ABSTRACT
The world of adolescent substance abuse is complex. Despite advances in understanding the causes of abuse behavior, many dark corners still exist, particularly in those areas that serve as the bridges between “nature” and “nurture” factors. As a result of this void, the treatment of adolescent substance abuse is uncertain at best, and is often driven more by philosophical and political agendas than by knowledge-based approaches. Nowhere is this more evident than in the juvenile justice system.
