Previous research shows the following findings about drinking: (1) it is culturally patterned behavior. Different cultures contain beliefs, sentiments, and values about the use of alcohol. (2) Drinking is almost always socially controlled behavior. Each society has rules guiding the drinking of different types of alcohol by who may drink at what time, place, occasion. Also, there are rules for drinking according to which types of other persons are present, such as by age, sex, and social level. Studies of teen age drinking show 2 other findings: (1) the use of alcohol, especially for some categories of young men in our society, is one means of demonstrating passage from late childhood to manhood. Laws which require adult behavior of late teen-agers, such as fighting wars, are inconsistent with laws which prohibit them making adult-type decisions, such as the right to use alcohol. (2) Teen age drinking is almost entirely group drinking, usually done in partying situations at places where adult supervision is excluded. Drinking with families is considered "tasting" usually not drinking. The research shows that less than 1/3 of Michigan high school students drink with any degree of regularity; about 10% may be considered regular drinkers. This paper attempts to delimit some definitions of "problem" drinking, such as the kinds which result in detrimental consequences for the drinker or for others. The concept "deviant behavior" has some potential uses in delimiting problem drinking, both individual and group. Theory and research methods in the social sciences now are prepared for some systematic design for the analysis of deviant behavior pertaining to drinking. It would appear that many at tempts to deal with problem drinking now have predictable consequences of further integrating deviant groups, and having them set "boundary maintaining" actions in motion to defend the "boundaries" of their groups. It would appear that carefully designed experiments based on the use of influence instead of authority could have the predictable consequences of altering deviant drinking behavior in directions which make it less problem behavior either to the individual or to his community.