RESUMEN
This article makes three major arguments: (I) the current War on Drugs undercuts public health values and premises, resulting in a war on the poor, disenfranchised, people of color, the homeless, and the unemployed; (2) drug problems should be addressed primarily within the realm of public health policy rather than criminal justice policy; and (3) to achieve a viable public health drug policy, the public health community needs to build grassroots support and become effective activists. The article reviews the history of past drug wars, analyzes recent trends in illegal drug use and problems, and critiques current policy initiatives and their consequences. It then outlines a comprehensive, public health approach to addressing illegal drug problems, and concludes with an analysis of what steps are needed to become effective in the public policy arena.
Asunto(s)
Control de Medicamentos y Narcóticos/legislación & jurisprudencia , Salud Pública , Política Pública , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/prevención & control , Gobierno , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/provisión & distribución , Valores Sociales , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/epidemiología , Estados Unidos/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
A 16-page 4-color comic book was developed as part of a multimedia public education campaign designed to improve skin cancer knowledge and prevention/detection behavior. A concentrated comic book distribution to each of 8,000 households in a predominantly Caucasian area was preceded and followed by personal interviews with 300 residents randomly selected from this area. In households reading the comic book (N-122), respondents reported the following changes as a direct result of readership--avoidance of sun exposure between 10 am and 2 pm (44.3%), use of sunscreens with SPF 8 and over (38.5%), skin self-examination (34.4%), and use of protective clothing (29.5%). To a lesser extent nonreaders also showed positive increases, suggesting exposure to other educational efforts of the skin cancer campaign. Over 90% of the readers felt that the comic book was easy to read, easy to understand, and interesting. The comic book appealed less to males and to those above the age of 50 years.