© 2003 prentice hall, inc. 1 chapter 15 drugs and crime

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Chapter 15 Drugs and Crime

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Drug Abuse• accounts for a large proportion of

present day law violations• contributes to many other types of

criminal activity• leads to a huge number of arrests,

clogged courtrooms, and overcrowded prisons• places tremendous strain on the

criminal justice system

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• lost productivity• wasted human

potential• fragmented families• violence• other crimes

ConsequencesConsequences

Drug Abuse

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Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Percentage of Federal Prisoners Sentenced for Drug Offenses, 1970-2001

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A drug may be any ingestive substance that has a noticeable effect upon the mind or body.

What is a Drug?

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Some substances have medical applicability, but usually are not available without a prescription (these occupy a middle ground on the continuum between acceptability and illegality).

• Examples: • antibiotics• diet pills • tranquilizers • stimulants• mood-altering chemicals

What is a Drug?

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• Some drugs occupy the “high ground” in social and legal condemnation, including psychoactive substances, a chemical substance that affects cognition, feeling, and/or awareness.

• These drugs have the ability to produce substantially altered states of consciousness and have high potential for addiction.

What is a Drug?

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Examples: • heroin - has been advocated as beneficial

in relieving suffering associated with some forms of terminal illness

• peyote - may be used legally by members of the Native American Church in Indian religious services

• LSD - has been employed experimentally to investigate the nature of human consciousness

What is a Drug?

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“High Ground” Drugs• mescaline - may be used

legally in the religious services of members of the Native American Church

• cocaine - used in certain medical conditions and can be applied as a topical anesthetic

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• Alcohol abuse is considered one of the nation’s greatest

health and social problems.• More Americans

drink today than anytime since WWII.

• Drinkers today drink more heavily than in the past.

Alcohol Abuse

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• 30% of the American population abstains from drinking alcohol.• As many as 40,000,000 Americans may be problem

drinkers.• 93% of high school seniors have tried alcohol.

Alcohol Abuse

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• Alcohol is involved in 40% of traffic fatalities, causing 16,653 highway deaths in 2000.

• Alcohol is consumed by approximately 37% of offenders immediately before crime commission.

• The number of arrests for public drunkenness reached 637,554 in 2000.

• In the case of violent crime, the percentage of offenders under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime is 42%.

Alcohol Abuse

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History of Drug Abuse in America

• widely available in “patent” medicines at corner drugstores in the 1800’s

and early 1900’s• widespread use among

Chinese immigrants who worked on rail-roads on

the West Coast

OpiumOpium

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• The Civil War drastically raised awareness of painkilling properties of morphine (derivative of opium) – in late 1800’s morphine was

prescribed by doctors and dentists.

• Opium dens spread to other ethnic groups throughout the West.

History of Drug Abuse in America

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Source: Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, D.C.: BJS, January, 2000).

Percentage Offenders Using Drugs Immediately Prior to Crime Commission, by Type of Drug

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Derivatives of OpiumHeroin: • most potent

derivative of opium

• invented as a substitute for morphine by German chemists in 1898

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Marijuana

• considerably less potent than heroin

• a relatively short history in the United States

In the 1960’s, public attitude became more positive towards marijuana which then spread in an epidemic like manner across the United States.

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• botanical name - “cannabis

sativa”• usually smoked, but

can be eaten or made into a tea

• low doses – creates restlessness and increasing sense of well-being

• may heighten sensory perception

• impairs memory and rational thought

• effects begin within a few minutes following use and may last for up to 2-3 hours

Marijuana

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Marijuana• There is no clearly established medical

use, but marijuana is used as supplemental medication in cases of on-going chemotherapy and in treatment of AIDS patients.

• Most users are young, with many less than 20 years of age.

• Most marijuana is brought to the U.S. from Mexico and Columbia.

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Cocaine • Upon its discovery,

cocaine was touted for its powerful analgesic or therapeutic effects.

• In the late 1800’s, the cocaine bandwagon reached the U.S., and various medicines were offered to the American public such as Coca-Cola®.

• Soon, cocaine became the drug of choice among the young and upwardly mobile.

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Cocaine• most potent central nervous

system stimulant of natural origin

• extracted from the leaves of a coca plant

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Crack Cocaine• derivative of powdered

cocaine

• became popular in the 1980’s

• sold today in the form of “rocks,” “cookies,” or “biscuits,” which are then smoked

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Six elements of drug use are:

• The conceptualization of addiction as a physical and/or

medical condition is one element.

• The understanding that drug use is associated with other kinds

of criminal activity.

Drug Use and Social Awareness

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• Generally widespread social condemnation of drug use as a

waste of economic resources and human lives.

• Comprehensive and detailed federal and state laws

regulating the use or availability of drugs.

Drug Use and Social Awareness

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• A large involvement with illicit drugs among the urban

poor and the socially disenfranchised.

• A shift from the definition of drug abuse as primarily a

medical problem to the view that such abuse is a law enforcement issue.

Drug Use and Social Awareness

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Anti-Drug Legislation• 1875 - San Francisco enacted statute

prohibiting smoking of opium.• 1914 - Harrison Narcotics Act required

persons dealing in opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine, and specified derivatives of these drugs to register with federal government and pay a yearly tax of $1.00.

• This act represents the first major piece of federal anti-drug legislation.

