Reconceptualising drug markets and drug dealers — the need for change

Abstract

This paper outlines how, in many ways, the drug market is not what it is commonly assumed to be and that, as such, we need to reconceptualise how we understand both the drug market and the drug dealer. It briefly reviews the research showing that many of the core activities thought to characterise drug markets and drug dealing are unreasonably exaggerated or even essentially fallacious. It then seeks to demonstrate that the drug market doesn't even look the way it is assumed to look, in terms of its shape, structure and personnel. The issue of social supply is held up as an example of how unhelpful the current view is, particularly around cannabis and young people, and as evidence that the ‘house of cards’ that is the current conceptualisation of the drug market and the drug dealer needs reappraisal along with policy that is currently insufficiently nuanced to respond appropriately.