More Harm than Good? : Cannabis, Harm and the Misuse of Drugs Act

Potter, Gary and Wells, Hattie (2021) More Harm than Good? : Cannabis, Harm and the Misuse of Drugs Act. Drugs and Alcohol Today, 21 (4). pp. 277-288. ISSN 1745-9265

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Abstract

Purpose: To consider the nature of cannabis-related harms under the United Kingdom’s Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). Written for the specific context of this four-paper special section on 50 years of the MDA, it argues that the MDA may cause more harm than it prevents. Design/methodology/approach: An opinion piece offering a structured overview of cannabis-related harms under prohibition. It summarises existing evidence of the ways in which prohibition may exacerbate existing – and create new – harms related to the production, distribution, use and control of cannabis. Findings: The paper argues that prohibition of cannabis under the MDA may cause more harm than it prevents. Originality: It has long been argued that the MDA does not accurately or fairly reflect the harms of the substances it prohibits, and much existing research points to different ways in which drug prohibition can itself be harmful. The originality of this paper lies in bringing together these arguments and developing a framework for analysing the contribution of prohibition to drug-related harm.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Drugs and Alcohol Today
Additional Information:
This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2738
Subjects:
?? harm reductiondrug policyharmcannabisprohibitionmisuse of drugs actpsychiatry and mental healthmedicine (miscellaneous)clinical psychology ??
ID Code:
161207
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
20 Oct 2021 09:25
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
12 Feb 2024 00:43