Drug Offenders

Drugs and Crime

Crime is one of the attendant problems of drug abuse. According to one estimate, a male drug user may commit 80 to 100 serious property offenses per year to pay for his drugs. A number of ethnographic and longitudinal studies of drug-using criminals also show that high levels of drug (ab)use are associated with high levels of crime, while lower levels of drug use are associated with fewer offenses. However, the connection between drugs and crime is not always straightforward. Not all drug users are predatory offenders; many have no convictions except for illegal possession and remain otherwise “crime-free” for all their drug-taking careers. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that some types of drugs are less associated with crime than others; offending might have more to do with the lifestyle and personal circumstances of the drug user than anything else. For example, ecstasy use is not generally associated with crime because of the sociodemographic features of users most of whom are occasional drug users with adequate economic resources. They are less likely to have a criminal [Page 263]history or a subsequent criminal career. On the other hand, heroin users are more likely to be working class, unemployed, homeless and poly-addicts. Drugs and crime are strongly associated with this group, but this may be because their sociodemographic background put them at a higher risk of criminality in the first place.

Drug Control

The current characterization of drug control in the United States as a war on drugs was initiated by the Nixon administration in the early 1970s. Since then, the United States has launched successive “wars” on drugs even at a time when general population surveys showed declining levels of drug use. In each war, law enforcement and punishment have been by and large favored over prevention, treatment, and education strategies.

In practice, the war on drugs has been translated into “get tough” drug laws and harsh mandatory minimum prison sentences. In an increasing climate of zero tolerance, police crackdowns and intensive community policing strategies have also been extended to minor drug users and buyers. Controversial police enforcement activities have included undercover drug buys, increased use of stop-and-search powers especially in drug hot spots, and police arrests for various misdemeanors such as loitering and disorderly conduct.

Consequences

The toughened-up approach to drug control has brought a large number of drug offenders into the courts, jails, and prisons. From 1980 to 1998, the total number of criminal arrests nationwide increased by 40% while the number of drug arrests rose by 168%. Of the 38,288 suspects referred to U.S. attorneys for prosecution during 1999, about one-third were involved with marijuana; 28%, cocaine powder; 15%, crack cocaine; 15%, methamphetamine; 7%, opiates; and 3%, other drugs. The majority of these suspects (around 97%) were investigated for drug trafficking (including manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to distribute illicit drugs), 2% for simple possession, and less than 1% for other drug offenses. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of drug offenders entering into the prison system has also increased dramatically in the past two decades. Between 1980 and 2000, the number of women and men incarcerated in federal prisons and new commitments to state prisons for drug offenses increased more than tenfold. The average time served in prison by a convicted drug offender rose by over 100% during the same period.

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