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A FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES
System-wide changes are most often brought about through public policies that seek to influence both the total amount of substances consumed and the patterns of use. One framework for categorizing environmental prevention strategies is to view them in light of the four P’s of marketing—product, place, promotion, and price (Marin Institute n.d.). For example, specific products have been made that appeal to young people (including sweetened alcohol drinks or drugs such as Ecstasy). They are made available in places frequented by our youth and are often offered at affordable prices (recognizing that many young people have limited discretionary income). These products are also promoted using messages that may appeal to young people, such as those featuring animated cartoon figures (Mosher and Reynolds 1999).
Communities can use these same marketing strategies to develop substance-safe environments for young people. Each strategy in this guide is intended to affect one of these categories to reduce substance use by youth. However, it should be recognized that since alcohol and tobacco are legal substances, environmental strategies designed to affect product, place, price, and promotion are clearly possible. Illicit drugs are by definition illegal, and they are covertly produced, priced, and promoted. Hence, it is difficult to directly affect product, promotion, and price for illicit drugs through changes in the legal and economic systems to which most prevention advocates have access. However, as this guide will illustrate in Chapter 5 concerning environmental strategies to prevent illicit drug use, it is quite possible to affect place of use.
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