A Citizens’ Wānanga on Alcohol Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand: An Essay on Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Considerations

IF 2.3 Q3 SUBSTANCE ABUSE Contemporary Drug Problems Pub Date : 2024-05-21 DOI:10.1177/00914509241255317

Oliver Sutcliffe, Rose Crossin, J. D. Sellman

{"title":"A Citizens’ Wānanga on Alcohol Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand: An Essay on Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Considerations","authors":"Oliver Sutcliffe, Rose Crossin, J. D. Sellman","doi":"10.1177/00914509241255317","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Alcohol use is a major determinant of health at both an individual and societal level. In New Zealand alcohol is legal and highly commercialized. Its harms are pervasive and are inadequately managed by current alcohol policy. However, contemporary methods for policy reform have also proven ineffective, and so effective alcohol regulation has been repeatedly thwarted. This essay first outlines the current state of regulatory failure and establishes the need for reform, before proposing citizens’ assemblies as a solution to this public health conundrum. These are novel democratic institutions designed to secure an informed and representative public voice as the central determinant of policy. This essay contends that an appropriately designed citizens’ assembly is likely to lead to alcohol policy which is more informed, evidence-based, and democratically accountable than current methods. Such an assembly would also be consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi principles and may assist in reducing alcohol-related inequities for Māori. Finally, in discussing such an assembly, this essay presents an internationally applicable model which could be employed for a range of other drug policy issues.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Contemporary Drug Problems","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241255317","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SUBSTANCE ABUSE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Alcohol use is a major determinant of health at both an individual and societal level. In New Zealand alcohol is legal and highly commercialized. Its harms are pervasive and are inadequately managed by current alcohol policy. However, contemporary methods for policy reform have also proven ineffective, and so effective alcohol regulation has been repeatedly thwarted. This essay first outlines the current state of regulatory failure and establishes the need for reform, before proposing citizens’ assemblies as a solution to this public health conundrum. These are novel democratic institutions designed to secure an informed and representative public voice as the central determinant of policy. This essay contends that an appropriately designed citizens’ assembly is likely to lead to alcohol policy which is more informed, evidence-based, and democratically accountable than current methods. Such an assembly would also be consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi principles and may assist in reducing alcohol-related inequities for Māori. Finally, in discussing such an assembly, this essay presents an internationally applicable model which could be employed for a range of other drug policy issues.

查看原文

微信好友朋友圈 QQ好友复制链接

本刊更多论文

关于新西兰奥特亚罗瓦酒精政策的公民宣言：关于理论基础和实际考虑的论文

在个人和社会层面，饮酒都是影响健康的一个重要决定因素。在新西兰，酒精是合法的，而且高度商业化。酒精的危害无处不在，而现行的酒精政策对其管理不足。然而，当代的政策改革方法也被证明是无效的，因此有效的酒精监管屡屡受挫。本文首先概述了监管失败的现状，确定了改革的必要性，然后提出公民大会作为解决这一公共卫生难题的方法。公民大会是一种新颖的民主机构，旨在确保公众在知情的情况下发表具有代表性的意见，并以此作为政策的核心决定因素。本文认为，一个设计合理的公民大会有可能制定出比当前方法更加知情、以证据为基础和民主问责的酒精政策。这样的大会也符合《怀唐伊条约》的原则，并可能有助于减少毛利人与酒精相关的不公平现象。最后，在讨论这样一个大会时，本文提出了一个国际适用的模式，可用于一系列其他毒品政策问题。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文去求助

来源期刊

Contemporary Drug Problems Social Sciences-Law

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Contemporary Drug Problems is a scholarly journal that publishes peer-reviewed social science research on alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, licit and illicit. The journal’s orientation is multidisciplinary and international; it is open to any research paper that contributes to social, cultural, historical or epidemiological knowledge and theory concerning drug use and related problems. While Contemporary Drug Problems publishes all types of social science research on alcohol and other drugs, it recognizes that innovative or challenging research can sometimes struggle to find a suitable outlet. The journal therefore particularly welcomes original studies for which publication options are limited, including historical research, qualitative studies, and policy and legal analyses. In terms of readership, Contemporary Drug Problems serves a burgeoning constituency of social researchers as well as policy makers and practitioners working in health, welfare, social services, public policy, criminal justice and law enforcement.