Public Administration and Drug Control Policy

Public policy formulation, including the policy on drugs, is inherently dependent and responsive to current events. Policies addressing the issues of substance use have varied across time and geography, often changing with alterations to the definition of the problems and the ultimate solutions.^[1] Political imperatives, scientific findings, cultural changes, and even international relations are important to the determination of policy direction.^[2][3] The champions of evidence-based policy and administration emphasize that the focus on intense evaluation is the basis for cost-effective and functional policies.^[4][5]

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Across different nations, modifications to policy have often been in response to current events. Nations of the Middle East and North Africa have been compelled to change their policies to address harm reduction, owing to the prevalence of hepatitis C and HIV transmissions among drug users.^[6][7] Portugal also faced the same situation, with it becoming worse following the establishment of Casal Ventoso as an open air drug market, and resorted to decriminalization of drugs.^[8] The response to public welfare is an essential component of developing or modifying public policy.^[9] Where such responses are absent, the asynchrony will be evident and the potential effectiveness of the policies remains limited.

In the USA, the war on drugs has compelled the revision of policy as perceptions of the scientific field and the public change. Ideologies regarding marijuana use have enabled the legalization of the drug in some states.^[10] Inevitably, this process presents challenges to the USA with regards to international policy.^[11][12][13] It is possible that the USA will be compelled to revise its future international policies, allowing for the conditional legalization of particular drugs.^[14][15] Notably, events unrelated to a policy area may influence administrative decisions. For instance, the demands of the current economy of the USA and reforms after the elections in 2016 have resulted in budget cuts for the war on drugs.^[16] The implications of societal events, therefore, manifest in multiple aspects of the formulation of drug policy and ultimately the dedication of resources to its implementation.