British Drug Policies in the 1980s: a preliminary analysis and suggestions for research

Abstract

Summary First, this paper attempts an assessment of recent developments in British drug policies. In the 1980s British drug policies are in a state of transformation in which it appears that medicine is being displaced from a central role, and being replaced by a more extensive and diffuse response involving a broader range of agencies and ideas about drug problems. A more active role is being played by central government, the debate on drugs is becoming politicized, and there is a new emphasis on law enforcement, and legal and penal control. It is now questionable whether the British approach to drug problems is as distinctive as it once was. Given that research on contemporary drug policy is negligible, the second task of this paper is to identify a number of areas and issues worthy of policy analysis.