Repository logo
 
Publication

Measuring drug policy evolution: a cross-country analysis

dc.contributor.authorGonçalves, Ricardo
dc.contributor.authorLourenço. Ana
dc.contributor.authorMarreiros, Helia
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-21T10:06:35Z
dc.date.available2025-03-21T10:06:35Z
dc.date.issued2025-04
dc.description.abstractDrug policies significantly impact public health and criminal justice outcomes, yet quantitative tools for systematically comparing approaches across jurisdictions remain limited. This paper uses a state-of-the-art comparative law method – leximetrics – to construct the Illicit Drugs Policy Indexes (IDPI), a valuable resource for assessing the evolution of drug policies over time within a specific country as well as across countries. The IDPI consists of a set of indexes corresponding to multiple dimensions of drug policy, including laws around consumption, possession and traffic. These indexes examine illicit drug laws and policies across seven countries: Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, over a timeframe of twenty years from 1996 to 2016. Our results identify significant turning points in the evolution of laws regarding drugs, often indicating a shift towards less criminal-oriented approaches. Moreover, the paper identifies the countries which progressed more in that direction, over time. The underlying IDPI methodology provides policymakers and researchers with a standardized framework for evidence-based drug policy evaluation and reform, adaptable across jurisdictions.por
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104750
dc.identifier.eid86000139975
dc.identifier.issn0955-3959
dc.identifier.pmid40056563
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/52794
dc.identifier.wos001442814600001
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectPolicy index
dc.subjectLeximetrics
dc.subjectComparative law
dc.subjectDrug policy
dc.titleMeasuring drug policy evolution: a cross-country analysispor
dc.typeresearch article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.titleInternational Journal of Drug Policy
oaire.citation.volume138
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
115920479.pdf
Size:
2.57 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
3.44 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: