Knowra Drug policy Drug policy Drug policy is the set of laws and public measures governing controlled substances, their production, distribution, possession, and use. It also addresses substance-related harms through prevention, treatment, and enforcement.
Drug prohibition : A legal approach that bans or restricts specified drugs and activities involving them. Prohibition is the central legal tool behind many controlled-substance policies.
War on drugs : A term for campaigns emphasizing law enforcement and punishment against illicit drug production, trade, and use. It names a major enforcement-centered approach and its political legacy.
Public health approach to drug use : A framework that addresses drug use through population health measures, prevention, treatment, and harm reduction. It contrasts with policy organized primarily around criminal enforcement.
Portuguese drug decriminalization : Portugal's 2001 reform that removed criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs while retaining prohibitions on supply. It is a prominent national case of decriminalization paired with health services.
Drug decriminalization : Removal of criminal penalties for specified drug-related conduct, often possession for personal use. It changes how possession is sanctioned without necessarily legalizing supply.
Mass incarceration : The large-scale imprisonment of people, especially through extensive and unequal use of criminal punishment. Drug enforcement has contributed to imprisonment and disparities in several countries.
Supply reduction : Efforts to restrict drug availability through policing, interdiction, and controls on production or distribution. It is one of the principal strategies paired against demand- and harm-focused measures.
Dutch drug policy : The Netherlands' approach, including tolerated cannabis sales in coffeeshops and enforcement priorities distinguishing drugs by risk. It illustrates pragmatic tolerance within a formally restrictive legal framework.
Drug legalization : The removal of legal prohibitions on specified drug activities, often under a regulatory system. Legalization replaces bans with rules for permitted production, sale, or use.
Overdose crisis : A sustained rise in fatal drug poisonings, often involving potent or adulterated substances. The crisis tests whether policy can reduce deaths as well as restrict supply.
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