Drug Policy and the Public Good

Illegal psychoactive substances and illicit prescription drugs are currently used on a daily basis all over the world. Affecting public health and social welfare, illicit drug use is linked to disease, disability, and social problems. Faced with an increase in usage, national and global policymakers are turning to addiction science for guidance on how to create evidence-based drug policy.

Drug Policy and the Public Good is an objective analytical basis on which to build global drug policies. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on drug use in relation to policy development on a national and international level. By also revealing new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of drug misuse, it questions existing regulations and highlights the growing need for evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated drug policy.

A critical review of cumulative scientific evidence, Drug Policy and the Public Good discusses four areas of drug policy; primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; supply reduction programs, including legal enforcement and drug interdiction; treatment interventions and harm reduction approaches; and control of the legal market through prescription drug regimes. In addition, it analyses the current state of global drug policy, and advocates improvements in the drafting of public health policy.

Drug Policy and the Public Good is a global source of information and inspiration for policymakers involved in public health and social welfare. Presenting new research on illicit and prescription drug use, it is also an essential tool for academics, and a significant contribution to the translation of addiction research into effective drug policy.

Thomas Babor, Professor and Chairman, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, Health Net, Inc., Endowed Chair in Community Medicine and Public Health, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America,Jonathan Caulkins, Stever University Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America,Benedikt Fischer, Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, and Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada,David Foxcroft, Professor of Community Psychology and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom,Keith Humphreys, Research Career Scientist, Department of Veteran Affairs; Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Cal

Thomas Babor
Professor and Chairman, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, Health Net, Inc., Endowed Chair in Community Medicine and Public Health, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America


Jonathan Caulkins
Stever University Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America


Benedikt Fischer
Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, and Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada


David Foxcroft
Professor of Community Psychology and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom


Keith Humphreys
Research Career Scientist, Department of Veteran Affairs; Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, United States of America


Maria Elena Medina-Mora
General Director, National Institute on Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente Muniz, Mexico City, Mexico


Isidore Obot
Professor of Psychology, University of Oyo; Director, Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria


Jurgen Rehm
Senior Scientist and Director, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada; Professor and Chair, Addiction Policy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada


Peter Reuter
Professor, School of Public Policy and Department of Criminology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America


Robin Room
Professor, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Director, AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Fitzroy, Australia; Professor, Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden


Ingeborg Rossow
Research Director, Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research, Oslo, Norway


John Strang
Professor of the Addictions and Director, National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

Section 1: Introduction
1. Framing the issues
2. Matters of substance
Section 2: Drug epidemiology and drug markets
3. Drug use in global perspective
4. Harms associated with illicit drug use
5. Illegal markets: the economics and social costs of drug distribution
6. The legal market: prescription and diversion of psychopharmaceuticals
Section 3: The evidence base for drug policy: research on strategies and interventions
7. Strategies and interventions to reduce drug use and related harm: section overview
8. Preventing illicit drug use by young people
9. Health and social services for drug users
10. Supply control for illegal markets
11. Criminalization and decriminalization of drug possession
12. Managing psychopharmaceutical drugs under prescription regimes
Section 4: The policy arena
13. Drug policy and control at the international level
14. Legalizing the supply of cannabis
15. Treatment systems for drug users
Section 5: Synthesis and conclusions
16. Summary and conclusions