ISSDP 2023 will be hosted by RAND Europe in Leuven, Belgium on 30 May – 1 June 2023
About RAND Europe
RAND Europe is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan policy research organization that aims to improve evidence-based policy and decision making through high-quality research and analysis. With offices in Cambridge, and Brussels, the organization provides research services to governments, foundations, charities, universities and companies across the globe, with a particular geographical focus towards the institutions of the European Union, European states, and the United Kingdom. RAND Europe conducts research across a wide array of policy contexts and areas, including policing, criminal justice, education, drug policy, employment, population and migration, international development, health and wellbeing, defense and security, and scientific and technological innovation. The organization forms the European arm of the RAND Corporation, sharing its mission and values.
About KU Leuven
KU Leuven is a renowned university based in central Leuven, Belgium, with 12 satellite campuses across the country. Ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world, the university has 60,000 students enrolled across 15 faculties and departments, and provides research and teaching in English and Dutch across 3 major thematic groups: Humanities and Social Sciences; Science, Engineering and Technology; and Biomedical Sciences. The university is known for its international research output, ranked consistently as one of the most innovative universities in the world. As Belgium’s oldest university, KU Leuven is further recognized for its unique Renaissance-style architectural beauty, with its oldest buildings – such as the University Hall – dating back over six centuries to 1317.
About Leuven
The central Belgian city of Leuven is known for its rich cultural heritage and gothic architecture, with its origins dating to the 9th century. Modest in size, the city is highly pedestrianized and locations in the city center –including two UNESCO world heritage sites – are walkable. With Leuven lying just 16 miles to the east of Brussels, the city is easily accessible by a 15-minute train ride from Brussels National Airport, which itself holds many direct international connections from other major cities across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. As a university city with a substantial student and researcher population, the city’s economy focuses on research, particularly in the areas of health, technology, and scientific innovation. Through its university city status and industrial foundations in brewing, Leuven additionally is known for having a vibrant evening atmosphere. The city is furthermore regarded as highly sustainable, winning the European Green Leaf award in 2018 and making landmark achievements and pledges towards environmentally sustainable growth and living.
Timeline
The Call for Abstracts is open until 14th March 2023. Details on the abstract submission process will be emailed to ISSDP members and posted to the ISSDP and RAND Europe websites.
Conference Themes
1. New evidence and insights about cannabis policy changes
E.g.: cannabis regulation developments; experiences of (new) policy implementation; effects of cannabis policy changes (including implications for illegal markets).
2. Transformations in illegal markets
E.g.: conflict zones as magnets for drug production; drug trafficking and organised crime; seaports as nodes for illegal drug trade; corruption and drug trafficking; the intersection between drug policies, policy reform and organised crime.
3. Regional drug policy changes and challenges
E.g.: the North American overdose crisis; tensions in contemporary Asian drug policy; cocaine markets, use and harms in Europe; synthetic drug production and consumption in the Middle East.
4. People who use drugs and the voices of lived experience in drug policy
E.g.: putting people who use drugs at the centre; reducing stigma and discrimination; human rights and drug policy; intersectional perspectives.
5. Drug policy making and the use of evidence
E.g.: role of the EU and Pompidou Group in European drug policy; opportunities for (evidence-informed) policy reform; policy making from global, regional, national to local; the history of prohibition.
6. Forward-looking drug policy issues
E.g.: psychedelics policy; environmental harms of drug policy and illicit markets; the role of new technologies; medical applications of prohibited substances; novel approaches to harm reduction, treatment and prevention; interventions aimed at reducing drug-related deaths.
7. New data and methodological advances
E.g.: innovations in data sources and analysis; experiences and challenges in monitoring drug policy changes and their impacts; anticipating plausible future trends and developments in drug markets and consumption; evidence assessment.
Quantitative or qualitative papers in other areas are also welcome. The terms ‘drugs’ should be interpreted broadly to include any intoxicating substance used recreationally or misused medically, as well as the diversion of legal chemicals used in the production of psychoactive substances.
Scientific Program Committee for the 2023 ISSDP Conference
We are pleased to announce the Scientific Program Committee for the 2023 ISSDP conference:
- Laura Atuesta, PhD, (CIDE Mexico, Mexico)
- David Décary-Hétu, PhD, (University of Montreal, Canada)
- David Hammond, PhD, (University of Waterloo, Canada)
- Brendan Hughes, LLM, (EMCDDA, Portugal)
- Marie Jauffret-Roustide, PhD, (French Institute of Health and Medical Research, France)
- Gideon Lasco, MD, PhD, (University of the Philippines Diliman, The Philippines)
- Simon Lenton, PhD, (Curtin University, Australia)
- Rosario Queirolo, PhD, (Catholic University of Uruguay, Uruguay)
- Alex Stevens, PhD, (Kent University, UK)
- Claudia Stoicescu, PhD, (Monash University Indonesia, Indonesia)
- Rosanna Smart, PhD, (RAND Corporation, USA)
- Margriet van Laar, PhD, (Trimbos Institute, The Netherlands)
- Mafalda Pardal, PhD, Research Leader, RAND Europe, and European lead for the RAND Drug Policy Research Center
- Stijn Hoorens, Office Director, RAND Europe Brussels, Senior Research Leader
- Emma Disley, PhD, Research Group Director, Home Affairs and Social Policy, RAND Europe
- Beau Kilmer, PhD, McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation; Codirector, RAND Drug Policy Research Center; Senior Policy Researcher
- Letizia Paoli, PhD, Professor of Criminology, KU Leuven
Keynote speakers
During the 2023 ISSDP participants will have the opportunity to hear from several distinguished keynote speakers, which we will be announcing shortly.
- Gideon Lasco – awarded the first ISSDP Excellence in Research Award for his paper “Drugs and drug wars as populist tropes in Asia: illustrative examples and implications for drug policy” published in the International Journal of Drug Policy in March 2020. The paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102668
Hotels and accommodation
We offer several suggestions for conference participant accommodation with a discounted rate. These options can be found here: https://book.roomtrust.com/login/3720P6Nd7dK6JVxCN6qx4N623.
Rooms are not reserved in these hotels so please make your accommodations in advance. Participants are not required to utilize these suggestions, and it remains their responsibility to choose and book accommodation.
About The Town Hall of Leuven – conference reception
The reception for the 16th annual conference of the ISSDP will be hosted in Leuven’s landmark Town Hall, built over 30 years in the mid-15th century and instantly recognizable for its Late Gothic architectural style. The Town Hall sits in the Grote Markt – Leuven’s main square – and is directly opposite Saint Peter’s Church. The Town Hall housed administrative bodies of Leuven until 2009, and is now primarily performing a ceremonial role in the city. Registration for the reception will be possible through the ISSDP website shortly.
Dinner
This year’s conference dinner will take place at De Hoorn in Leuven on May 31, 2023, from 19:00 to 22:00.
De Hoorn is located on Sluisstraat 79, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. This Leuven staple has a rich history dating back to the 18th century as the original brewer of Leuven’s Stella Artois beer. Today the original copper brewing kettles can be found in what is now a comfortable and trendy gathering space for meetings and large events.
A keynote lecture will be delivered during the dinner, concluding the second day of the 2023 ISSDP.
Cost of dinner and registration to be announced soon.
