NCJ Number
143834
Journal
Contemporary Drug Problems Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 203-246
Date Published
1992
Length
44 pages
Annotation
While there is considerable evidence to conclude that drug use is linked to criminality, research has demonstrated that these linkages are more complex, indirect, and probabilistic than previously believed. Drug use may be one factor in criminal behavior, but it is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause crime.
Abstract
This article reviews the literature on drug use and delinquency among youth, particularly those studies examining causality. Several studies have validated the high degree of intersection between drug use and criminal behavior in general. The article highlights studies on criminal careers and drug use, drugs and violence, the drug user's requirement for additional income as a contributor to the drug-crime relationship, and the relationship of treatment to drug use and criminal behavior. The author describes the response of the American criminal justice system to drugs and the interrelationship between drugs, criminal behavior, and social policy. The author concludes that the best policy course would be to concentrate more attention and resources on the public health response to the drug problem, with less emphasis on law enforcement. 1 table, 3 figures, 3 notes, and 74 references