Abstract
Background: Multiple reviews have recommended a health-based approach to drugs in New Zealand (NZ), yet action on this remains slow. This project aimed to understand community views on how the Government funds responses to illegal drugs by estimating the ‘drug budget’ in NZ, comparing this to public preferences, and trialling a deliberative democratic process with a group of citizens.
Methods: The drug budget was based on proactive spending, organised against law enforcement, treatment, prevention and harm reduction. Stratified representative polling was undertaken on how NZ citizens would allocate $100 of tax between these policy areas. Seven deliberative workshops were held with a group of ten Christchurch retirees.
Results: The total amount of money spent proactively responding to illegal drugs in NZ is estimated as $489,468,763. Law enforcement receives 68.2%, treatment 24.8%, prevention 5.5%, and harm reduction 1.4%. In contrast, community polling allocated 36% to law enforcement, 24% to treatment, 25% to prevention, and 16% to harm reduction. The participatory group produced a consensus statement emphasising a health-based approach to drugs. The value of dialogue, mutual learning, and deliberation arose from analysis of the debrief.
Conclusions: There is a significant gap between current funding allocations and community preferences. This study highlights the potential value of a Citizen’s Assembly on drugs for NZ and demonstrates that a group of ‘lay’ citizens can reach nuanced, thoughtful, and practical drug policy solutions.
Policy implications: NZ community views are significantly closer to a health-based approach to drugs than what might be currently perceived by politicians.