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Depoliticization of Violence: Critical Limits of Risk Environment Frameworks in Drug Use Research
Tyson Singh Kelsall1, Jenn McDermid2,3, Echo Vieira4
1Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Abstract:
The risk environment framework (REF) is a widely-accepted tool in policy research related to drug use. Its prevalence warrants a critical exploration of its strengths and weaknesses. This critical appraisal is a comprehensive analysis of the REF by definition and through relevant examples of its use within the context of public health evaluations, social science research, and epidemiological strategies in substance use-related policy. We examine the tensions inherent to a risk environment analysis, centering on its deficit-based lens of behavior, risk, and harm. This narrative review argues for shifts in frameworks within drug policy research away from individual- and community-level blame.
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