An enduring legacy of the war on drugs is a law enforcement emphasis on arresting low-level drug offenders. Policymakers assert that drug arrests reduce subsequent drug offending; yet, scant research assesses the specific deterrent effects of drug arrest. Likewise, little research examines the collateral consequences of drug arrest on measures of social bonding. NLSY97 data were used to examine the effect of drug arrest on drug offending (marijuana use, hard drug use, drug sales) and social bonding (highest grade, weeks employed, annual income). Results indicate that drug arrest did not reduce any measure of drug offending but had considerable negative consequences on blacks’ employment outcomes. These findings suggest that recent policy proposals to de-emphasize low-level drug arrests are unlikely to increase drug offending and may reduce the negative collateral consequences of drug arrest at least for blacks.
(Publisher abstract provided.)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- A Test of Wescott's Second Cervical Vertebra Sex Estimation Method on a Middle-aged to Senescent Sample
- A novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for identification of four body fluids with smartphone detection
- Examination of Factors that Affect the Recovery and Analysis of DNA from Spent Cartridge Casings