The European Union and emergence of a drug policy institution in Turkey

Abstract

Policies to prevent the illegal sale and use of drugs are strongly affected by national and international institutions. Different models are possible to design drug policies in different settings. This article is focused on the impact of the European Union (EU) on the emergence of a drug policy institution in Turkey. Specifically, it looks at the accession process of the EU and how the supported projects of the EU have affected the development of Turkey's counter drug policies. The case study method is applied to examine the newly formed drug institution, Turkish Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, which is the main unit of analysis in this research. The objective of this research is to provide insight on the EU's impact on drug policy transfer in Turkey over time. The research shows that the EU has a significant impact on the establishing of the institution and the public policy-making in Turkey.

NOTES

Notes

1. Twinning (Twinning is a cooperation instrument between an EU member state and a beneficiary country, which aims to provide support for implementation and enforcement of the EU legislation). Poland and Hungary Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE), Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).

2. More information of Turkey's progress reports can be obtained from EU enlargement web page: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/strategy-and-progress-report/.

3. For more information about the observations since 2005 please check the European Commission website for Enlargement http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/strategy-and-progress-report/ – a set of documents reporting on progress achieved over the last year by each candidate and potential candidate countries.

4. The EMCDDA has developed five key epidemiological indicators (i.e. general population surveys (GPS); problem drug use (PDU); treatment demand indicator; drug-related deaths and mortality; drug-related infectious diseases). Additionally, supporting material on each indicator, countries can create their own working groups such as prevention, supply reduction, or the EWS that is to observe new drugs and drug use trends.

5. For more information about pre-accession instruments see European Commission's website on Enlargement at: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/how-does-it-work/financial-assistance/instrument-pre-accession_en.htm