Applying cognitive policy analysis to the drug issue: Harm reduction and the reversal of the deviantization of drug users in Britain 1985-1997

The aim of this article is to assess the extent to which the advent of harm reduction policies brought a reversal of the 'deviantization' of heroin users. In order to do so, the analysis will be based on the concept of policy "paradigms" or belief systems. Such a theoretical and methodological choice involves two additional (underlying) objectives. The first is to show how the application of public policy theory can harness a better understanding of the drug issue. The second is to demonstrate that case studies conducted in the drug field may also in turn contribute to useful questioning of both the theoretical basis and design of some policy analysis models. First, the application of the above mentioned approach to drug policy is discussed. The evolution of the different components of British drug policy is then analysed. Finally, amendments to public policy analysis models based on the concepts of paradigms or belief systems are suggested, that may help interpret the evolution of British drug policy after the advent of AIDS and its impact on the social representation of drug users.