The meta-analysis, that included 75 studies, examined the relationship between illegal drug consumption, on the one hand, and student academic and behavioral outcomes, on the other, for the middle school to college grade levels. The meta-analysis first (research question #1) addressed whether there is a statistically significant relationship…

The effects of drug abuse and dependence vary, depending on the type of drug, polydrug use, and characteristics of the user. The influence of genetic, neurochemical, neuropsyiological, sociocultural, and economic factors suggest that the etiology of substance abuse and dependence is multiply determined. Models explaining the causation of substance…

Substance use by American young people has proven to be a rapidly-changing phenomenon, requiring frequent assessments and reassessments. Since the mid-1960s it has remained a major concern for the nation. Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both during adolescence as well as later in life. How…

Traditionally U.S. drug policy and antidrug action has been focused on blaming traffickers and fighting suppliers. Only recently have people in the United States begun to acknowledge the part played by U.S. demand for illegal drugs. Past antidrug policy emphasized the foreign origin of the drugs, and tended to blame Latin American producers and…

This article reviews current research on the long-term outcomes of children exposed to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and multiple drugs in utero. Differential intervention efforts based primarily on knowledge of a child's intrauterine exposure to drugs were unsupported by available evidence. The use of an ecological model for assessment and…