Legal Regulation of Drugs and Alcohol
Legal regulation can be used in four general ways to influence the incidence, prevalence, patterns, and circumstances of consumption of potentially harmful substances—including ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, and other DRUGS. The most direct mode of legal intervention is to establish the conditions under which a potentially harmful substance is available. In doing so, the law can employ either
- a "prohibitory" scheme that prohibits the production or distribution of the substance for nonmedical or self-defined uses, or
- a "regulatory" regime, which permits the substance to be lawfully available for nonmedical or self-defined uses but that may regulate the product, its price, and the conditions under which it is accessible.
A completely successful prohibition would prevent any nonmedical consumption of the proscribed substance; however, the more likely consequence of a prohibitory scheme is that an illicit distributionsystem will arise to respond to whatever demand exists for the substance. In that case, the manner in which the prohibition is enforced can also influence the product, its price, and the conditions under which it is available.
A second mode of legal regulation is to regulate the flow of information and messages regarding use of the particular substance. The government may initiate its own informational efforts to influence attitudes, beliefs, and behavior.
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