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Free To Grow
Mailman School
of Public Health
Columbia University
722 West 168th Street,
8th Floor
New York, NY 10032
Mailman School
of Public Health
Columbia University
722 West 168th Street,
8th Floor
New York, NY 10032
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Fighting drug abuse at the local level Paul S. Jellinek and Ruby P. Hearn Frustration over social problems exacerbated by drug use has led to a debate between support for incarceration of users and sellers and advocacy for legalizing drugs. The authors assert that neither faction has the right answer. They propose that communities consolidate their resources into a cohesive system of prevention, treatment, and aftercare, with an emphasis on reducing demand for drugs. By integrating existing community programs and services, the ATOD prevention network can be strengthened, even though numerous problems may arise. Some include political barriers and conflicts of interest, inability to form a strong consensus on priorities, a "not in my backyard" attitude, and denial of the abuse problem. The authors cite The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Fighting Back Program as one community-wide initiative to reduce the demand for drugs at the local level. They advise communities to create a broad-based citizen task force to oversee and guide community initiatives; carefully and realistically assess the community's needs and resources; advocate for and secure increased and flexible funding; support government agency cooperation and the return of tax money derived from alcohol and other drugs to the community; and foster changes in the social environment, such as decreased alcohol marketing and advertising. Issues in Science & Technology, Summer 1991, 7(4): 78-84
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Disclaimer Free To Grow is a national program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with direction and technical assistance provided by the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. |