A Decade in Drug Policy and Research: Evaluating Trends from 2010 to 2020 and Presenting Major Policy Developments

Abstract

The War on Drugs still structures much of U.S. drug policy, but recent trends toward liberalization indicate a shifting policy landscape and a corresponding shift in drug policy research. Though 2020-21 will forever be remembered for the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has also been a significant time in the development of U.S. drug policy. Some developments are directly tied to the pandemic; others are part of larger trends that have predated it. Using a scoping review and reflexive thematic analysis, this article captures both the trajectory of research on drug policy over the past decade and substantial drug policy developments within the United States in 2020-2021. The results of our analysis indicate four major research areas of interest: drugs and substances, policy advocacy and appraisal, governance and regulation, as well as treatment and interventions. Within each area, emerging subthemes indicate research preferences that closely follow policy developments. The movement of states and countries toward more liberal drug policies is reflected in the growing body of literature on decriminalization and legalization. Scholarly interest in opioids has remained predominant over the decade as the opioid crisis has unfolded in waves, while interest in cannabis was most prominent in the years following its legalization across several states. Recent developments in cannabis, psychedelics, broader decriminalization, opioid overdose deaths, treatment, and the increasing centrality of social equity in drug policy reforms are reviewed with a focus on the issues that continue to plague the drug policy landscape (i.e., restrictions on research, surging overdose deaths, restrictions on evidence-based treatments, and equity concerns in a newly legal cannabis industry).