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How can and do empirical studies influence drug policies? Narratives and complexity in the use of evidence in policy making

Stevens, Alex, Ritter, Alison (2013) How can and do empirical studies influence drug policies? Narratives and complexity in the use of evidence in policy making. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 20 (3). pp. 169-174. ISSN 0968-7637. (doi:10.3109/09687637.2013.793892) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:38449)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2013.793892

Abstract

Some recent contributions to debates on drug policy and the use of evidence (e.g. Henderson, 2012; Nutt, 2012) have assumed that drug policy could be improved if politicians paid more attention to scientific evidence. While not disagreeing with the broad thrust of this argument, we would like to question some of the assumptions about how evidence can and does influence policy. This was the theme of the Sixth Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP), which was hosted by the University of Kent in Canterbury in May 2012. Papers from this conference comprise the main body of this special issue. This editorial develops some theoretical ideas concerning the policy impact of empirical research, before introducing the articles which illustrate the variety of ways that drug policy analysis can be relevant to policy making. We are specifically interested in narratives – both of and in drug policy making – and the complexity of the policy process. We argue that these render some recommendations for improving drug policy somewhat naïve. Much more attention needs to be paid to issues of problem construction, politics, ideology, power and the messy complexity of the policy process.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3109/09687637.2013.793892
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Mita Mondal
Date Deposited: 24 Feb 2014 13:35 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 12:51 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/38449 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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