New ideas and information have emerged recently that hold great
promise for enhancing the impact of current prevention efforts.
"Prevention is the best treatment" is an oft-cited maxim, and
one that certainly applies to drug abuse. Anyone who can be
influenced to avoid abusing drugs is spared their harmful health
and social effects, including increased risk for lethal
infections, family disruption and job loss, confusion and
despair, the difficult struggle of treatment, and -- for many --
the ravages of addiction and the ordeal of climbing back after
relapse. From society's point of view, drug abuse prevention
helps keep a tremendous burden -- related to disease and
premature death, lost capacity for productive work, and crime --
from being even worse. The bulk of current interventions to
prevent drug abuse fall mainly into two groups. One set is
designed to reduce risk factors associated with higher
likelihood of drug abuse and increase protective factors
associated with lower likelihood of drug abuse. When