In response to a ‘temperance mentality’ questionnaire, university students from Iran, Bulgaria, the United States, and Italy expressed more support for ‘temperance moralism’ than did students from Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands. On the other hand, students from all seven countries generally supported ‘non-moralistic drug prohibitionism,’ an attitude that appears more compatible with the contemporary harm-reduction movement. In every sample, students expressed more support for temperance items that were directed towards drugs and alcohol than they did for items that were directed at alcohol alone. We argue that understanding the “temperance mentality” on a transnational level may help society to avoid repeating some of the drug policy excesses of the past.
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