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When I was first getting involved in federal policy, a mutual friend arranged a breakfast for me with Michael Deaver. In a short length of time he conveyed some lessons about Washington that have been very valuable to me, one of which is that the image is (almost) everything when a politician is speaking. There [...]
Archive for the ‘Britain’ Category
November 24th, 2010
November 19th, 2010
In London last week I had dinner with a friend at one of the Victorian-Era gentleman’s clubs (now co-ed). In the drawing room was “the Answer Book”, in which any member could write a question for any other member to answer. The book went back almost to the war, and the questions were wide-ranging. Someone [...]
November 6th, 2010
The eradication of rinderpest and other global public goods.
October 16th, 2010
An amateur report card on the progress of the US health IT plan.
September 27th, 2010
My last post in this series brought to an end my extended discussion of six particular issues facing drug and alcohol policymakers in the UK. I am grateful for the many people who posted thoughtful critiques and commentary on this series, as well as those who did so privately in email. In this final post, [...]
September 23rd, 2010
The UK government is grappling with a problem that bedevils all of us who provide, teach, administer or advocate for addiction treatment: Treatment outcomes are often disappointing. Among the quality problems that contribute to this situation are organizational dysfunction, excessive paperwork, the stigmatized nature of the enterprise, lack of connection between addiction services and the [...]
September 21st, 2010
Much of why public policy moves as it does from generation to generation and from place to place can be attributed to simple, well-articulated ideas that guide all the players both explicitly and implicitly. “Addiction is a sin and a sign of God’s disapproval” is one such influential idea, “Addiction is a chronic medical illness” [...]
September 19th, 2010
Category: Britain, Drug Policy
I get more than the usual narcissistic pleasure an award brings from this considerable honor bestowed by BMA. It took almost five years for our team of 12 researchers from 7 countries to write Drug Policy and the Public Good. The process was stimulating but also, frankly, arduous. In many areas, drug policy research doesn’t [...]
September 17th, 2010
Although a number of drugs cause problems in the UK, the country is unique among developed nations in the extent to which heroin dominates as the primary illegal drug. The main treatment response to the heroin-addicted population in recent years has been to dramatically expand methadone maintenance. According to Professor Susanne MacGregor’s new book on [...]
September 12th, 2010
Although it is often asserted that “alcoholics will do anything to get their drink”, there is overwhelming evidence that even the heaviest drinking segment of the population responds to increases in price (A scholarly and readable summary of the scientific literature in this area was recently produced by the estimable Phil Cook). People who are [...]
