ABSTRACT
The United States is a key player in the current state of alcohol, drug, and tobacco related issues, both as the highest consumer of illicit drugs in the world and as a leader in shaping international drug policy regarding legal sanctions. By locating alcohol, drugs, and tobacco within their sociocultural context, sociology provides an important foundation for understanding patterns of use, media and advertising influences, and social-control mechanisms. To unite the different disciplines and address drug related problems worldwide, human rights is at the center of discussion on alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Quantitative research on alcohol, drugs, and tobacco is not without its problems, regardless of an abundance of available statistical instruments and survey data. Sociology addresses macro-level dynamics such as the role of economic forces in shaping transnational alcohol, drug, and tobacco demand and production patterns, the effects of drug trafficking on citizens and communities, and the influence of the capitalist political-economic system on drug-related policies.
