Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment in South Carolina (1954-2004):: A Synoptic History

There exists little debate within the United States that the non-medical use of psychoactive drugs, including alcohol and nicotine, is a major cause of problems. This is not a book about these problems, nor is it one that claims to teach recovery or prevention. Instead, it focuses on a narrow field of interest – the response of South Carolina at the state and county government level to the problems resulting from use of alcohol and other drugs, and who or what shaped this response. A synoptic history involves examining change and reasons for change over a fixed period of time. This work attempts to do that by first developing a timeline from 1954 through 2004 of events such as legislation or programs related to alcohol and other drug abuse that occurred in South Carolina. However, a listing of these events in and of itself fails to provide insight into important questions about the impact of these events. To create a system where none had been before requires both building blocks and builders. This part of the history is intended to give the reader a window onto some of these builders such as Jerry McCord and Ceth Mason and their “building blocks” (the Public Health Model, ADSAP, training, the “301” system) that had a transformative impact during this period. The third section is a brief look at the next fifty years from both a state and community perspective. We know where we have been. What will be some of the challenges that may shape programs in the future?