What Government Teaches: Lessons from Drug Policy

• In Event: Who Uses Public Health Resources and Who is Seen as Deserving of Doing So

Abstract

Thirty years after Schneider and Ingram (1993) introduced the social construction of target populations, scholars have written a great deal about how policy is designed for particular target populations and the political learning (policy feedback) that takes place as a result (e.g. Soss 1999; Bruch Ferree, Soss 2010; Campbell 2003; Epp et al 2014; Eubanks 2006; Mettler 2005; Mettler and Soss 2004, Weaver and Lerman 2010). Although the effect of policy on target populations is well examined, it is not as clear what policy teaches other—related--groups. To understand better what government teaches, we look in depth at drug policy. Drug overdoses are an increasing cause of death in the United States: more than 750,000 people have died from a drug overdose since 1999. Scholars (e.g. Netherland and Hansen 2016; Mendoza et al 2019) have examined how the social construction of drug users affects public perception and policy response.

Our focus here is not on how drug users are perceived, but what lessons government teaches about (1) how government works, (2) the nature of substance-use disorder, (3) people who use drugs. We extend Schneider and Ingram’s analysis beyond the target populations, to ask how it affects three different populations: (1) government workers, (2) non-profit and private-practice professionals, (3) people with SUD and their families (target population). To answer these questions, we draw on interviews with 175 people on the frontlines of drug policy, including state and local government officials, social service providers, as well as people in recovery and their families. Additionally, we draw on nine focus groups, eight with substance-use disorder service providers (n=76) and one with clients (n=9).

Our paper is relevant to panels on health policy, substance-use disorder/the opioid epidemic, stigma and marginalization, political learning, and the social construction of target populations.

Authors

• Patricia Strach, University at Albany, SUNY

• Elizabeth Perez Chiques, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas

• Katie Zuber, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York