NCJ Number
177128
Date Published
1998
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Drug abuse is discussed in terms of its social and individual consequences, the reasons people use drugs, the extent of the drug abuse problem in the United States, and theories and explanations of drug abuse causes.
Abstract
The Office of National Drug Control Policy reported in 1998 that approximately 35 percent of persons age 12 and older have used an illegal drug in their lifetime. Drug abusers account for a disproportionate amount of both violent and property crimes, although the precise relationships between drugs and crime is unknown. Drug abuse involves a series of overlapping problems rather than a single problem. Its costs include the costs of street crimes, criminal justice system costs, medical costs for victims, loss of workplace productivity, corruption of public officials, and family strife. People take drugs for numerous reasons. Many people refer to drug law offenses as vice crimes and believe that such crimes should be regulated and taxed rather than policed. Theories presented to explain the criminal behavior that commonly accompanies drug abuse include those of social disorganization, anomie, cultural transmission, differential association, and differential opportunity. Each theory aids understanding of drug abuse and criminality and can be applied to the study of contemporary criminal behavior. Figures, photographs, list of major terms used, discussion questions, and suggested class project