I object to the term "drugs and alcohol" because it is fundamentally inaccurate and misleading. It explicitly creates a false dichotomy between alcohol and other drugs, while implicitly excluding substances such as glue and aerosols which are not drugs but which nevertheless have grave potential for abuse. Therefore I prefer the seemingly-euphemistic term "substance abuse," which is not only more accurate but also carries within it the salutary implication that there exists a category of substance use which is not necessarily pathological.
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This page last updated November 25, 1997.
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ascott@pacifier.com