Influence Of Drugs On Society

In this dissertation, I would like to discuss how crime and drug use is complex. There are numerous factors that lead people to misuse drugs. These are a variety of social, psychological and economic factors. Gender and age are proven factors statistically but not enough research has been carried out to be able to consider an accurate assessment of a true account of how crime and drugs go hand in hand with each other. In my dissertation. We will be looking into how drug users become physical and phycological dependence on drugs.

Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, all cling to their victims. “Almost 70% of all offenders on probation reported using drugs sometime in their lifetimes. About 35% were abusing drugs at the time of their offense” (NIDA). Drug use is the fastest growing problem in the United States. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2013, there were just over 2.8 million new users of illicit drugs, about 7,800 of new users per day. Only seventeen percent of offenders get treatment for their drug use. Criminologists, psychologists, sociologists, and other criminal justice professionals try to determine how to stop this problem. We wonder why crime happens, who commits it, how to stop it, and more recently, what to do with the offenders after

A common belief is that drugs cause crime; and in the criminal justice system there are terms used for crime that is related to or due to the use of drugs. First there are “drug defined offences”, in which is the possession, use, sale, or manufacturing of illegal drugs. Second, is “drug related offences”, which occur when drugs are either the motive or the incentive. This occurs when a person is either under the influence of a drug and commits a crime; commits a crime in order to get money for drugs; or commits a crime due to the distribution of drugs. The final term is “drug-using lifestyle” in which individuals do not have a legitimate economic income and are involved in the illegal manufacturing and distribution of drugs (Pacitti, Balleine, & Killcross, 2013).

Just a little over a year and a half after being in office President Reagan declared a “war on drugs”, creating a zero tolerance policy. The “war on drugs” claimed that it would reduce drug use if they were made illegal. The common misconception of the idea of this solution if that by restricting the supply of illicit drugs for the demand the price would increase making it harder for users to afford the habit and further discourage users from using. When in reality this shifted individuals into digging themselves deeper into hazards through, convictions, increased health risks due to stronger drugs being the available, and dependencies. Because this can also create an increase of racial tension due to the fact that the war on drugs

Drugs play a tremendous role in the world of crime. In 2004, the United States Department of Justice stated 64% of Federal prisoners and 70% of State prisoners regularly used drugs. 25% of current inmates felt intoxicated on drugs when they committed whatever crime got them in jail. Narcotics not only cause addiction problems, but they also motivate crime. Contrabands lead to crime

Crimes that are drug related are numerous in the United States also attract media attention. But, not enough attention is given to this matter because crimes are committed all the time. To find out the difference between drug related and non drug related crimes one would need to ask themselves if drugs play an important role in the decisions of people while under the influence of drugs Seddon (2000). More specifically, “Does illegal drug usage affect the occurrence of violent crimes?”

Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person

Today in America a lot of young people experiment with illegal drugs. Some people try drugs for recreational purposes, others are addicted to drugs and can't survive without them. Usually it all starts from recreational purposes, and people who can not control their recreation become a drug addicts. There are many different types of drugs, but all drugs are similar in that they change one's understanding of the environment, feelings, senses and mood. Some drugs cause physical addiction, which means that after several tries of the particular drug, the body requires that chemical in order to function. Some drugs destroy lives; people use drugs so much that it changes their personality and acceptance of environment,

Drug abuse represents one of the greatest challenges for any criminal justice professional. The question of whether drug abuse should be viewed as a medical issue, a criminal issue, or a unique combination of both remains hotly-debated question, particularly in regard to juvenile offenders. There are indications that the two are often interlinked: "research indicates that a relatively small group of serious and violent juvenile offenders who are also serious drug users accounts for a disproportionate amount (more than half, according to one national study) of all serious crimes committed by delinquents" (VanderWaal et al 2001: 1). Given the chronic and addictive nature of drug abuse, these offenders often go on to commit more crimes as adults, unless the cycle is broken.

Over the years, I think there has been misconception that drug use is the common cause for crime, as we are lead to believe that drug are bad and that they turned people into crazy criminals. While it might be true to some extents, I think the relationship between drug use and crime is rather complex and dynamic. As a community, we tend to blame drugs for every problem in our society, but the reality is that there are other important factors that we need to take into account, including unemployment, socio economic inequality and poor mental health before we could say that drug use really caused crime. As pointed out in The Sociology of American Drug Use, research provides ‘’no conclusive evidence about any single relationship between drug use

Another contributing factor is social consequences originating from illegal drug abuse. Although illicit drugs have been strictly controlled by the government, it still caused the society unnecessarily chaos. Drugs and crime are related in several ways, from production of illegal drugs, to manufacture and distribution, then finally possession and consumption of illicit drugs. Due to drugs, the likelihood of many kinds of criminal activity has been increased. A study conducted in Australia in 2003-04 discovered that “88% of juvenile detainees had used an illicit substance 6 months prior to arrest and 70% were intoxicated at the time of offenses”. Moreover, in terms of work and employment, individuals under the influence of drugs are more likely

Despite the issues regarding the scientific studies, evidence has drawn positive links suggesting people who use drugs are more likely to engage in criminal activity than non-users if simply because they are breaking the law to obtain the substance of use. Research does support this contention as people who are arrested for various crimes test positive to be under the influence of a drug at the time they committed their offense. However, the evidence remains elusive as to whether the drug use led to the crime or the crime was separate from the drug use and related needs (i.e., money to buy drugs, territorial wars, etc.). Because of inconsistent data and definitions in reporting, statistical evidence is not empirical enough to draw hard conclusions regarding the relationship between drugs, including alcohol, and crime, or to quantify how much of that crime begins with the innocent-seeming lighting up of a marijuana cigarette. In addition, when more than one drug is present, it is difficult to assess which of the two or more might have induced or inspired the criminal behavior, if any. The association between alcohol and violence illustrated through various studies makes it clear that correlations between drug use and crime are greater complicated through the presence of other dynamics such as socio-demographic and personality characteristics.

Drug abuse and predatory criminality go hand in hand in a few, select social groups, while in others, drug abuse most often occurs without criminal behavior (other than the fact they’re doing drugs.) Despite what most might think, drug abuse typically follows predatory criminality. As drug abusers keep trying harder drugs due to necessity, the intensity of their criminal behavior escalates dramatically. When using more than one type of drug at one time, studies show that the frequency of criminal activity increases. But, when these drug offenders decrease the amount of drugs they put in their system, their rate of criminal activity also decreases, which shows that drugs can cause a person to commit crime. This shows that drug usage can cause crime and stopping drug usage can slow or even halt criminal activity.

Since 2000, the drug use rate in America has risen to the highest it’s ever been. In a survey done in 2009, 8.7 percent of people age 12 and up said that they used illegal substances within a month of taking the survey, a 9 percent increase since 2008 (Abuse, National Institute on Drug, 2010). This statistic alone is very concerning due to

Drug abuse is a major public health issue that impacts society both directly and indirectly; every person, every community is somehow affected by drug abuse and addiction and this economic burden is not exclusive to those who use substance, it inevitably impacts those who don 't. Drugs impact our society in various ways including but not limited to lost earnings, health care expenditures, costs associated with crime, accidents, and deaths. The use of licit or illicit drugs long term, causes millions of deaths and costs billions for medical care and substance abuse rehabilitation and the effects of drug abuse extend beyond users, spilling over into the society at large, imposing increasing