Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice

Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice
DisciplineDrug policy
LanguageEnglish
Publication details
History2006–present
Publisher
FrequencyQuarterly
Yes
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4J. Glob. Drug Policy Pract.
Indexing
ISSN1934-4708
LCCN2006216251
OCLC no.74670291
Links

The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice describes itself as an open access peer-reviewed public health journal.[1][2] Critics say it is biased,[3] not peer-reviewed,[4] and not a legitimate scientific journal. It is funded by the US Department of Justice.[5]

Background

The journal published online quarterly by the Institute on Global Drug Policy and the International Scientific and Medical Forum on Drug Abuse.[6] These are both part of the Drug Free America Foundation,[7][8] an organization that has referred to harm reduction efforts as "harm promotion", and characterized such efforts as "a tactic to normalize drug use".[9] The stated goal of the Institute itself is as follows:

The Institute is charged with creating and strengthening international laws that hold drug users and dealers criminally accountable for their actions. It will vigorously promote treaties and agreements that provide clear penalties to individuals who buy, sell or use harmful drugs... The institute supports efforts to oppose policies based on the concept of harm reduction.[7]

Criticism

The publication has been criticized for having a political agenda to combat harm-reduction policies.[3] It is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.[5] The president of the Canadian Health Libraries Association has also said it appears to be driven more by a political agenda than by science:

"That journal, which looks legitimate, which is being used by the Canadian government to back up various decisions, is supported by groups that believe enforcement is the route to reducing drug use."[3]

Also referring to this journal, authors in the Canadian Medical Association Journal wrote,

Efforts to undermine the science specific to HIV prevention for injection drug users are becoming increasingly sophisticated. One new and worrisome trend is the creation of internet sites posing as open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journals. One such example, funded by the Drug Free America Foundation, contains a review of the research supporting needle exchange program and declares that the "effectiveness of NEPs [ needle-exchange programs ] to reduce HIV among IDUs [ injection drug users ] is overrated;" it further claims that the WHO position on needle exchange programs "is not based on solid evidence."[8]

An opinion piece in The Lancet Infectious Diseases stated "To our knowledge, this is the first time a lobby group such as the Drug Free America Foundation has created for itself a venue for the dissemination of opinion essays, which to the untrained eye could easily be mistaken for a scientific journal".[1]

Use by Canadian Government

In 2007, the Canadian Minister of Health, Tony Clement, cited the journal to justify the Canadian Government's objections to harm-reduction programs.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Wood, E; Montaner, JS; Kerr, T (2008). "Illicit drug addiction, infectious disease spread, and the need for an evidence-based response". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 8 (3): 142–3. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(08)70021-5. PMID 18291331.
  2. ^ Voth, Eric A (2008). "Harm reduction drug policy" (PDF). The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 8 (9): 528, author reply 528–9. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(08)70189-0. PMID 18718436.
  3. ^ a b c d Collier, R (2009). "Medical Journal or Marketing Device?". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 181 (5): E83–4. doi:10.1503/cmaj.091326. PMC 2734229. PMID 19720698. Marlene Dorgan, president of the Canadian Health Libraries Association, also points to The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice as a publication that appears to be driven more by a political agenda than science. 'That journal, which looks legitimate, which is being used by the Canadian government to back up various decisions, is supported by groups that believe enforcement is the route to reducing drug use.'
  4. ^ Solomon, S (2007). "Doctors, get tough on drugs: Tony Clement : Minister's mind made up on safe injection site, warn experts". National Review of Medicine. 4 (15). Archived from the original on 1 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b Collier, R (2009). "Medical Journal or Marketing Device?". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 181 (5): E83–4. doi:10.1503/cmaj.091326. PMC 2734229. PMID 19720698. Critics of this journal are plentiful; some claim it arose merely to combat harm-reduction drug policies (which focus on personal choice and safe habits for drug use), and point out that it's funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which is part of the US Department of Justice.
  6. ^ "The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice". National Library of Medicine Catalog. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Institute on Global Drug Policy". Drug Free America Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  8. ^ a b Kerr, T; Wood, E (2008). "Misrepresentation of science undermines HIV prevention". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 178 (7): 964. doi:10.1503/cmaj.080257. PMC 2267848. PMID 18362390.
  9. ^ "Harm Promotion". Drug Free America Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2014.