Criminal Justice Today Chapter 16 Drugs and Crime Criminal Justice.

Criminal Justice Today

Chapter 16

Drugs and Crime

Criminal Justice

© 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, IncUpper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved

Drug AbuseDrug abuse is pervasive and greatly impacts the criminal justice system and all aspects

of society.

• Drug abuse is one of the most serious law enforcement problem facing communities.

Drug use:

• Accounts for a large proportion of law violations

• Contributes to many other types of criminal activity

• Is reflected in prison populations for drug-related crimes


What is a Drug?A drug is:

• Any chemical substance defined by social convention as bioactive or psychoactive.

• Any ingestible substance that has a noticeable effect on the mind or body.

Drugs enter the body through:

• Injection

• Inhalation

• Swallowing

• Direct absorption through the skin or mucous membranes

Psychological dependence- a craving for a specific drug that results from long-term substance abuse.

Physical dependence- a biologically based craving for a specific drug that results from frequent use of the substance. As time goes on, the user develops a tolerance to the drug, requiring a larger or more frequent dosage to achieve the effect of the drug.


Varying Degrees of AcceptabilitySome substances have medical applicability, and are available with a prescription (these

occupy a middle ground on the continuum between acceptability and illegality).

• Examples: antibiotics, diet pills, tranquilizers

Some drugs occupy the “high ground” in social and legal condemnation, including psychoactive substances.

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

– Examples: heroin, LSD, cocaine


AlcoholAlcohol misuse can lead to serious problems with grim consequences & commonly

increases aggression

Examples:

• Drunk driving,

• Public drunkenness

• Commission of other crimes while under the influence

DUI

There are 1.4 million DUI arrests annually.

• 26% of arrestees had over twice the legal limit.

• 32% of all fatal accidents are alcohol-related.

The blood alcohol level (BAC) for DUI in most states is 0.08% to 0.10% or more.

• As of October 2000, the federal government mandated that states lower the BAC to 0.08% as a condition of receiving highway funding.

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

In the case of violent crime, the percentage of offenders under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime is 42% with the highest for murder (44.6%).



Drug Use in America16.3

Figure 16-2Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 201 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings (Rockville, MD: Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA, 2011). p12.


History of Drug Abuse in AmericaMany drugs, when first discovered, were touted for their powerful analgesic or

therapeutic effects.

Examples:

• 19th and early 20th century, opium available in patent medicines and “elixirs.”

• During the Civil War, morphine was used as a pain killer and later prescribed by doctors and dentists.

• In 1898, heroin was invented to cure morphine additions.

Drug Use and Social Awareness

Today’s social awareness of drug use recognizes that:

• Addiction is a physical condition.

• Use is linked to other types of criminal behavior.

• Drug use wastes economic resources and human lives.

• Drugs are regulated by federal and state laws.

• It greatly affects the urban poor and the socially disenfranchised.

• Drug abuse is a law enforcement issue rather than a medical problem.


Anti-Drug Legislation1875—San Francisco enacted statute prohibiting smoking of opium.

1914—Harrison Narcotics Act required persons (medical professionals) dealing in opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine, and specified derivatives of these drugs to register with federal government

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

1951—Boggs Act added marijuana and several other drugs to the list of federally prohibited controlled substances. It also banned any medicines containing heroin.

1956—Narcotics Control Act increased penalties for drug trafficking and possession and made sale of heroin to those under 18 a capital offense.

Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970- forms the basis of federal government enforcement efforts.

• Title II of this act is known as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

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

• New drugs may be added to the list if they meet designated CSA criteria.


CSA Schedule I DrugsControlled substances that have little/no established medical usage, cannot be used

safely, and have great potential for abuse.

Examples:• Heroin• LSD• Mescaline• Peyote• Methaqualone• Psilocybin• Marijuana• Hashish• Other specified hallucinogens


CSA Schedule II DrugsSubstances 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


CSA Schedule III, IV, V DrugsSchedule III Drugs -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

Schedule IV Drugs- 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

Schedule V Drugs- Prescription drugs with low potential for abuse and only limited risk of psychological or physical dependency.

Examples include:

• Cough medicines containing opium, morphine, or codeine

• Anti-diarrhetics containing opium, morphine, or codeine


More Anti-Drug LegislationAnti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988- Aimed at obtaining a drug-free America.

• Created the position of “drug czar.”

• 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.

Crime Control Act of 1990

• Provided police with more grant money for anti-drug efforts.

• Improved school-based drug control educational programs.

• Expanded drug enforcement in rural states

• Increased regulation of chemicals used to make illegal drugs.

• Sanctioned anabolic steroids.

• Created “drug-free school zones.”

• Enhanced agents’ ability to seize property associated with the drug trade.


More Anti-Drug Legislation (cont’d)Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

Increases:

• Funding for rural anti-crime and drug efforts.

• Treatment to drug-addicted federal prisoners.

• Penalties for using children to deal near schools and playgrounds.

• Federal death penalty law to cover large scale drug trafficking offenders.

• Prison sentences for certain repeat violent/drug offenders.

• Penalties for gang-related drug crimes.

The Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997- Provided support to local communities to reduce substance abuse among youth.

USA PATRIOT ACT- 2006 reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act led to enactment of a provision known as the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, which:

• Makes it harder to obtain ingredients in some over-the-counter cold medicines that can be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

• Requires stores to keep such medicines behind counters or in locked cabinets.

• Limits the daily purchase amount of those substances.

