Drug Policy Constellations
The Role of Power and Morality in the Making of Drug Policy in the UK
By Alex Stevens
Published
Apr 15, 2025Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529231427Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 30, 2024Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529231328Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 30, 2024Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529231434Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 30, 2024Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529231434Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Drug Policy Constellations
How is UK drugs policy made, and why does it so often seem irrational when considering what works in reducing drug-related harms?
This book explains how the concept of drug policy constellations – the loosely concerted policy actors with shared moral commitments that influenced policy outcomes – explains why there is no such thing as 'evidence-based' drug policy. Drawing on his participation in high-level policy discussions, and a novel approach to policy analysis, Stevens presents three recent cases involving key issues in UK illicit drug policy – medical cannabis, drug-related deaths and the government’s 10-year drug strategy.
"A rich, explanatory tool in the analysis of policy processes. It will appeal to those conducting drug policy analysis, seeking to influence drug policy, to understand the role (or not) of evidence, and to understand how policy decisions are made and taken." Addiction
"There is a richness and a depth to this book; it can be read and re-read with new ideas emerging each time." Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
"Drug Policy Constellations provides original theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding drug policy making. The book is clearly written, engaging, humorous in places, and interesting throughout. It will be useful for both policy researchers and those wanting to influence policy." International Criminal Justice Review
“A masterly critical realist exploration of UK drug policy making, utilising the concept of ‘constellations’ to analyse the power of values and interests, along with savvy politics, to influence what gets done.” Susanne MacGregor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Middlesex University
"An illuminating and important insight into the frequently weird and occasionally wonderful world of drug policy." Steve Rolles, Transform Drug Policy Foundation
Alex Stevens is Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Kent.
1. An Introduction to Drug Policy Constellations
Part I: Contexts, Concepts and Methods for Studying Drug Policy Constellations
2. Facts and Narratives of the UK Drug Policy Context
3. Power and Morality in Policy Making
4. Policy Constellation: A Critical Realist Approach
5. Studying Policy Constellations in the Real World
Part II: Morality and Power in UK Drug Policy Constellations
6. Moralities in Action: The Ethico-Political Bases of UK Drug Policy
7. Mapping UK Drug Policy Constellations
8. Power in UK Drug Policy Constellations
Part III: Cases in Drug Policy Making in the UK
9. The Legalisation of Medical Cannabis
10. Responses to the Drug Deaths Crisis: Explaining Differences at UK and Scottish Levels
11. The UK’s Ten-Year Drug Strategy
12. A Retroductive Conclusion
