This chapter builds on previous work by the authors which characterized and analysed the signific... more This chapter builds on previous work by the authors which characterized and analysed the significance of radical precaution in the processes of securing ‘protection’ for citizens against dangerous violent and sexual offenders in countries like the UK and USA. Precautionary logic, in particular, is transforming the meanings of, and relations between, allegations, truth-finding and justice, badged under ‘public protection’. Using this approach, our theme here is to contextualize the underpinnings of this broader cultural imperative through analysis of particular legal and policy developments, including development of ‘counter-law’ and surveillant assemblages against perceived dangers of sexual crime. We also illustrate how ‘risk’ itself is reconstituted in the politics of science and (un)certainty, with practical impacts on decision-making by professionals and apparent attempts at responsibilisation of the wider public. The chapter thus presents an analysis on how the politics of risk and danger play out in identification, detection and pre-emption of sexual crime.
1. Introduction: Drugs, Crime and Criminal Justice 2. Risk, Security and the Criminal Justice Tur... more 1. Introduction: Drugs, Crime and Criminal Justice 2. Risk, Security and the Criminal Justice Turn 3. The Politics of Drug Policy-Making 4. Police Custody: A Risk Filtering Machine 5. Criminal Courts: A Risk Management System 6. Drugs Work / Knowledge Work 7. The Impact of the Criminal Justice Turn 8. Conclusions: Reimagining Risk and Security
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to re-appraise the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in order to deve... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to re-appraise the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in order to develop alternative and new ideas for drug law reform. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to analyse the Act from historical and socio-legal perspectives, drawing on the inter-disciplinary field of regulation studies. Findings The Act has its roots in radical counter-cultural reform activism in the 1960s. Its innovative legal structure has enabled a diverse range of policy approaches to be possible over the last 50 years. Future drug law reform efforts need to broaden out from a narrow focus on law and also to engage more seriously with the politics of drug law and policy. Originality/value Drawing on the inter-disciplinary field of regulation studies leads to novel insights about the politics and practice of drug law reform.
A striking phenomenon in many western countries is the increasing use of the criminal justice sys... more A striking phenomenon in many western countries is the increasing use of the criminal justice system as a means of channelling and coercing drug users into treatment. Despite somewhat equivocal research evidence about its effectiveness, this approach has continued to expand, including in Britain. This article takes a step back and explores some of the critical background issues that have been largely overlooked to date. Some conceptual, ethical and criminological aspects of coerced treatment in the criminal justice system are considered. It is argued that coerced treatment is a central issue for both contemporary criminology and criminal justice policy.
This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiq... more This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of 'health'. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the State and the individual within the drug policy field. The leading medicinal cannabis case in the UK highlights the judiciary's failure to engage with an individual's human right to health as they adopt an arbitrary, externalist view, focussing on the legality of cannabis to the exclusion of other concerns. Drawing on some international comparisons, the paper considers how a human rights perspective can lead to an approach to medicinal cannabis use which facilitates a holistic under...
Taking Kohn's classic book Dope Girls as its starting point, this paper explores the particul... more Taking Kohn's classic book Dope Girls as its starting point, this paper explores the particular place of women and gender issues in the emergence of the 'British System' of drug control in the early twentieth century. The 'British System' refers to the approach put in place in the 1920s in Britain, notably by the 1926 Rolleston Report. In essence, it involved the medically based prescription of opiates to addicts, often on a long-term basis. It is viewed by many as one of the beginnings of the general principle of harm reduction within drug policy. This paper will examine how female figures - chorus girls, actresses, night club girls, prostitutes - were central to British drugs discourse in the 1920s, with the representation of some individual women in particular, most famously the actress Billie Carleton, featuring very prominently. It will be argued that this gendering of drugs discourse can be best understood in the wider context of social change, namely the t...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the connections between illegal d... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the connections between illegal drugs and the informal economy and consider this in the light of the increasing levels of global interconnectedness in recent decades.Design/methodology/approachThis is a review of the empirical drugs literature with a primary focus on British‐based research and analysis of the impact of different aspects of globalization.FindingsPatterns of heroin and crack‐cocaine use need to be understood in their social, economic and cultural context, particularly in relation to their location in the informal economy. Globalizing processes have profoundly shaped local drug problems over the last 30 years.Practical implicationsThe governance of the drug problem needs to be reframed to take account of its social economic nature and global character. New ways of thinking are required to advance future research and policy.Originality/valueThe focus on the impact of globalizing processes is original and le...
