Jonathan Paul Caulkins (born 1965) is an American drug policy researcher and the H. Guyford Stever Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University.
[1] Caulkins joined the faculty of Heinz College in 1990, and has remained there ever since, with the exceptions of leaves he took to serve as co-director of the RAND Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica from 1994 to 1996, to found RAND's Pittsburgh office from 1999 to 2001, and to teach at the Doha campus of Carnegie Mellon from 2005 to 2011.
[2] Caulkins has conducted research on illicit drugs and the policies surrounding them.
In one study, he found that more than 85% of people in prison on drug charges were involved in drug distribution, and that most of the remaining prisoners had some suggestion of involvement in distribution.
[3] While at RAND, he also led another study that found that mandatory sentencing for low-level drug offenders was ineffective because, in Caulkins' words, "most incarcerated drug dealers can be easily replaced on the street.