Pragmatists, Prohibitionists and Preventionists in Czech Drug Policy

The paper presents the results of an empirical survey conducted in order to identify Czech drug policy actors’ perspectives on illicit drug use and related problems. Q methodology was used to uncover three independent factors representing three different perspectives in a sample of 24 participants. A perspective that emphasizes pragmatism predominated in the sample of participants. It differs from the other two perspectives in lower perceived importance of the drug problem and a more sceptical view of drugs’ illicit status and related drug enforcement. The other two perspectives are to some extent complementary in that one rather prefers prohibition and the other puts more emphasis on prevention. Nevertheless, both agree on many general as well as specific aspects of drug policy such as the perceived importance of the problem, the active role of the government in addressing it, and the rejection of any form of illicit drug legalization or normalization.