NCJ Number
142744
Date Published
1993
Length
19 pages
Annotation
A sample of 279 male heroin addicts admitted to methadone maintenance programs in Southern California between 1971 and 1973 were interviewed between 1978 and 1980 and reported high rates of drug trafficking and more than 250,000 property crime days, which resulted in 6,251 arrests.
Abstract
The participants were all Hispanic or white, with the majority of Hispanics from poor or working-class families and the majority of the white addicts from the middle or upper classes. The majority had completed 10 or 11 years of school and were working in semiskilled or unskilled jobs. They reported extensive drug and criminal histories. The analyses also indicated that their offense rates and the related social and economic costs were at their highest during periods of addiction. The aggregate cost to society, including the costs incurred by the criminal justice system and drug treatment programs, was conservatively estimated at $85 million, averaging $20,000 per addict per year. The findings indicated that the maximum benefits to society should be obtained by reducing this cycle of addiction and the associated high rates of crime. Results also suggested the need for future cost-benefit analyses comparing three alternative interventions: incarceration, supervision by the criminal justice system, and methadone maintenance or other drug treatment. Tables, notes, and 53 references (Author abstract modified)