One of the ways in which communication functions is in the creation and maintenance of the ways in which using and abusing substances, especially alcohol, are talked about and treated. When, for example, society considered the use of alcohol to be a social sin, its use was banned. "Prohibition" is the name given to the era during which it was illegal in the United States to buy, sell, and drink alcohol. After prohibition was repealed, alcohol once again became a legal substance, while other related drugs, such as marijuana, continued to be thought of as harmful. Words for the use of these substances and the meanings that are attributed to their use arise out of communication and are an area of study in health communication. Linda Lederman (1993) calls the ways of using and abusing alcohol on the college campus the...