Assessing alternative drug control regimes

• 成果类型: Article; Proceedings Paper
• 署名作者: MacCoun, R; Reuter, P; Schelling, T
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1520-7022
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6688(199622)15:3<330::AID-PAM1>3.0.CO;2-J
• 发表日期: 1996
• 页码: 330-352
• 关键词: prohibition; Legalization; marijuana; POLICY; LAW

摘要

The debate over alternative regimes for currently illicit psychoactive substances focuses on polar alternatives: harsh prohibition and sweeping legalization. This study presents an away of alternatives that lies between these extremes. The current debate lacks an explicit and inclusive framework for making comparative judgments. In this study, we sketch out such a framework, as a reminder of possible policy levers and their costs and benefits that might otherwise be neglected or go unrecognized. The framework identifies a range of pharmacological and economic characteristics of substances, potential harms and their bearers, and the sources of those harms, including drug use, trafficking, law enforcement, and illegal status per se. The framework highlights the difficulty of making objective, rigorous comparisons among regimes, but we believe that it can serve a useful heuristic role in promoting more constructive debate and identifying fruitful questions for research.