• It allowed physicians, pharmacists, and members of the medical profession to register.

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• 1937 - Marijuana Tax Act placed a tax of $100 per ounce on cannabis.

• 1951 - Boggs Act: • Marijuana and several other drugs

became federally prohibited controlled substances.

• The Boggs Act required removal, from pharmacies within 120 days, of any medicines containing heroin.

Anti-Drug Legislation

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• 1956 - Narcotics Control Act:

• increased penalties for drug trafficking and possession

• made sale of heroin to those under 18 a capital offense

Anti-Drug Legislation

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• 1963 - Presidential Commission Recommendation:

• eliminated the of Federal Bureau of Narcotics• reduced prison term for drug offenders• increased research and social programs to

deal with the drug problem

Anti-Drug Legislation

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•Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970:

• This act still forms the basis of federal government enforcement efforts.

• Title II set up 5 schedules, which classify psychoactive drugs according to degree of psychoactivity and abuse potential.

Anti-Drug Legislation

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Source: Crime in the United States, Federal Bureau of Investigation (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, various years).

Adult Arrests for Drug-Law Violations, 1985-2000

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Schedule I -

Controlled substances that have no established medical usage, cannot be used safely, and have great potential for abuse. This schedule includes:

• heroin• LSD• mescaline• peyote• methaqualone• psilocybin• marijuana• hashish• other specified

hallucinogens

Controlled Substance Act

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Schedule II -

Substances defined as drugs with high abuse potential for which there is currently accepted pharmacological or medical use. Most are considered addictive. Examples:

• opium• morphine• codeine• cocaine• PCP• other

derivatives

Controlled Substance Act

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Schedule III -

This schedule involves lower abuse potential than drugs in Schedules I or II. They have an accepted medical use, but may lead to high level of psychological dependence or to moderate or low physical dependence. Examples include:

• Many drugs found in Schedule II, but in derivative or diluted form.

Controlled Substance Act

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Schedule IV -

These have a relatively low potential for abuse, are useful in established medical treatments, and involve only limited risk of psychological or physical dependency. Examples include:

• depressants • minor

tranquilizers• some

stimulants

Controlled Substance Act

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Schedule V - Prescription drugs with low potential for abuse and only limited possibility for psychological or physical dependence. Examples:

• Cough medicines containing opium, morphine, or codeine

• Anti-diarrhetics containing opium, morphine, or codeine.

Controlled Substance Act

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Drug Abuse Legislation• 1988 - Anti-Drug Act of 1988

• aimed at obtaining a drug free America • increased penalties for “recreational” drug

users• made it more difficult for suspected drug

dealers to purchase weapons• included possibility of capital punishment

for drug-related murders• provided federal funds to fight drugs in

high traffic areas

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• 1990 - Crime Control Act of 1990• doubled appropriations for law

enforcement grants to state and local communities to fight drugs

• improved drug control educational programs aimed at schools

• expanded drug enforcement in rural states

Drug Abuse Legislation

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1990 - Crime Control Act of 1990 (con’t)

• expanded regulation of precursor chemicals used in

manufacture of illegal drugs• sanctioned anabolic steroids• created “drug free school zones”• enhanced agents ability to seize

property used in drug transactions or purchased with drug proceeds

Drug Abuse Legislation

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• 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

• increased funding for rural anti-crime and drug efforts and drug

treatment programs• created a treatment schedule for all

drug-addicted federal prisoners• required post-conviction drug testing of

all federal prisoners upon release

Drug Abuse Legislation

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Drug Abuse Legislation• 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law

Enforcement Act of 1994 (con’t)

• tripled penalties for using children to deal near schools and playgrounds

• expanded federal death penalty to cover offenders involved in large scale drug trafficking

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• 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (con’t)

• mandated life imprisonment for those convicted of three violent felonies or drug offenses

• mandated stiff penalties for drug crimes committed by gangs

Drug Abuse Legislation

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• Investigation of the illegal production, transportation, sale, and use of controlled substances is a major area of police activity.

• Two legal concepts are abandonment and curtilage.

Investigation

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3 Dimensions1. possession, use, or sale of controlled

substances which violates antidrug laws

2. crimes by drug users to obtain more drugs

3. organized criminal activities and money laundering activities

Drugs, Crimes, and Social Problems

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Drugs, Crimes, and Social Problems

• Current data indicates that cocaine has become the country’s

most dangerous commonly used drug.

• It is available in all major American metropolitan areas and most small

communities.• Crack is available in large urban areas.

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• Heroin is a highly seductive and addictive drug, which produces

euphoria.• Heroin abuse has been fairly consistent

over the past few decades.• Younger users are using heroin.• Alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana are

concurrent problems for heroin users.

Drugs, Crimes, and Social Problems

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Money LaunderingMoney Laundering

A process used by drug dealers to hide the sources of their revenues to avoid taxes and disguise the financial evidence of drug dealing.

Drugs, Crimes, and Social Problems

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• link between drug traffickers and insurgent groups in the trafficking of narcotics

• mutually beneficial to both parties; financial benefits and

protection

Drugs, Crimes, and Social Problems

NarcoterrorismNarcoterrorism

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Solving the Drug Problem

1.strict enforcement

2.asset forfeiture

3.interdiction

4.crop control

5.education and treatment

6.legalization and decriminalization