockburn, W., Needham, H., Eichler, H., Knight, D. and Deluyker, H. (2018). Approaches to assess and manage scientific uncertainty: examples from EU ANSA agencies. European Food Safety Authority. ISBN: 978-92-9499-059-4 doi:10.2805/936107 [T] View web page

Degenhardt, L., Peacock, A., Colledge-Frisby, S., Leung, J., Grebely, J., Vickerman, P., Stone, J., Cunningham, E., B., Trickey, A., Dumchev, K., Lynskey, M., Griffiths, P., N., Mattick, R., Hickman, M. and Larney, S. (2017). Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: a multistage systematic review. The Lancet Global Health, 5, (12), pp. e1192-e1207. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30375-3 [RJ] View web page

Hughes, B., Wiessing , L., Des Jarlais , D., C. and Griffiths, P., N. (2017). Could cannabis liberalisation lead to wider changes in drug policies and outcomes? International Journal of Drug Policy, 51, pp. 156-159. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.10.004 [RJ] View web page

Larney, S., Peacock, A., Leung, J., Colledge-Frisby, S., Hickman, M., Vickerman, P., Grebely, J., Dumchev, K., Griffiths, P., N., Hines, L., Cunningham, E., B., Mattick, R., Lynskey, M., Marsden, J., Strang, J. and Degenhardt, L. (2017). Global, regional, and country-level coverage of interventions to prevent and manage HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs: a systematic review. The Lancet Global Health, 5, (12), pp. e1208-e1220. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30373-X [RJ] View web page

Lynskey, M., Morley, K., Griffiths, P., N., Gossop, M., Powis, B. and Strang, J. (2017). The relationship between initial route of heroin administration and speed of transition to daily heroin use. Drug and Alcohol Review, 36, (5), pp. 633-638. doi:10.1111/dar.12560 [RJ] View web page

Mounteney, J., Cunningham, A., Groshkova, T., Sedefov, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2017). Looking to the future-more concern than optimism that cryptomarkets will reduce drug-related harms: Commentary. Addiction, 113, (5), pp. 799-800. doi:10.1111/add.14056 [RJ] View web page

Mounteney, J., Griffiths, P., N., Bo, A., Cunningham, A., Matias, J. and Pirona, A. (2017). Nine reasons why ecstasy is not quite what it used to be. International Journal of Drug Policy, 51, pp. 36-41. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.09.016 [RJ] View web page

Mounteney, J., Ruiz, M., J., Bo, A., Groshkova, T., Matias, J., Vandam, L., ., Cardoso, F., Christie, R., Montanari, L., Giraudon , I. and Griffiths, P., N. (2017). High-risk drug use and new psychoactive substances. Results from an EMCDDA trendspotter study. Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN: 978-92-9497-118-0 doi:10.2810/583405 [T] View web page

Wiessing , L., Ferri, M., ., Běláčková, V., Carrieri, P., Friedman, S., R., Folch, C., Dolan, K., Galvin, B., Vickerman, P., Lazarus, J., V., Mravčík, V., Kretzschmar, M., Sypsa, V., Sarasa-Renedo, A., Uusküla, A., Paraskevis, D., Mendão, L., Rossi, D., van Gelder , N., Mitcheson, L., Paoli , L., Diaz Gomez, C., Milhet, M., Dascalu, N., Knight, J., Hay, G., Kalamara, E., Simon, R., Comiskey, C., Rossi, C. and Griffiths, P., N. (2017). Monitoring quality and coverage of harm reduction services for people who use drugs: A consensus study. Harm Reduction Journal, 14, (19). doi:10.1186/s12954-017-0141-6 [RJ] View web page

Wiessing , L., Ferri, M., ., Darke, S., Simon, R. and Griffiths, P., N. (2017). Large variation in measures used to assess outcomes of opioid dependence treatment: A systematic review of longitudinal observational studies. Drug and Alcohol Review, 37, (1), pp. S323-S338. doi:10.1111/dar.12608 [RJ] View web page

Mounteney, J., Oteo Pérez, A. and Griffiths, P., N. (2016). The internet and drug markets: shining a light on these complex and dynamic systems. In Mounteney, J., Bo, A. and Oteo Pérez, A. (eds.) The internet and drug markets. Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2810/324608 [CH] View web page