Liminal spaces, seasonal faces: Challenging drug market assumptions via an exploration of naturally occurring magic mushroom markets in rural Kent.

Background: This article presents an exploration of naturally occurring Class-A magic mushroom markets in the UK. It aims to challenge some of the mainstream narratives about drug markets and to identify features of this specific market, which will extend our understanding of how illegal drug markets operate and are structured more generally.

Methods: The research presented comprises a three year ethnography of sites of magic mushroom production in rural Kent.

Assessing the 'added value' of European policy on new psychoactive substances.

Background: New psychoactive substances (NPS) are reported to be on the rise throughout Europe, and are often presented as the latest challenge facing drug-policy makers. At the European level, legislation on NPS has existed since 1998. Several evaluations, however, have suggested that this legislation is not effective and the European Commission has submitted a new proposal on NPS seeking to extend its powers in this area.

UNGASS 2016: Insights from Europe on the development of global cannabis policy and the need for reform of the global drug policy regime.

This article is framed by the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS) debates on global drug policy. It explores European drug policy experiences to draw out important lessons and insights that could be applied to wider global drug policy regimes. European experiences with (i) diverse cannabis policies and (ii) longstanding attempts to harmonise or coordinate diverse national drug policies in general are examined and the results are extrapolated to global drug policy debates.

A critical evaluation of the European Drug Strategy: has it brought added value to drug policy making at the national level?

Background: The current European Drug Strategy (EDS) and attendant Action Plan come to an end this year signalling a period of evaluation of and reflection on whether they have achieved their aims and objectives.

Methodology: This opinion based article seeks to add a critical and academic evaluation to the mix, which is focused on determining the extent to which the European drug policy has brought added value to drug policy that is formulated at the national level, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. The analysis presented here examines the five key areas defined by the EDS: coordination, demand reduction, supply reduction, international cooperation and information, research and evaluation.

Multi-level governance: The way forward for European illicit drug policy?

Illicit drug policy has long been an area that has attracted international policy intervention, however, the European Union has declared it an area of subsidiarity, leaving ultimate control to national governments. Nevertheless, European Union preoccupation with the illicit drug issue and international drug trafficking and organised crime concerns have ensured that continued and increased cooperation in illicit drug policy is never off the agenda. This article examines the history of European integration in contrasting areas of policy and considers both the desirability and the viability of an increasingly harmonised drug policy for Europe.