ABSTRACT
The fields of drag abuse prevention and research into substance use have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. Initially designed to prevent all non-medical drug use, prevention efforts gave considerable emphasis to the moral and social values that were violated by the use of various substances. This moralistic stress gradually shifted to the development of programs that provided scientific information in regard to the effects of drug taking; the rationale of these efforts was that as a result of being presented with such information, people would rationally decide to avoid drug taking. More recently, programs geared to providing individuals with non-drug use alternatives to deal with their personal and interpersonal difficulties, as well as gaining satisfaction, have received considerable interest. Such a prevention program thrust is consistent with a main recommendation of the landmark Second Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse [1]: that the phenomenon of drug use be examined from the perspective of the needs the user seeks to satisfy from substance taking, rather than focusing attention on particular substance(s) of preference or the physiological effects of drugs.
