title: Vulnerable societies: why antidrug policies fail, why there is a need for reforms and why they are unlikely to be implemented.
abstract: Illegal drugs develop in vulnerable societies. Antidrug policies fail because they do not attack those vulnerabilities; most only attack some of the contributing or risk factors that help the illegal drug industry development. Political systems, particularly those of nonauthoritarian regimes in pluralistic societies, are ill suited to prohibit individual behaviors. The only solution for the "drug problem" requires the elimination of the countries' vulnerabilities, that is, to harmonize the formal laws with the socially accepted norms of the various groups of the society. This requires substantial social reforms, and it is unlikely to occur in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA. fthoumi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Francisco E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Thoumi
mesh_terms: D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D012945:Social Values; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology