The Global Addiction Association is a knowledge-sharing facility for all those involved in the understanding and treatment of addiction.  It offers the opportunity for all interested parties to link both on-line and at the conference. Traditionally the conference has been a clinical and research meeting. In Pisa at the 2013 Global Addiction and Europad Joint conference we introduced a third element with our Policy stream which enabled clinical, research and policy individuals to debate the ways in which society can improve its response to, and treatment of, addiction.