• Requires customers to show photo ID and sign a log.


Investigating Drug Abuse and Manufacturing

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

Two legal concepts, abandonment and curtilage, take on special significance.

• Abandoned property (trash, etc) is not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

-Warrantless search of hotel room after it’s vacated is legal

• Curtilage (the area immediately surrounding the home) is protected by the Fourth Amendment.


Marijuana Botanical name – “cannabi sativa”- more commonly used than cocaine, LSD, & heroin

• 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 to 3 hours

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.


Cocaine Extracted from the leaves of a coca plant, most potent central nervous system

stimulant of natural origin.

Upon its discovery, cocaine was touted for its powerful analgesic or therapeutic effects.

Has become the country’s most dangerous commonly used drug.

Cocaine is used to make crack, which is available primarily in large urban areas.

Sigmund Freud touted the benefits of cocaine use

Once found in Coca Cola


Heroin Heroin is a highly seductive and addictive drug, which produces euphoria.

Heroin abuse has been fairly consistent over the past few decades.

Street-level heroin varies in purity.

Heroin-related emergency room visits reach almost 40,000 per year.


Methamphetamine Methamphetamine is a stimulant, also known as speed, chalk, meth, ice, crystal, &

glass

May be taken as a pill, snorted, or smoked.

It can be made in a simple home lab using common ingredients.

It increases the release of high levels of dopamine.

Chronic users display emotional and cognitive problems.


Club DrugsClub drugs are synthetic psychoactive substances often found at nightclubs, bars,

“raves,” and dance parties. Examples include:

• MDMA (Ecstasy)

• Ketamine

• Methamphetamine

• GHB

• Rohypnol


Costs of AbuseDirect Costs

• Costs immediately associated with drug crimes themselves.

• Examples: cost of items stolen, costs of clean-up and repair.

Indirect Costs

• Costs that incur as a result of drug crimes, though not directly associated.

• Examples: lost wages, health-related costs, justice system related expenses, can also be feelings—like stress, frustration, and fear.


21

16.1

Alcohol Drugs Alcohol or Drugs

Dependent Only 23% 36% 45%

Abuse Only 24% 18% 23%

Any Dependence or Abuse 47% 53% 68%

No Dependence or Abuse 53% 47% 32%

Under Influence at the Time of The Offense 33% 29% 50%

Drug and Alcohol Use by Jail Inmates

Source: Jennifer C. Karberg and Doris J. James, Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment of jail Inmates (Washington, DC: Bureau of Statistics, 2005).


Drug-Related CrimeDrug-dependent offenders commit a variety of crimes, from minor to serious.

Annually:

• Illegal drug sales in the U.S.— $57 billion industry.

• 382,000 people suffer drug abuse-attributable violent crimes.

• 5.2% of all homicides are drug-related

• 5 million property offenses are committed in order to pay for drugs.

• Most drug offenders are NOT violent offenders

Direct Costs of Drug-Related Crime

The direct costs of drug-related crime have at least three dimensions:

• Economic losses from crimes committed by drug users to get money for drugs or while under the influence of drugs

• Costs associated with buying and selling drugs

• Economic losses due to organized criminal activity in support of the drug trade (including money laundering)


Money LaunderingMoney Laundering- process used by drug dealers to hide the sources of their

revenues to avoid taxes and disguise the financial evidence of drug dealing.

In an effort to catch money launderers, U.S. banking law requires financial institutions to report deposits greater than $10,000, but traffickers try to bypass this by smurfing and structuring.

Smurfing- repeatedly purchasing bank checks in denominations of less than $10,000 which are sent to accomplices in other parts of the country who deposit it into existing accounts.

Structuring- making deposits of less than $10,000 at a time. After accounts are established, the money is withdrawn & deposited in increments elsewhere



Federal Prisoners, by Offense16.1Table 16.1

OFFENSE TYPE NUMBER OF PRISONERS

PERCENTAGE OF INMATEPer POPULATION

Drug Offenses 102,391 50.8%

Weapons, Explosives, Arson 30,509 15.1

Immigration 23,918 11.9

Robbery 8,464 4.2

Burglary, Larceny, Property Offenses 7,017 3.5

Extortion, Fraud, Bribery 10,231 5.1

Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses 5,473 2.7

Miscellaneous 1,827 0.9

Sex Offenses 9,446 4.7

Banking and Insurance, Counterfeit, Embezzlement 898 0.4

Courts or Corrections 609 0.3

Continuing Criminal Enterprise 518 0.3

National Security 96 0.0

Note: Data calculated only for those with offense-specific information available.

Source: Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Quick Facts,” http://www.bop.gov/news/quick.jsp#3 (accessed July 2, 2011).



of All Arrestees Tested Positive for Drugs at the Time of the Offense, No

Matter What The Offense

Increase of Arrests for Drug Law Violations

From 1994–2003

of All Inmates in State Prisons

Are Drug Offenders

25

16.1


Solving the Drug ProblemSix general types of strategies are frequently proposed as useful methods for attacking

the drug problem.

• Strict enforcement

• Asset forfeiture- seizure of cash, property, etc furnished or intended to be furnished by person in exchange for controlled substances (preponderance of evidence)

• Interdiction- intercepting drugs at the border

• Crop control- targeting foreign producers

• Prevention and treatment

• Legalization and decriminalization (making some offenses ‘ticketable’ instead of ’arrestable’ offenses)

Criminal Justice Today Chapter 16 Drugs and Crime Criminal Justice.

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