Evidence Based Policy and the links between Mental Health and Cannabis

Dr Mark Monaghan from the University of Leeds has kindly agreed to come and give an informal talk on the work he is doing with the UK Drug Policy Commission, particularly in relation to evidence based policy and the links between mental health and cannabis.

In recent years there has been a growing expectation that policy should be based on some kind of evidence. However, it is widely understood even by enthusiastic adherents that the influence of evidence on policy is fragile and often trumped by political considerations. In the UK, in the final months of 2009, the relationship between the scientific and policy making communities became newsworthy after a public dispute between the Home Secretary and some members of the main scientific advisory group on illicit drugs policy; the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). This culminated with the sacking of the Chair, Professor David Nutt.

The schism centred on the Government’s decision to change the legal status of cannabis and not to change the legal status of ecstasy, in both instances seeming to ignore expert guidance. The legal status of both drugs, but particularly cannabis had been widely debated over the previous decade and had created much heat but little light. Central to these debates was the issue over whether or not cannabis caused mental health problems. The Government has been accused of favouring policy-based evidence rather than evidence-based policy in politically sensitive policy areas. Drawing on the author’s own research, this paper analyses what this means for drug policy governance and how, if at all, drug policy making can become more evidence friendly.

All are welcome to attend.  To view Mark's profile visit http://www.sociology.leeds.ac.uk/about/staff/monaghan.php