The 'ice epidemic': An analysis of the policy context, process and outcomes

Drug policy is influenced by the research evidence but also by politics, lobby groups, public opinion, and various windows of opportunity. This research aims to better understand how policy is developed and the opportunities for and threats to evidence-informed policy, through a case study of the “ice epidemic”.

The aim of this project was to examine the emergence of methamphetamine as a policy issue in Australia, with a focus on understanding the policy process and context that gave rise to the development of policy responses to this issue. We apply Kingdon’s (2003) ‘multiple streams’ heuristic to this case study to analyse the problematisation of methamphetamine, the proposed policy responses and the political context, identifying the possible coupling of these streams and the notions of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and ‘open policy windows’.