Drugs Disorder by Design

This book critically examines the failures and contradictions of UK drug policy, exposing how current laws disproportionately target marginalised communities while overlooking the widespread harms of legal substances like alcohol. Drawing on the author’s unique experiences as a magistrate and bouncer, alongside academic research, policy analysis, and lived experience testimonies, it reveals the systemic injustices embedded in drug enforcement. By contrasting the treatment of so-called "problematic" versus "functional" drug users, the book highlights how class, race, and power shape who is punished and who is protected. It also interrogates the influence of moral panic, media narratives, and political ideology on drug legislation, questioning the absence of evidence-based, harm-reduction approaches. Ultimately, the book aims to challenge prevailing assumptions, inform public discourse, and advocate for a more just, ethical, and effective drug policy rooted in health, evidence, and equality.

Dr Elizabeth Peatfield is a criminologist and senior lecturer in criminal justice at Liverpool John Moores University, UK, where she specialises in drug policy, criminal justice inequality, and lived experience research. She is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Before entering academia, she worked for more than 20 years as a bouncer in Liverpool’s vibrant and chaotic nightlife scene and later served as a magistrate, presiding over drug-related cases in England’s lower courts.