ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Scotland has experienced a distinctive national and local drug problem, particularly over the latter quarter of the twentieth century. An understanding is required of the escalating nature of the problem and the services which have been established for the management of drug misuse, with particular emphasis on the contribution of community pharmacy to these services. The national Scottish survey, described in the second section, identifies and quantifies some key practice and attitudinal characteristics. Recent local developments in practice are then considered in the third section, building on some of the findings of the national survey, and other external events. In the final section the future role of services is considered.
