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Tough on Drugs: Law and Order Dominance and the Neglect of Public Health in U.S. Drug Policy
Author(s) -
Neill Katharine A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world medical and health policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.326
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 1948-4682
DOI - 10.1002/wmh3.123
Subject(s) - dominance (genetics) , drug , public policy , public health , neglect , health policy , social policy , policy analysis , addiction , social order , law , political science , criminology , sociology , medicine , psychiatry , politics , health care , biochemistry , chemistry , nursing , gene
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.