A new approach to formulating and appraising drug policy: A multi-criterion decision analysis applied to alcohol and cannabis regulation

Rogeberg, O.; Bergsvik, D.; Phillips, L.D.; van Amsterdam, J.; Eastwood, N.; Henderson, G.; Lynskey, M.; Measham, F.; Ponton, R.; Rolles, S.; Schlag, A.K.; Taylor, P.; Nutt, D.

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.01.019

A new approach to formulating and appraising drug policy: A multi-criterion decision analysis applied to alcohol and cannabis regulation

Rogeberg, O.; Bergsvik, D.; Phillips, L.D.; van Amsterdam, J.; Eastwood, N.; Henderson, G.; Lynskey, M.; Measham, F.; Ponton, R.; Rolles, S.; Schlag, A.K.; Taylor, P.; Nutt, D.

Authors

O. Rogeberg

D. Bergsvik

L.D. Phillips

J. van Amsterdam

N. Eastwood

G. Henderson

M. Lynskey

F. Measham

R. Ponton

S. Rolles

A.K. Schlag

P. Taylor

D. Nutt

Abstract

Background Drug policy, whether for legal or illegal substances, is a controversial field that encompasses many complex issues. Policies can have effects on a myriad of outcomes and stakeholders differ in the outcomes they consider and value, while relevant knowledge on policy effects is dispersed across multiple research disciplines making integrated judgements difficult. Methods Experts on drug harms, addiction, criminology and drug policy were invited to a decision conference to develop a multi-criterion decision analysis (MCDA) model for appraising alternative regulatory regimes. Participants collectively defined regulatory regimes and identified outcome criteria reflecting ethical and normative concerns. For cannabis and alcohol separately, participants evaluated each regulatory regime on each criterion and weighted the criteria to provide summary scores for comparing different regimes. Results Four generic regulatory regimes were defined: absolute prohibition, decriminalisation, state control and free market. Participants also identified 27 relevant criteria which were organised into seven thematically related clusters. State control was the preferred regime for both alcohol and cannabis. The ranking of the regimes was robust to variations in the criterion-specific weights. Conclusion The MCDA process allowed the participants to deconstruct complex drug policy issues into a set of simpler judgements that led to consensus about the results.

Citation

Rogeberg, O., Bergsvik, D., Phillips, L., van Amsterdam, J., Eastwood, N., Henderson, G., …Nutt, D. (2018). A new approach to formulating and appraising drug policy: A multi-criterion decision analysis applied to alcohol and cannabis regulation. International Journal of Drug Policy, 56, 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.01.019

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jan 25, 2018
Online Publication Date	Feb 17, 2018
Publication Date	Jun 1, 2018
Deposit Date	Mar 26, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Mar 27, 2018
Journal	International Journal of Drug Policy
Print ISSN	0955-3959
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	56
Pages	144-152
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.01.019

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Copyright Statement
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).