Illegal psychoactive substances and illicit prescription drugs are currently used on a daily basis all over the world. Affecting public health and social welfare, illicit drug use is linked to disease, disability, and social problems. Faced with an increase in usage, national and global policymakers are turning to addiction science for guidance on how to create evidence-based drug policy.

Drug Policy and the Public Good is an objective analytical basis on which to build global drug policies. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on drug use in relation to policy development on a national and international level. By also revealing new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of drug misuse, it questions existing regulations and highlights the growing need for evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated drug policy.

A critical review of cumulative scientific evidence, Drug Policy and the Public Good discusses four areas of drug policy; primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; supply reduction programs, including legal enforcement and drug interdiction; treatment interventions and harm reduction approaches; and control of the legal market through prescription drug regimes. In addition, it analyses the current state of global drug policy, and advocates improvements in the drafting of public health policy.

Drug Policy and the Public Good is a global source of information and inspiration for policymakers involved in public health and social welfare. Presenting new research on illicit and prescription drug use, it is also an essential tool for academics, and a significant contribution to the translation of addiction research into effective drug policy.

Thomas Babor's profile page

Jonathan Caulkins' profile page

Benedikt Fischer's profile page

David Foxcroft's profile page

Keith Humphreys' profile page

Thomas Babor is Professor and Chairman in the Department of Community Medicine and Health Care at Health Net, Inc. and Endowed Chair in Community Medicine and Public Health at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America.

Jonathan Caulkins is Stever University Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Benedikt Fischer is Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada; Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, and Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

David Foxcroft is Professor of Community Psychology and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Keith Humphreys is Research Career Scientist, Department of Veteran Affairs; Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, United States of America.

Maria Elena Medina-Mora is General Director of the National Institute on Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente Muniz, Mexico City, Mexico.

Isidore Obot is Professor of Psychology at the University of Oyo; Director, Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Jurgen Rehm is Senior Scientist and Director at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada; Professor and Chair, Addiction Policy at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Peter Reuter is Professor in the School of Public Policy and Department of Criminology at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America.

Robin Room is Professor in the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Director, AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Fitzroy, Australia; Professor at the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

Ingeborg Rossow is Research Director at the Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research in Oslo, Norway.

John Strang is Professor of the Addictions and Director at the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, London, United Kingdom.