NCJ Number
70663
Date Published
1976
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Part of the appendix to a drug use and crime report, this paper reviews selected studies on the relationship of drug abuse to criminal behavior, discusses the current state of scientific knowledge pertaining to drug abuse and points out implications for future research.
Abstract
The six studies reviewed focus on criminality among Chicago addicts in 1951 and the limitations of the medical and correctional approaches to the drug problem, the lack of association between drug use and criminal behavior, crime/drug literature, criminological and economic interpretations of the drug problem, the effectiveness of drug treatment in deterring crime, and a national study of criminality among drug abuse patients. A summary of the current state of knowledge on drug abuse behavior notes that drug use, especially of heroin, has increased markedly in the U.S. in the past decade, that research has shown the major involvement of heroin addicts in crime, and that the extent and type of crime committed by narcotic addicts vary by demographic factors. Further, several studies have established that opiate use can be transitory and thus of little consequence to criminality, that the majority of heroin users are not interested in obtaining treatment, that daily opiate use increases criminality, and that drug treatment programs reduce the criminality of addicts while in treatment. One implication for future research is that criminal justice and correctional efforts should focus on the persistent criminal addict rather than on occasional marihuana user. A table is included. For the complete report on drug use and crime, see NCJ 40293.