ABSTRACT
Substance abuse is one of the most challenging problems facing society in the late 1990s. The prevalence of substance use and abuse is staggering. Alcohol consumption is commonplace, with approximately 140 million Americans using alcohol in 1995 (Office of Applied Studies, 1995). An additional 13 million persons used illicit drugs in at least 1 month during 1994 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995). The consequences of alcohol and drug abuse are equally disconcerting, as evidenced by the link between substance abuse and acute and chronic health problems, car-related injuries and deaths, poor work performance and attendance, psychosocial maladjustment, and involvement in criminal activity. Considerable financial expenditures also result from substance use and abuse, involving the health care system, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and lost economic efficiency. Substance use typically emerges in adolescence. For a significant proportion of individuals, problems with drugs and alcohol will continue through adulthood. As with many social ills, treatment of affected individuals is expensive and has a limited rate of success. Accordingly, it is almost universally acknowledged that the most effective approach to decreasing substance abuse is prevention. Curtailing the full clinical expression of substance use disorders preserves resources currently allocated to treatment and other forms of intervention (e.g., law enforcement) and mitigates the
harmful impact of substance abuse on individuals, families, communities, and society.