After a century of international drug prohibition, and amidst growing consensus that it has been ... more After a century of international drug prohibition, and amidst growing consensus that it has been a costly policy failure, arguments for drug law reform are gathering momentum globally. Despite a large body of empirically oriented policy research, the area remains underdeveloped conceptually and theoretically. This article seeks to address this gap by assembling some intellectual resources for a critical socio-legal analysis of drug law reform, drawing on insights from regulation studies, economics, political economy and economic sociology. Reframing the problem as one of market regulation, and using Shearing’s constitutive approach, opens up some new ways of thinking about how drug laws function and the possibilities for reform. It also highlights the importance of taking normative thinking about drug policy futures seriously. In conclusion, it is suggested that a new concept of exchangespace may be key to further theoretical development in this field.
The increasing emphasis on the drugcrime link in British drug policy in recent years has had a k... more The increasing emphasis on the drugcrime link in British drug policy in recent years has had a knock-on effect on British drugs research. Research is now taking place more and more within the criminal justice system, rather than exclusively in the traditional sites of the community ...
The belief that drug addiction is the motor behind much property crime has been a key part of rec... more The belief that drug addiction is the motor behind much property crime has been a key part of recent UK drug policy. Review of the literature shows that the empirical evidence does not support this view. It also demonstrates that the fundamental weakness of existing research is its failure to address the question of causality properly, relying mainly on uni-directional mechanistic ‘cause-and-effect’ models. It is suggested that the drug–crime link needs to be conceived in the context of the interaction and inter-relation of a range of factors operating at different levels and as part of a set of complex processes. The implications for policy are that a reliance on improving access to treatment is likely to be of limited effectiveness in reducing drug-related crime and that an emphasis on tackling social exclusion may be more fruitful. Future research needs to explore further the notion of causality outlined in this paper. It must also examine emerging patterns of polydrug use and lo...
This chapter builds on previous work by the authors which characterized and analysed the signific... more This chapter builds on previous work by the authors which characterized and analysed the significance of radical precaution in the processes of securing ‘protection’ for citizens against dangerous violent and sexual offenders in countries like the UK and USA. Precautionary logic, in particular, is transforming the meanings of, and relations between, allegations, truth-finding and justice, badged under ‘public protection’. Using this approach, our theme here is to contextualize the underpinnings of this broader cultural imperative through analysis of particular legal and policy developments, including development of ‘counter-law’ and surveillant assemblages against perceived dangers of sexual crime. We also illustrate how ‘risk’ itself is reconstituted in the politics of science and (un)certainty, with practical impacts on decision-making by professionals and apparent attempts at responsibilisation of the wider public. The chapter thus presents an analysis on how the politics of risk and danger play out in identification, detection and pre-emption of sexual crime.
1. Introduction: Drugs, Crime and Criminal Justice 2. Risk, Security and the Criminal Justice Tur... more 1. Introduction: Drugs, Crime and Criminal Justice 2. Risk, Security and the Criminal Justice Turn 3. The Politics of Drug Policy-Making 4. Police Custody: A Risk Filtering Machine 5. Criminal Courts: A Risk Management System 6. Drugs Work / Knowledge Work 7. The Impact of the Criminal Justice Turn 8. Conclusions: Reimagining Risk and Security
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to re-appraise the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in order to deve... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to re-appraise the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in order to develop alternative and new ideas for drug law reform. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to analyse the Act from historical and socio-legal perspectives, drawing on the inter-disciplinary field of regulation studies. Findings The Act has its roots in radical counter-cultural reform activism in the 1960s. Its innovative legal structure has enabled a diverse range of policy approaches to be possible over the last 50 years. Future drug law reform efforts need to broaden out from a narrow focus on law and also to engage more seriously with the politics of drug law and policy. Originality/value Drawing on the inter-disciplinary field of regulation studies leads to novel insights about the politics and practice of drug law reform.
