Drug policy: Reflections on what we know, what we need to know, and ways forward
When? 23 September 2026, 17:00–20:00 CEST
Where? CEU Vienna Campus, Quellenstrasse 51, Room D001 Tiered, Vienna, Austria / Online
Registration: Register for the event
Livestream: Join the livestream
What do we know about drug policy, and what remains out of reach? Amid evolving drug markets, including the growth of synthetic drugs and record cocaine production, alongside unintended consequences of existing policy approaches and persistent public health gaps, rigorous and evidence-based research remains crucial to informing more effective responses.
The Shattuck Center for Human Rights, the Department of Public Policy and the Department of Legal Studies at Central European University (CEU) are convening a roundtable bringing together leading drug policy researchers from the fields of public health, criminology, economics and systems analysis. The discussion will take stock of the current evidence base, identify critical gaps in knowledge and consider priorities for future research and policy approaches.
The panel will feature
- Alison Ritter, Professor and Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW Sydney;
- Peter Reuter, Professor at the University of Maryland and founder and former Director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center; and
- Jonathan Caulkins, Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
The discussion will be moderated by Angela Me, CEU George Soros Visiting Practitioner Chair and former Chief of the Research and Trend Analysis Branch at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The event is hybrid and open to the public, with registration required. A light reception will follow the in-person discussion.