Various models of drug and alcohol use are explored by the authors, with an emphasis on identifying their direct and indirect links to homicide. The authors believe there is a link between drug/alcohol abuse and homicide; however, they advise that the link is complex. They suggest multiple pathways by which homicide can be related to drug and alcohol use. These pathways, even when empirically verifiable, are far from straightforward. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the necessity of sorting through these complexities when attempting to formulate reasonable, effective public policy initiatives. The authors argue that a major shortcoming of the current literature on the relationship between alcohol, drugs, and homicide is the lack of theoretical development. Discussions of the three major exceptions to this generalization -- Goldstein (1985), Parker (1993a) and Parker and Rebhun (1995), and Fagan (1990) -- show both the advantages of such research and the difficulties that arise because more research has not be conducted on this relationship. Although research in this area has much left to do, it has advanced to the extent that it is clear that policies that reduce alcohol and drug consumption also reduce the homicide rate and other forms of violence. 3 notes and 57 references