Drug Policy

Alison Ritter, AO is Professor and Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW Sydney. She leads multi-disciplinary drug policy research, is Editor of the International Journal of Drug Policy, and works extensively with governments on drug policy problems.

"This is a must-read book for anyone interested in drugs and drug policy. Written in an accessible and engaging style for an international audience, it maps out the key theories, concepts and policy issues using examples from around the world to explain and illustrate. Ritter skilfully takes us on a journey that presents the complexity of drug policy in a way that is accessible, inclusive, impartial and informed. The result is a book that encourages us all to reflect, reassess and aspire to do better."Professor Joanne Neale, Professor of Addictions Qualitative Research. King’s College London, UK"This book explores policy formation and implementation, at levels ranging from the global to the local, and from diverse perspectives, including the role of research, of values and interests, and of citizen participation. Describing and using diverse analytical frames for policy processes and participation, the book draws on the author’s detailed knowledge of changing drug policies and is both an excellent review of thinking and research about drug policy, and a useful introduction to policy studies in general." Professor Robin Room, Distinguished Professor, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Australia; Professor, Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden"This book is a comprehensive and genuinely multi-disciplinary guide to a dynamic and highly contested field, written by a world leading expert. It is clear and accessible, but also characterised by sustained and thoughtful engagement with the complexities and challenges of governing drugs. It is this balance, along with Ritter’s unsurpassed knowledge of the field, that makes Drug Policy an indispensable and generative text for students, researchers, and practitioners." Professor Helen Keane, School of Sociology, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University "Everyone has an opinion about drug policy and there are lots of books expressing those opinions, mostly loud and fat. This slim volume manages to be a calm guide to a contested domain. With great intellectual range and depth, it is comprehensive in terms of elements of the drug problem covered, dispassionate in its examination of different policy positions and constructive in assessing how researchers might influence policy makers."Peter Reuter. Distinguished University Professor, School of Public Policy and Department of Criminology, University of Maryland, USA

• Acknowledgements A Note On Terminology 1. Drug Policy, An Introduction 2. Drug Policies To Improve Health And Reduce Harm 3. Drug Policies As Laws And Regulations, And Their Policing 4. Improving Drug Policy Choices: The Role Of Research Evidence 5. Analysing Drug Policy Formation 6. Analysing The Discursive Effects Of Drug Policy 7. Influencing Drug Policy: Making Change Happen 8. Democratising Drug Policy