the development of richer models of the market for cocaine and for empirical research applying such models to evaluate alternative policies.

However, the RAND study does not yield usable empirical findings on the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative policies in reducing cocaine consumption. The study makes many unsubstantiated assumptions about the processes through which cocaine is produced, distributed, and consumed. Plausible changes in these assumptions can change not only the quantitative findings reported, but also the main qualitative conclusions of the study. The study is also seriously deficient in its use of the Treatment Outcomes Prospective Study (TOPS) data to estimate the effectiveness of cocaine treatment programs. Hence, the findings of the RAND study do not constitute a persuasive basis for the formation of cocaine control policy.