An Ecosystems Approach to the Study of Dangerous Drug Use and Abuse with Special Reference to the Marijuana Issue.

An ecosystems model of the phenomenon of drug use-abuse is presented, based on the premise of a complex of interrelated variables relative to a drug's use, and that the differential evaluation of these variables within a total system determines use or abuse. A research proposal attempts to operationalize the parameters in this theoretical model and to evaluate the interaction between several personality and environmental variables leading to marijuana use or abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]