Exploring user groups as stakeholders in drug policy processes in four European countries

Abstract In this chapter, we explore activist user groups as stakeholders in drug policy processes in the UK, Denmark, Italy, and Austria. Taking our empirical point of departure in four national case studies based on interviews and documentary analyses, we analyze how the countries have different traditions for involving users as stakeholders. In the UK and Denmark, this issue has been worked with actively in, for example, laws, briefs, and official guidelines for the past decades, whereas Italy and Austria do not have long traditions in this area, although the involvement of Italian activist user groups may be changing currently. Applying an analytical approach inspired by Backstrand’s concepts of participation, representation, and democratization, we analyze and compare these national developments, and discuss the ongoing challenges of how to create and uphold political spaces so that this group of stakeholders can participate and influence drug policy processes.