Revisiting Goldstein: A New Framework for Understanding Drug-Related Violence in a Globalised Era

In 1985, Goldstein presented his framework on the relationships between drugs and violence in the United States, laying a foundation for future research on drug-related violence. Since then, the rise of synthetic drugs, including in Europe, and the introduction of online drug transactions have drastically changed illicit drug markets and associated violence contexts.

              The innovation and diversification of the drug market calls for an expansion of Goldstein’s framework, given the increasingly complex accompanying violence. A framework specifying the level at which violence takes place allows for a better understanding of drug-related violence. The proposed refinements relate to violence occurring at different stages of the drug route, and access- and consumption-related violence at the individual level.

              This fine-grained framework captures the characteristics of drug-related violence in the European Union (EU). As its heterogeneity implies a diverse research and policy agenda, this framework provides policy approaches to tackle each level where drug-related violence manifests itself, offering intervention entry points at the international, national, local, and individual levels.