ABSTRACT
Through time and space, alcohol, drugs, and tobacco have been, and continue to be, a feature of social and cultural life. Today, substance use is less likely to have ceremonial or ritual purposes and more likely to manifest through a complex intersection of social fragmentation, poverty, alienation, anomie, and urbanization inherent in modern life (UNODC 1997). Historical shifts have also occurred in the realms of drug control and regulation, with the dominant players in this changing construction of drugs coming from a place of privilege. Global economic, political, and social forces create and perpetuate human rights violations at the individual and community levels around the world. 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 (Oppenheimer 1991).
