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Drugs
Illicit Drug Issues History and “Drug Panics” Current Use / Trends Relationship Between Drug use and
Crime Drug Control Strategy The Legalization Debate Theories of Drug Use
What is a “drug?” A “psychoactive drug” is one that alters
mood, emotion, perception, or other mental states By that definition: alcohol, caffeine and
nicotine count Also included are Prozac, Ritalin, Vicodin
Throw in the “illicit” drugs… Americans are some fairly serious
druggies
A Long History of Substance Use The use of chemical substances to “get
high” dates back to ancient times Mesopotamian writings (4,000 years ago)
identify opium as the “plant of joy” Primitive people during the stone age drank
alcohol South American Indians chewed coca leaves
since before the time of the Incas Until recently, most drugs legal
Winston Churchill (1912) used a “cocaine solution”; common “cure all” drugs were opium-based
Morphine teething drops, cocaine solutions and so forth from 1800s
Criminalization of DrugsLate 1800s in U.S.
“Moral Crusaders,” especially religious Medical field began to suggest
morphine and opiates were “habit-forming” and constituted a “disease”
The “temperance movement”Drug Laws
1906 Pure Food and Drug Act 1914 Harrison Narcotics Act 1937 Marijuana Taxation Act
Drug Panics/Scares Often precede new criminalization or
heightened penalties Worst-case scenario “typical”
Meth-mouth, crack babies… Media sensationalism and hyperbole
Epidemic, most addictive drug ever, causes other bad things…
Drugs and “Dangerous” Folks Often times, the criminalization
had more to do with other concerns (fear of losing jobs to cheap labor, racism) Marijuana Mexicans, Black Jazz
Musicians, etc. Opium—Chinese railroad workers Crack—inner city blacks
Synthetics as the latest panic?Jim Carlson vs. the albino character from “The Princess Bride”
+ =?
Media example of “Drug Panic” propaganda
Harry Anslinger and the Reefer Madness era
What to watch in the film Who are the “dangerous” folks using? Exaggeration/hyperbole?
“Facts” about the drug, damage it causes, addictiveness…
AGENDA FOR TODAY WATCH PBS FRONTLINE ON METH DO GROUP EXERCISE GO OVER GROUP EXERCISE LECTURE
Drug Use / Trends Sources:
National Survey on Drug Use and Health Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration Nationally representative household based
(12+ yrs) Monitoring the Future Survey
High School based (8-12th grade) Limitations of sources?
SAMHSA DATALifetime(2009)
Past Year
(2009)
Past Month(2009)
Marijuana and Hashish 41.5 11.3 6.6
Cocaine 14.5 1.9 0.7
Crack 3.3 0.4 0.2
Heroin 1.5 0.2 0.1
Hallucinogens 14.8 1.8 0.5
LSD 9.4 0.3 0.1
Ecstasy 5.7 1.1 0.3
Pain Relievers 13.9 4.9 2.1
Methamphetamine 5.1 0.5 0.2
PE
RC
EN
T
Use
% who used in last 12 months
100
8th G rade 10th G rade
80 12th G rade
60
40
20
0
'74 '76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10
YE A R
Illicit Drug use and other Crime Strong correlation (.5-.7) between
regular drug use and crime Offenders with substance abuse
problems commit a high percent of some crimes
75% of robberies in one study Two-thirds of those jailed test positive
for illicit drugs
Relationships Between Drugs and Crime Drug-defined offenses
Possession and Sales Drug-related offenses
Drug induced rage assault Robbery to feed drug habit
Drug-using lifestyle Crimes relevant to “lifestyle” Not cause-effect
The “Gateway” issue Is weed a “gateway” drug for harder drugs? Is cigarette smoking a gateway to weed? Gateway implies causality
The use of some drug (nicotine, weed) causes use of harder drugs independent of other factors such as peer group, low self-control, lifestyle…
Is it really the weed that causes people to try crack cocaine or heroin? Danger of “DARE” sorts of messages
Drug Control Strategies “War on Drugs” = $600 Billion over
past 25 years Source Control Interdiction Punishment (Deterrence) Drug Testing • Different Approaches Drug Education (non-D.A.R.E.) Drug Treatment (California’s Prop 36) Public Health-Harm Reduction Models
Drug Legalization? Pro?
Reduce crime by eliminating “drug-defined crimes” Reduce Prison Costs
Reduce violence generated by black market Reduce police corruption (?)
Con? Increased drug use and social costs Moral costs
Practical Problems with Legalization Which drugs? Who sells? Minors?
Drug Treatment As with criminal rehabilitation programs,
cognitive behavioral programs have a track record of success Cognitive = skill and restructuring
The effect of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous is largely unkown
Very resistant to academic research
Drug Courts Started in 1989 in Dade County Florida
as a reaction to crowded jails/court dockets Spread like wildfire thereafter
Key ingredients Team approach Judicial involvement in supervision (court
reviews) Strong treatment component Quick processing
Drug Court II Most research has been favorable
Reductions in drug use and other criminal activity
South St. Louis County (Duluth) MN drug court Reviewed by one of the best bow hunting
criminologists in the country Significant reductions in felony offending vs. a
comparison group of people arrested for drug felonies prior to the existence of drug court
Theories of Drug Use?Most theories of crime can also
explain drug use social learning, social control,
strain, developmental…
UMD: Percent Reporting Nonmedical Drug Use, by Type of Drug, Past 12 Months
Predicting Use
VariableD.V.: Stimulant Use, Past 12
Months b SE
Odds Ratio Low self-control .044* .018 1.045 Deviant peers .032 .026 1.032 Moral beliefs -.069* .028 .933 Typical offending .001 .040 1.001 School attachment .003 .036 1.003 Grade point average -.584* .241 .558 Involvement in co-curricular activities
.081 .071 1.085
Importance of academic work .375† .204 1.455 Racial and/or ethnic minority -.485 .389 .616 Male -.134 .243 .874 21 years or older -.120 .233 .886 Binge drinking: 1-2 times †† 1.326** .405 3.767 Binge drinking: 3-5 times†† 1.609*** .405 4.999 Binge drinking: 6+ times†† 1.881*** .456 6.560Constant -2.338 1.965 .097***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05; †p < .10; †† Reference category for this variable is “none”
Regression Results
IndependentVariable
Dependent Variable
Prescription Stimulants
b(SE)
[Odds Ratio]
Marijuanab
(SE)[Odds Ratio]
Other Prescription
Drugsb
(SE)[Odds Ratio]
Other Illicit Drugs
b(SE)
[Odds Ratio]
Low self-control .044**(.018)
[1.045]
.043***(.016)
[1.044]
.056***(.019)[1.058]
Moral beliefs -.069**(.028)[.933]
-.089***(.027)[.915]
-.105***(.036)[.901]
Deviant Peers .049*(.028)[1.051]
Grade point average
-.584**(.241).558]
-.471**(.222).[625]
Importance of academic work
.375*(.204)
[1.455]
***p < .01; **p < .05; *p < .10
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