The study reported in this document is a follow-up to earlier reviews of drugs and other youth problems. It addressed the current status of and the recent trends in teenage drug use, pregnancy, and dropping out of school, and the post-1987 research about the relationship between teenage drug use and either pregnancy or dropping out. Statistics from public and private agencies were evaluated to describe trends in basic rates of these behaviors. Although the data on teenage drug use displayed a downward trend, reporting problems and estimating errors hindered their interpretation. It seems unlikely that actual drug use has risen between 1979 and 1988 among youths overall, or among individual racial or ethnic groups. The 1985 data on teenage pregnancy indicated large disparities in the pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for women 15 to 19 years of age, while nonWhite and Hispanic teenagers appeared much more likely to become pregnant. Research on dropouts indicated that teenagers were leaving school less frequently than in the past. Also, Black students had substantially decreased the gap between their dropout rates and those of White students. Hispanics and Native Americans continued to drop out of school at rates considerably higher than those of White or Black students.

Focusing on a highly controversial and fiercely debated subject, this survey tracks the social and economic consequences of the production, trafficking, and consumption of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis. From a growing body of literature, LaMond Tullis has extracted the most salient economic, social, and political themes currently under discussion in both scholarly publications and in the responsible press. The two-part volume consisting of a lengthy review of relevant literature and an annotated bibliography helps its users understand the major issues: Can and should consumption be curtailed, supplies suppressed, and traffickers eliminated? Can the unintended economic, social, and political consequences of curtailing, suppressing, and eliminating somehow be mitigated? Should these drugs be legalized? Would legalization produce its own array of unintended and largely unacceptable consequences? Although tentative answers to these questions abound, this excellent resource is testimony to the fact that there is still little agreement on how to deal with these powerful substances and the problems they generate. Tullis's compilation presents the best overview of this complex subject to date. The first half of this two-part reference consists of a survey of the published literature on the production and consumption of the three illicit drugs. Chapters are devoted to the global patterns of production and consumption of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis, to the consequences, both positive and negative, of drug consumption and production, and to the policy measures that have been adopted (or are under consideration) in both consuming and producing countries. These chapters will be of interest to those wishing to obtain an overall view of the subject and to specialists seeking a guide to the literature outside their particular area of knowledge. The second half of the book contains an annotated bibliography of about 2,000 items covering works published in English--plus a few in Spanish--as books, articles, or press reports. This section will be invaluable to researchers working on the frontiers of the subject and to general readers who wish to pursue particular topics in greater depth. The volume should be at the fingertips of policy makers, legislators, law enforcement officials, judges, and social workers, as well as students and teachers.

Volatile solvent abuse is a growing problem that receives little research or treatment attention compared with other drug abuse problems. Whereas prevention programs and other societal factors are reducing the experimentation with a majority of drugs, solvent abuse appears to run its own independent course. Sociocultural Perspectives on Volatile Solvent Use gives you groundbreaking, vital information about the problem of solvent abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Drug treatment providers, clinical practitioners, and the general community can use the information in this book to understand the patterns of solvent abuse and implement prevention and treatment strategies for other groups within the larger culture. Among the first book-length publications on this problem, this volume helps you acknowledge the epidemic levels of solvent abuse and treat the problem with the urgency it deserves. Sociocultural Perspectives on Volatile Solvent Use defines the three subtypes of solvent users (young inhalant users, adolescent polydrug users, and adult users), presents a biobehavioral model of drug-taking behavior, and identifies the principal factors related to volatile solvent use. You will also learn the answers to prevention and treatment questions such as: Why does the use of solvents often occur in rapidly cycling epidemics? Can effective policy measures be introduced that will limit the availability of inhalable solvents? What is the optimal length of time needed for effective treatment? What level and type of neurological damage is caused by solvents, and is this damage reversible? What are the unique issues that must be addressed in relapse prevention and aftercare plans? The peculiar nature of solvent use places it outside the normal range of substance abuse research; thus, knowledge of the phenomenon is quite limited. Sociocultural Perspectives on Volatile Solvent Use addresses this challenge by bringing together a number of solvent abuse researchers to discuss the problem, kindle ideas and interest among others to explore this drug-taking behavior, and show you the clear need for continued inquiry into the phenomena of solvent use and abuse.