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Alcohol and drug control strategies are on the international public agenda. The objective of this paper is to invent and critically evaluate the effectiveness of drug and alcohol control strategies, especially in relation to juvenile delinquency in United States of America (U.S.A.) and in Europe. The answers to this issue are varied and involve a series of debates, polemics and controversy. The analysis of the strategies used in U.S.A. and in Europe shows us that none of these models are applied in a pure form. For the most part, the measures adopted by the European states converge towards the alleviation of the social problems associated with drug use, assisting the addicts and decriminalizing the possession and personal consumption of drugs. The various drug control strategies have had desirable effects but also perverse effects. The criminalization model has lowered drug use and improved public health, but increased prison population and stigmatized vulnerable population categories. Drug legalization and risk mitigation programs have reduced drug trafficking crime and contributed to the reintegration of addicted consumers into society, but increased drug supply and consumption. The medical model, significantly improved consumer health and reduced alcohol and drug offenses, but failed to distinguish between dependent and responsible consumption, increasing the role of the medical system and reducing the freedom of individuals. None of the strategies used provided the expected results, but contributed to the control of drug-related risk behaviors.
Keywords: drug control, social policies, strategy, juvenile delinquency
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