ABSTRACT
The impact of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse (ATOD) in the Latino community is well acknowledged in the professional and popular literature. There is increased concern of having the alcohol industry target Latinos for mass campaigns (Maxwell and Jacobson, 1989). There are few Latino families and communities in the United States that have not been impacted by drugs of various kinds. ATOD, in turn, has had a disproportionate impact on the youth of the community, seriously limiting the potential of this age-group to exercise current and future leadership within the community. The impact of ATOD, as a result, must go far beyond dollars and measured in human terms—by the lives lost, incarcerated, and wasted human potential.
