Values in drug policy documents: applying Schwartz’s values theory to the report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’ (NSW)

Abstract

Background Documents are influential in shaping drug policy debates and are valuable data for drug policy research. In this article we conduct a values analysis of one drug policy document. The objectives were to assess the values within a policy document; assess the utility of Schwartz’s values framework in documentary analysis; and consider the relationship between values and policy positions. Methods We chose the report foreword of a Special Commission in Australia for analysis. We developed deductive, theoretically-informed codes following Schwartz’s values framework, and undertook reflexive analysis of the coding process. Individual and cultural values were coded at the paragraph level and summed to analyze dominant values. Results Values related to structural context and drug policy; drug policy values were primarily security and universalism values; policy positions did not neatly map onto values positions; and researcher interpretations of motivations shaped the value identified. Conclusion Policy documents can reveal conflicting values; these should be interpreted through inflection and emphasis specific to each occurrence. This work provides a step to future analyses that can differentiate multiple contrasting values informing a single policy position.