Drugs Disorder by Design : Why Britain’s War on Drugs Targets the Poor and Protects the Privileged / by Elizabeth Peatfield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peatfield, Elizabeth.

Series:

Law and Criminology Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drug abuse.

Criminology.

Social policy.

Critical criminology.

Criminal law.

Public health.

Drugs.

Social Policy.

Critical Criminology.

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law.

Public Health.

Local Subjects:

Drugs.

Social Policy.

Critical Criminology.

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law.

Public Health.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (215 pages)

Edition:

1st ed. 2025.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025.

Summary:

This book critically examines the failures and contradictions of UK drug policy, exposing how current laws disproportionately target marginalised communities while overlooking the widespread harms of legal substances like alcohol. Drawing on the author’s unique experiences as a magistrate and bouncer, alongside academic research, policy analysis, and lived experience testimonies, it reveals the systemic injustices embedded in drug enforcement. By contrasting the treatment of so-called "problematic" versus "functional" drug users, the book highlights how class, race, and power shape who is punished and who is protected. It also interrogates the influence of moral panic, media narratives, and political ideology on drug legislation, questioning the absence of evidence-based, harm-reduction approaches. Ultimately, the book aims to challenge prevailing assumptions, inform public discourse, and advocate for a more just, ethical, and effective drug policy rooted in health, evidence, and equality. Dr Elizabeth Peatfield is a criminologist and senior lecturer in criminal justice at Liverpool John Moores University, UK, where she specialises in drug policy, criminal justice inequality, and lived experience research. She is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Before entering academia, she worked for more than 20 years as a bouncer in Liverpool’s vibrant and chaotic nightlife scene and later served as a magistrate, presiding over drug-related cases in England’s lower courts.

Contents:

Chapter 1: A Condensed History of British Drug Policy and Legislation 1860 to Present

Chapter 2: Based on Science

Chapter 3: The War on Some Drugs, who really pays the price

Chapter 4: Functional vs Problematic Drug Users in the UK A Policy Blind Spot

Chapter 5: Who Benefits from the Criminalisation of Drug Users

Chapter 6: Between Evidence Ethics and Enforcement

Chapter 7: Legal Highs Loopholes and the Politics of Panic

Chapter 8: The Real Harm Why Alcohol is the Most Dangerous Drug

Chapter 9: Beyond Prohibition What a Just Drug policy could look like

Chapter 10: Conclusion What a Difference it could all Make.

ISBN:

3-032-07814-8