Drugs and Crime

1. Drugs and Crime

2. The Drug Prohibition Movement:A Brief Overview • The nature & availability of drugs in the 19th century • Opium and derivate use • Growth of addiction during Civil War • morphine effective pain killer • hypodermic needle invented • Post war affluence • health care access, and addiction in the middle/upper classes • No prescription needed - patent medicines • mixtures of alcohol and opium • sold from corner drug store • Barkers in traveling road shows

3. Shift toward Prohibition in late-19th • Growing fear and intolerance of drugs and movement by states to control • The role of drug myths (a 19th century claims maker tool) • Myths re: women • Myths re: minorities • blacks said to be consuming huge amounts of cocaine • produced “coca mania”

4. The Movement Began at State Level • Requirements for a prescription from physician • One big problem: Patent medicine loophole • Also lack of uniform drug laws across states • States lack resources to enforce new laws • Reluctance of federal government to intervene • concerns about federalism and states rights

5. The Feds Get Involved: Two Motivators 1. Growth and power of medical profession • AMA founded in 1847, but weak during 19th • threatening to most doctors, didn’t belong to AMA • Didn’t need lot of knowledge to prescribe drug • During Progressive movement, AMA grew powerful • advanced medical training became available • awareness of dangers of drugs • patent medicines took money out of their pocket • AMA lobbied for federal prohibition of narcotics w/o doctor’s prescription

6. Capitalism and desire for Chinese Markets • China not receptive • harsh discriminatory practices in U.S. • China’s experience with Anglos • China was swamped with opium from Britain • U.S. wanted to improve relations with China • Called international conference of nations • ban opium distribution • Problem: U.S. had no law prohibiting opium

7. The Harrison Act of 1914 • First Federal drug law • Requirements • License, tax ($1 per year), and records • License restricted to medical professionals • How physicians viewed the Harrison Act • How the Treasury Department viewed Act • How the Federal Courts viewed Act

8. Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 • Effectively added marijuana to prohibited substances under Harrison • Required tax and registration for dealers • Impetus for act • Marijuana “epidemic” • Empire building by federal bureaucrats • Bigotry toward Mexicans

9. Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Prevention and Control Act of 1970 • Unified categories of illegal drugs and penalties • Basis of federal and state drug enforcement today • Compressed Harrison Act and amendments into one law • Title II: Substance Control Act - drug schedules

11. Contemporary Federal Drug Control Strategies

12. The Current War on Drugs:Trends in federal expenditures for the drug war

13. FY 2003 Federal Drug Control Budget

14. Three-Pronged Federal Drug Control Strategy

15. Demand Reduction • Several ways to reduce demand, all focus on increasing the price of drugs • Assumption that drug abuse is “inelastic” • Increase the costs of selling drugs, which will increase price of drugs • Problems with increasing price of drugs • Increase profitability lures more to market • Creates incentives to increase drug potency

16. Supply Reduction • Eliminate or reduce availability of drugs • Supply reduction strategies • Crop eradication programs • Problems with eradication programs • Resistance from host governments • “Push-down, pop up effect” • Border interdiction programs

17. Prevention/Education/Treatment • DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) • Most widely used school based curriculum • 1.3 billion dollars annually • Effectiveness of DARE • National Academy of Sciences • U.S. Surgeon General’s conclusion • Other public education initiatives

18. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign • Created by Congress in 1998 • Targets youth age 9-18 and their parents • TV, radio, print, and Internet advertising

19. Drugs and Crime

20. Treatment • Variety of treatment modalities • Studies have concluded drug treatment is beneficial, though degree may be overstated • Treatment programs under funded • Few in need receive treatment

21. Are We Winning the War on Drugs?

22. Drug Seizures (in pounds)

23. Number of Arrests by Drug Law Violation

24. Drug Offenders in State Prisons,1980-2001 246,100

25. Percentage of Persons Age 12 Years or Older Reporting Any Illicit Drug Use in Past Year Source: National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

26. Percentage of Persons Age 12-17 Reporting Any Illicit Drug Use in Past Year Source: National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

27. Marijuana Use Among College Students

28. Info from Retail Level Drug Sales • Drugs more available • Price of drugs has decreased • Purity level of drugs has increased • Spread of designer and “cottage-level” drugs

29. The Legalization Debate Pro-Legalization Arguments • Current policies are a failure • more available, more potent, cheaper • Drug war has high physical costs to society • Increases transmission of HIV • Overdoses due to adulterated street drugs

30. More Arguments for Legalization • War on drugs is racist • Majority of drug consumers are white, but majority incarcerated for drug offenses are non-white • More young black males under correctional supervision than attending college • Incarceration of black males destroying the black family • War on drugs is genocide of Black family • Incarceration of Blacks destroying Black family

31. Arguments for Legalization • War on drugs exacerbates the crime problem • High price of illegal drugs means addict has to steal more to support habit • Current illegal drug markets foster violence

32. More Arguments for Legalization • Drug war is a war on civil liberties • 4th Amendment rights have been whittled away • Suspicion-less drug testing in the workplace and schools • Civil forfeiture of property

33. Prohibition Arguments • If drugs were legalized, consumption would increase • From 1972 to 1978, eleven states decriminalized marijuana possession • Yet, after 1978 marijuana use steadily declined for over a decade. • The Netherlands decriminalized possession and allowed small scale sales of marijuana beginning in 1976. • Marijuana use in Holland half the rate in U.S

34. Prohibition Arguments • Crime rate would increase • Argue clear link between drugs and crime • Statistics do suggest a link between drugs and crime

35. Drug Use Among Booked Arrestees Source: Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program

36. Drug Use by State Prison Inmates

37. THREE THEORETICAL LINKS BETWEEN DRUGS & CRIME SIDEBAR

38. Three Model of Drugs-Crime Link • Physical properties of the drug cause aggression • Economic compulsive model • Systemic model

39. Pro-Legalization Response to Drugs-Crime Link • Little evidence to show chemical properties alone cause violence • Little evidence for notion that drugs cause crime - could be spurious relationship • drugs do increase the rate of criminal activity • Cede the evidence of pattern of violence associated with illegal drug markets Crime Drugs ??

40. Prohibitionist’s Arguments • Public opinion is against legalization • Can’t legalize what so many oppose • War on drugs amoral imperative • we continue to fight, even if are losing

41. A Third Way:Between Legalization and Prohibition • Adopt more reasonable sentences for drug offenders • Focus on traffickers, not users • Provide serious help for users in the criminal justice system • Shift law enforcement policies toward community safety • away from enforcement to problem solving policing