Public lecture on drugs legislation, 13 June

The latest event in our Department of Criminology’s ‘Scarman Lecture Series’ is this Wednesday, 13 June. Professor Julian Buchanan from Victoria University of Wellington will explore to what extent and in what way existing policies towards illicit drugs might be causing more harm than the actual drugs themselves.

In his lecture, The damage caused by drugs, or the damage caused by drug policy?, Professor Buchanan will draw on more than 25 years’ experience in the drugs field as a practitioner, lecturer and researcher. Originally from Liverpool, he worked for Merseyside Probation Service in the 1980s where he developed a ‘risk reduction’ approach and was instrumental in establishing one of the largest multi-agency community drugs teams in the UK

In his academic career, he worked at Liverpool University, University of Central Lancashire and Glyndwr University before moving down under last year to join VUW in New Zealand. His most recent book is a second edition of Effective Practice in Health, Social Care and Criminal Justice: A Partnership Approach, co-written with Ros Carnwell.

Wednesday’s lecture, which is free and open to all, takes place in the Frank and Katherine May Lecture Theatre in the Henry Wellcome Building, starting at 4.30pm. For more information, please contact Russell Knifton, rk191@le.ac.uk