Alex Stevens: Does drug policy matter?

Alex Stevens discusses his research comparing drug policies of five countries—the Netherlands; Portugal; Sweden; the United Kingdom; and the United States—to determine whether drug policy affects drug use. His findings suggest that a penal response to drug use has no discernible correlation to lower drug-use rates. Rather, a greater commitment to treatment and harm-reduction policies--such as distributing clean needles--correlates with less drug use; countries with the lowest levels of welfare support have the highest levels of injectable drug use.

Professor Stevens is a professor of criminal justice at the University of Kent, England.

This interview is part of Vera's Neil A. Weiner Research Speaker Series. For more information, please visit: http://www.vera.org/services/neil-wei...

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For more information about the Vera Institute of Justice, please visit: http://www.vera.org/