Citation

Neill KA. World Med. Health Policy 2014; 6(4): 375-394.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Policy Studies Organization, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/wmh3.123

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Since the War on Drugs began, U.S. drug policy has been dominated by a law and order policy model. The emphasis on incarceration and punishment as responses to drug use has resulted in the neglect of public health concerns related to drug addiction. In this paper I trace the development of drug policy in the United States and argue that the social construction of drug offenders as a deviant population has led to the dominance of the law and order approach to drugs. While other scholars have argued that perceptions of drug users affect drug policy, this analysis focuses specifically on the creation and consequences of social constructions for modern drug policy within the policy design framework. By analyzing current trends this paper identifies a way forward for drug policy reform and calls for the adoption of a public health approach to drug use.

Language: en