Should Drug Legalization Increase The Crime Rate?

The first type, pharmacological violence, implies crime occurs due to the influence a drug has on the individual during the time of the criminal behavior (Levinthal, 2012). For example, an individual who is under the influence of a drug such as PCP or LSD can hallucinate therefore cause violence. Conversely, marijuana and heroin create a sedating factor;

I have been asked to explain the different types of crimes that relate to chemical addiction. When talking about crime, we must have an understanding what the word crime actually means. Crime is a harmful act that is committed to one or more individuals. To be classified as a crime, the act of doing something bad (actus reus) must be usually accompanied by the intention to do something bad (mens read), with certain exceptions (strict liability). For example, if you go to someone and beat him or her up, you intended to do physical harm, and therefore you have committed an assault.

Crime and drugs are related in several ways. One being, drug production, manufacture, trafficking or possession of illegal drugs may comprise crime. Secondly, drug use could possibly increase the possibility of other crimes like murder or kidnapping. Finally, use of drugs can be connected to bigger problems, such as, the use of illegal weapons and other shapes of violence and terrorism. You may wonder, what causes certain people to participate in criminal activities while abusing illegal drugs?

Drug abuse is shown to be connected to all different kinds of crime in the United States, and in many circumstances, crime is inspired by drug abuse and addiction. In fact, 80% of criminal offenders abuse drugs or alcohol (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Also, 60% of those who are arrested test positive for illicit drugs when they are arrested, and 60-80% commit another crime, typically drug-related, after leaving prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). And, even after these individuals put in the time in prison that would allow them to go through the uncomfortable process of detoxing, 95% of them will chose to go back to drug abuse after prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Given these overwhelming statistics, it is clear that drug abuse, and repeated or continued drug abuse, are a serious problem facing the criminal justice system.

There are many crimes that are classified as drug offenses. Crimes such as possession, use, purchase, distribution, or manufacturing of illegal drugs are considered drug

CRIMINOLOGYDoes drug use cause crime, does crime cause drug use or is the relationship entirely co-incidental?INTRODUCTIONIn this paper I will look at the amount and type of crime caused by drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime and the relationship between alcohol and crime.

Crime occurs when someone the formal written law by an overt act, omission or neglect that can result in punishment (Macionis, et, al., 2013, p.161). The impact of deviance can last for a long time on an individual, and the coping up ways of each individual that has been affected by crime differs from one another. Macionis, et, al., (2013) states that, “the problem of illegal drugs in countries such as Canada is a demand issue. The demand for cocaine and other drugs is increasing in alarming rate; as a result people look for illegal ways to get drugs. Which increase in crime rate on how people smuggle these drug to where it’s illegal, and high rates of addiction in many young people who are willing to risk arrest or even death for a chance

This paper explains the consequences that drug traffickers face in today’s criminal justice system; those consequences being classed as controlled substances, federal trafficking sentences, offender and offense characteristics, and the effects of illegal drug trade on society. When the federal government labels a substance as controlled, this means the possession and distribution of these substances are governed by law. These laws are formulated in accordance with 21 U.S. Code § 811 – 814 - Authority to Control; Standards and Schedules. Both federal and state laws come into play on drug trafficking cases. There are a great deal of federal drug law in addition to each state having its own drug laws. Policymakers generally pass these laws to discourage drug cartels but it is often the street dealers that are prosecuted. “There were 80,035 cases reported the United States Sentencing Commission in fiscal year 2013. Of these cases 22,215 involved drug trafficking (U.S. Sentencing Commission 2014).” As seen in recent years, the division of government administrations and departments over how the ‘War on Drugs’ should be conducted, has divided society all because of drug trafficking. Although the trafficking of drugs degrades local, state, and federal economies, drug trafficking also reduces health for those that use and are in close contact with individuals both physically and psychologically. The penalties for drug trafficking are categorized and divided into many areas but not

Since some of our states have made marijuana legal, the crime cycle in those states is becoming a topic of interest all across America. For what once was a crime, the act of making it legal cuts the amount of crime automatically. This study analyzes the effect of making drugs legal has on the crime cycle. It questions how legalizing marijuana has affected crime rates, either positively or negatively. The goal is to increase the amount of knowledge regarding the legalization and how it relates to crime cycles in order to ultimately reduce the prison populations.

“for most offenders who use drugs, whose drug use is less extensive, there is no direct causal link between drugs and crime. For example, most are not committing crimes to pay for their drugs.” (UKDPC, 2008, PG8)

The tripartite conceptual model outlines three crimes, systemic crimes, psychopharmacological crimes, and economic-compulsive crimes. An example of a systemic crime is a violent act, such as a homicide or assault (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2007). Another example is the psychopharmacological crime. This is when acute or chronic use of psychoactive substances commit a crime. These are usually unreported such as a sexual assault or robbery while the victim in incapacity due to a psychoactive substance (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2007). The third is economic-compulsive crimes which are crimes carried out because they do not have the money for drugs. The crimes can be consensual, such as prostitution, or acquisitive crimes

This could include such crimes as theft or prostitution. It is also a crime to use, possess, and partake in drug trafficking, manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs.

A lot of people link drug abuse with crime, at times even with violent crime. This association comes from psychopharmacological association that imply that people may engage in criminal acts after taking some kind of substance known to undermine their judgment as well as self-control result in paranoid thoughts and distortion of inhibitions (Sewell, Poling and Sofuoglu, 189). Though all substances that affect the central nervous system might result in this kind of relationships, scientific information indicates that some type of drugs have a more strong effect than others. Such drugs are alcohol, cocaine, phencyclidine and amphetamines (McCauley, Ruggiero, Resnick and Kilpatrick, 136). Inversely, cannabis and heroin are less associated with desire to commit

There has always been a close association between drugs and crime. Drugs have been seen as a way out of suffering in one’s life and so as long as there is suffering there will always be a market for drugs. The struggle to keep one’s self sane when away from a substance they need can cause them to do crazy and even violent things to others. Things like murdering someone because they did not have proper control of themselves is not something unheard of by any means. These people can been seen as both victims and criminals, as they were not in a sound state of mind when doing these actions, however them doing the actions does not mean they should get off scot-free. The users are only one side of the coin, the other is the drug dealers. The dealers do not have to be selling purely illegal drugs, they may be selling prescription drugs too, but in the pursuit of their own survival in a struggling life, they turn to selling substances to others. By doing so they can even amass a fortune, but this is still a crime, and what people will do to try to get all this potential money can span from robbing to murder. The articles I read from different media support the fact there is indeed a tie with crime and drugs, being that an increase of drugs on the street leads to more crime.

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.