Griffith Edwards set up the Addiction Research Unit in 1967, a research group which grew into what is now Britain's National Addiction Centre. He has advised the Department of Health, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office on aspects of drug and alcohol policy, alongside advising the WHO. He set up research projects in Africa and Latin America and in the USA has acted as consultant to the White House Office in drug abuse. His books have been translated into 12 different languages. He is currently editor-in-chief of the international scientific journal Addiction and Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry.