The sixth annual conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) will be held in Canterbury, UK between 30-31 May 2012 at the Cathedral Lodge. The event will be hosted by the University of Kent (School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research).

The invited keynote speakers are:
§ Professor Thomas McLellan, University of Pennsylvania (formerly Deputy Director of the US Office for National Drug Contol Policy)
§ Dr Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
§ Dr Fiona Measham, University of Lancaster and member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
§ Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute
The conference will discuss a wide range of drug policy issues, with a particular focus on ‘how can and do empirical studies influence drug policy?. Areas of particular interest include:

· The research-policy interface: e.g. the impact of research evidence on drug policy; The impact of drug policy on the research that is carried out; The influence of empirical work on analytical models of drug use and problems.
· How do we/should we analyse drug policy? e.g. the mutual contribution of different disciplines in studying drug policy (e.g. sociology and economics); reflections on methods that are used in analysis of drug policy; the contribution of network approaches and models in analysing drug policy and its effects.
· Impacts and implications of international policies and events on domestic drug policy: e.g. analysis of the interaction between international policy instruments, and between international and national policies; the effects of international conflicts, treaties and precursor control in influencing drug policy effects; the impacts of drug/crime policy in national/international drug markets;

As per in previous years the conference will be followed (on 1 June 2012) by two half-day workshops on specific aspects of drug policy analysis.

Researchers and/or practitioners interested in contributing papers are encouraged to submit abstracts containing 200-400 words by 1 December 2011. For full details on the call for abstract please see http://www.issdp.org/conferences.php