This book is beyond a leap of faith. It essentially states that drug prevention efforts in middle school, not even designed to reduce cocaine, will not reduce cocaine years later, because the effect of those interventions on marijuana. Never details the preventive effect on tobacco (which the prevention programs were designed to do). The data placed in this book, published by Rand (where the author works), is not published in a peer reviewed journal and not subject to the scrutiny it deserves. There are many instructive ways to discuss drug use and prevention in the United States, but railing on effective programs (designed to prevent drugs other than cocaine) is not top on my list. What about the fact that excellent programs are implemented with only 10% fidelity to the program. What about the fact that school administrators would place an ineffective program in their school, knowing it that the program does not work. Also, there are problems with school administrators who in one large survey ranked drugs as 10th on the list of concerns for their students, when students ranked it as being the largest problem. But this book is without a doubt, a giant leap of faith, near the level of fantasy.

My suggestion is not to read this book, unless the data and conclulsions are published in peer reviewed journals. I believe the reason it was published by RAND and not in a peer reviewed scientific journal is that its methodology does not take into consideration other drugs that were prevented by these programs and focuses only on cocaine, with the conclusions of the book being to large of a stretch for anyone but the author's imagination.

This book has an ounce of truth and tons of uncertainty.

I have been traveling around the world for a while and this is the worst guide book I have ever used. The maps are inadequate. The information is far from complete. The descriptions seem to be more political propaganda than a picture of Central America. This book tells you what to think instead of letting you know what to expect. It took the joy out of traveling and it's lack of information put my safety at risk.