SOME RESEARCHERS CONTEND THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COERCION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ALCOHOLIC PERSONS CAN LEAD TO ITS IMPLEMENTATION OF A WIDE SCALE. WHETHER SUCH A POLICY WILL BE IMPLEMENTED REMAINS TO BE SEEN. ALTHOUGH IDEALLY, POLICY IMPLEMENTATION SHOULD HAVE A SOUND EMPIRICAL BASIS, AND IT IS WELL KNOWN BY THOSE ENGAGED IN POLICY ANALYSIS THAT MANY DECISIONS ARE MADE INDEPENDENTLY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS. TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS, HOWEVER, CAN JUSTIFY IMPLEMENTATION OF A POLICY OF ENFORCED TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED CRIMINAL OFFENDERS: (1) THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS BEEN UNABLE TO DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH ALCOHOL OFFENDERS; AND (2) THE ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT COMMUNITY HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN MANDATORY TREATMENT FOR CRIMINAL ALCOHOLICS, SINCE UP TO 70 PERCENT OF THE CASELOAD OF MANY COMMUNITY ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT CENTERS IN COURT-REFERRED. RESEARCH FINDINGS CAN AND DO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL POLICY. THE EVALUATION OF RESEARCH STUDIES SHOWS THAT THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC BASE UPON WHICH TO ACCEPT THE PROPOSITION THAT THE USE OF LEGAL COERCION IS EFFECTIVE IN TREATING ALCOHOLICS. ALTHOUGH MOST STUDIES CONCLUDE THAT COERCION WORKS, THESE CONCLUSIONS ARE UNWARRANTED BASED ON RESEARCH DESIGNS. TYPICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH INCLUDE ABSENCE OF CONTROL GROUPS, LACK OF RANDOM ASSIGNMENT, AND AMBIGUOUS CRITERIA FOR VALIDLY MEASURING TREATMENT SUCCESS. FROM A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE, IT APPEARS THAT LEGAL COERCION MAY BE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR CLIENTS WHO ARE EMPLOYED, ARE MARRIED, AND HAVE A STAKE IN CONVENTIONAL SOCIETY. REFERENCES ARE CITED. (DEP)