The contribution of research to Australian policy responses to heroin dependence 1990-2001: a personal retrospection.
Periodic public concern about heroin use has been a major driver of Australian drug policy in the four decades since heroin use was first reported. The number of heroin-dependent people in Australia has increased from several hundreds in the late 1960s to around 100,000 by the end of the 1990s. In this paper I do the following: (1) describe collaborative research on heroin dependence that was undertaken between 1991 and 2001 by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre; (2) discuss the contribution that this research may have made to the formulation of policies towards the treatment of heroin dependence during a period when the policy debate crystallized around the issue of whether or not Australia should conduct a controlled trial of heroin prescription; and (3) reflect on the relationships between research and policy-making in the addictions field, specifically on the roles of investigator-initiated and commissioned research, the interface between researchers, funders and policy-makers; and the need to be realistic about the likely impact of research on policy and practice.
Hall
Wayne
W
Office of Public Policy and Ethics, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. w.hall@imb.uq.edu.au
D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D035843:Biomedical Research; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D012109:Research Support as Topic