» The government sites I’ve visited say one thing. Yours says another. Who do I believe?
That’s up to you.

Government and general health sites have a tendency to emphasize the dangers of drug use. We can see where they're coming from. They believe that presenting anything but the negative effects of drugs is tantamount to encouraging their use. Also, creating fear of drugs is an classic, ‘old school’ tactic to discourage experimentation. And, politically, appearing to be ‘soft’ on drugs is not the done thing.

Our goal is present balanced information, on a substance by substance basis, neither biased for or against. We are constantly updating and rewriting our guides to attain that goal. If the hazards of a particular drug are not emphasized on our site, it's probably because they are minor to non-existent. It is certainly not because we wish to de-emphasize them.

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» What are your sources on all this information?
Where ever possible, we use primary source material such scientific studies and government reports. In many cases, we draw our information from reliable secondary sources like reference books and selected news media. Most sources material is referenced on the page when used. We generally don’t use the Internet as a source, as most of the information is third hand and very unreliable. However, www.erowid.org is the exception that proves the rules and should be bookmarked by anyone with an interest in this area.

» Sometimes your site is up. Sometimes it is down. What's going on?
Basically we get too much traffic. About halfway through the month we usually exceed our bandwidth restrictions and have to close the site to stop incurring charges. You can help us avoid this by donating.

» How often do you update this site?
We are now trying to update the site more regularly, via the blog on the homepage. Otherwise, it’s whenever we get the time, usually monthly.

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» Who runs this site?
The site is staffed entirely by volunteers around the world.

» What is the history of The Good Drugs Guide?
The Good Drugs Guide was once a drugs section of the webzine www.seethru.co.uk, the companion site of the BBC drama series Attachments. It didn’t really sit well editorially with seethru so became this free-floating web behemoth you are visiting today.

» Do you make money?
The site runs on a struct non-profit basis. The dribble of monies made from donations or Amazon book sales is poured back into the site to pay for bandwidth and hosting. Why? Did you want to donate?

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» So have you taken all these drugs?
Some members of our team have experimented with the drugs detailed on the site, yes. How else could they write about them with any authority? But we are not trippers, potheads, beatniks, ‘liberals’, dharma bums, shamans, candy ravers, or acid casualties. We are normal people with day jobs who believe that the information on this site is important and should be available.

» I run a head shop / cannabis seed factory / mushroom plantation [etc]. Can I advertise on your site?
No, sorry. We run on an entirely non-profit basis. We do not accept banners or sponsorship of any kind.

» Do you welcome feedback and ideas?
We are happy to hear from anyone with a reaction to TGDG (positive or negative). Please also forward us any reliable information and drug-related news you think we should be aware of. Time constraints mean we cannot guarantee a reply but we will do our best. Please read our strict email guidelines before firing off your words. You're more likely to get a reply if you do. Thanks.

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» I know a lot about this subject. Is there someway I can help?
Thanks for the offer. The best way you can help is to make a donation or suggest a link to the site. Also, we are constantly honing and revising our text to ensure accuracy. If you see any mistakes or find any information we should know about, please contact us.

» Do you believe that all drugs should be legalised?
The anti-lobby say ban everything. The pro-lobby say legalise everything. These are the kind of polarised stances that start wars. We believe an imaginative substance-by-substance approach would be the good basis for a rethink of the current drugs laws. But we’re not holding our breath.

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