The different interpretive models that seek to understand and explain the problem of drug use are analyzed. To do this, nine theoretical interpretations that come close to explaining this issue are studied:

• Legal model
• Consumption distribution model
• Traditional medical model
• Harm reduction model
• Social deprivation model
• Model of socio-structural Factors
• Health education model
• Individualistic psychological model
• Socio-ecological model

In each case, its particular interpretive perspective is exposed, its most relevant contributions, and a discussion about its limitations. The socio-ecological model is presented as a plausible alternative to explain the problem of drug use from the social sciences and to intervene effectively in it,

The Legal Model

This perspective views drug use from the point of view of its legal and criminal implications. The focus of interest is the product itself and its legal situation. The legal model assumes that drugs not classified as legal are a source of serious physical, mental, and social damage and, therefore, must remain out of the reach of citizens on the other side of the barrier erected by law. In other words, it intends to protect individuals and society from the ills derived from non-institutionalized drugs.

Special attention is paid to the actions associated directly or indirectly with that type of substance use that can be considered a crime or cause of crime and the legal sanctions that seek to reduce them. The consequence is that the individual consumer of non-legalized drugs, dependent or not, will be perceived as a deviant or even as a candidate to become a criminal, and they will only be interested in those behaviors related to the legal implications of substance use. (Pinazo, 1993).

The Consumption Distribution Model

This model mainly affects the analysis of the supply and availability of a given substance within a given population or society. It refers, above all, to institutionalized drugs and emphasizes the importance of the product’s availability in the social environment as an explanatory factor of its consumption. The problem of the consumption of alcohol and other drugs can be understood by considering the greater or lesser ease of access to them that citizens have. This fact is analyzed without studying personal or other social determinants that could contribute to the consumption of toxic substances. Its main contribution is to analyze the relationships between supply and consumption in a given social environment.

The Traditional Medical Model

Consider drug dependence a disease characterized by a loss of individual control over consumption. This means that drug dependence is considered a phenomenon linked exclusively to the subject’s internal processes, and to understand it, it will suffice to appeal to the interaction between human biology and the pharmacological characteristics of drugs. Drug addiction is considered as one more medical problem, one more disease that affects an individual and is caused by the action of a psychoactive substance on an individual’s internal–biological– processes. From this point of view, a disease is considered an attribute of the person who possesses it (Vuori, 1980; Gil-Lacruz, 2007).

This interpretative perspective has provided the following:

• Numerous advances in the knowledge of the psychoactive characteristics of drugs.
• The biochemical process of physical addiction.
• Different medical-pharmacological procedures have effectively treated addictions.

In addition, its main epistemological novelty is found in considering the addict as a patient and not a social deviant. The labeling of the addict as “deviant,” “vicious,” or “delinquent” is unfair and degrading, as well as inappropriate as a social and scientific definition; therefore, this consideration should be included among the relevant contributions of this model. However, the very label of “sick” deserves some critical reflection that we will expose in the following paragraph.

The Harm Reduction Model

Defining a concept such as harm reduction is complex. It covers fields as diverse as drug addiction therapy, the meaning and social role of drugs, or the moral consideration of their consumption. Heather et al. (1993) refer to it as an attempt to lessen the adverse health, social or economic consequences of drug use without necessarily requiring a reduction in consumption. The concept of “responsible consumption” emerges as a fundamental proposal from this interpretive perspective.

Harm reduction can be seen as a goal of a treatment program – for example, methadone maintenance programs – but also as an ethical and pragmatic approach to the social problem of drugs, which emphasizes reducing the consequences. Negative consequences of substance use rather than promoting abstinence. In both cases, one of the key points is that the consumption of drugs by each specific person is accepted as a fact that arises from their particular decision. The objective will be that said consumption has the minimum possible negative effects on people and society.

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