Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

  • Discuss the reasons for youth drug use and societal understandings of substance use
  • Provide illustrations of the role of legal products in youth substance use
  • Analyze the general pattern and trends of youth drug use in the United States today, as well as patterns related to gender, race, and ethnicity
  • Explain the effects of drug prohibition and the war on drugs
  • Examine the relationship between drug and alcohol use and delinquency and how it can be affected by sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia
  • Compare and contrast societal responses to youth drug use, including the use of culturally specific approaches