A striking phenomenon in many western countries is the increasing use of the criminal justice sys... more A striking phenomenon in many western countries is the increasing use of the criminal justice system as a means of channelling and coercing drug users into treatment. Despite somewhat equivocal research evidence about its effectiveness, this approach has continued to expand, including in Britain. This article takes a step back and explores some of the critical background issues that have been largely overlooked to date. Some conceptual, ethical and criminological aspects of coerced treatment in the criminal justice system are considered. It is argued that coerced treatment is a central issue for both contemporary criminology and criminal justice policy.
This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiq... more This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of 'health'. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the State and the individual within the drug policy field. The leading medicinal cannabis case in the UK highlights the judiciary's failure to engage with an individual's human right to health as they adopt an arbitrary, externalist view, focussing on the legality of cannabis to the exclusion of other concerns. Drawing on some international comparisons, the paper considers how a human rights perspective can lead to an approach to medicinal cannabis use which facilitates a holistic under...
Taking Kohn's classic book Dope Girls as its starting point, this paper explores the particul... more Taking Kohn's classic book Dope Girls as its starting point, this paper explores the particular place of women and gender issues in the emergence of the 'British System' of drug control in the early twentieth century. The 'British System' refers to the approach put in place in the 1920s in Britain, notably by the 1926 Rolleston Report. In essence, it involved the medically based prescription of opiates to addicts, often on a long-term basis. It is viewed by many as one of the beginnings of the general principle of harm reduction within drug policy. This paper will examine how female figures - chorus girls, actresses, night club girls, prostitutes - were central to British drugs discourse in the 1920s, with the representation of some individual women in particular, most famously the actress Billie Carleton, featuring very prominently. It will be argued that this gendering of drugs discourse can be best understood in the wider context of social change, namely the t...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the connections between illegal d... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the connections between illegal drugs and the informal economy and consider this in the light of the increasing levels of global interconnectedness in recent decades.Design/methodology/approachThis is a review of the empirical drugs literature with a primary focus on British‐based research and analysis of the impact of different aspects of globalization.FindingsPatterns of heroin and crack‐cocaine use need to be understood in their social, economic and cultural context, particularly in relation to their location in the informal economy. Globalizing processes have profoundly shaped local drug problems over the last 30 years.Practical implicationsThe governance of the drug problem needs to be reframed to take account of its social economic nature and global character. New ways of thinking are required to advance future research and policy.Originality/valueThe focus on the impact of globalizing processes is original and le...
After a century of international drug prohibition, and amidst growing consensus that it has been ... more After a century of international drug prohibition, and amidst growing consensus that it has been a costly policy failure, arguments for drug law reform are gathering momentum globally. Despite a large body of empirically oriented policy research, the area remains underdeveloped conceptually and theoretically. This article seeks to address this gap by assembling some intellectual resources for a critical socio-legal analysis of drug law reform, drawing on insights from regulation studies, economics, political economy and economic sociology. Reframing the problem as one of market regulation, and using Shearing’s constitutive approach, opens up some new ways of thinking about how drug laws function and the possibilities for reform. It also highlights the importance of taking normative thinking about drug policy futures seriously. In conclusion, it is suggested that a new concept of exchangespace may be key to further theoretical development in this field.
The increasing emphasis on the drugcrime link in British drug policy in recent years has had a k... more The increasing emphasis on the drugcrime link in British drug policy in recent years has had a knock-on effect on British drugs research. Research is now taking place more and more within the criminal justice system, rather than exclusively in the traditional sites of the community ...
The belief that drug addiction is the motor behind much property crime has been a key part of rec... more The belief that drug addiction is the motor behind much property crime has been a key part of recent UK drug policy. Review of the literature shows that the empirical evidence does not support this view. It also demonstrates that the fundamental weakness of existing research is its failure to address the question of causality properly, relying mainly on uni-directional mechanistic ‘cause-and-effect’ models. It is suggested that the drug–crime link needs to be conceived in the context of the interaction and inter-relation of a range of factors operating at different levels and as part of a set of complex processes. The implications for policy are that a reliance on improving access to treatment is likely to be of limited effectiveness in reducing drug-related crime and that an emphasis on tackling social exclusion may be more fruitful. Future research needs to explore further the notion of causality outlined in this paper. It must also examine emerging patterns of polydrug use and lo...
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