1. Criminal Justice Today
Chapter 16
Drugs and Crime

2. Drug Abuse
Drug 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

3. 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.

4. Varying Degrees of Acceptability
Some 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

5. Alcohol
Alcohol 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%).

6. 16.3 Drug Use in America Lecture Notes
Drug abuse: Illicit drug use that results in social, economic, psychological, or legal problems for the user.
Chart illustrates Current Illicit Drug Use Among Persons Aged 12 or Older in the United States, 2010
Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings (Rockville, MD: Offi ce of Applied Studies, NHSDA, 2011), p. 12.
Figure 16-2
Source: 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.

7. History of Drug Abuse in America
Many 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.

8. Anti-Drug Legislation
1875—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 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.

9. CSA Schedule I Drugs
Controlled 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

10. CSA Schedule II Drugs
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

11. CSA Schedule III, IV, V Drugs
Schedule 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

12. More Anti-Drug Legislation
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 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.

13. 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 Provided support to local communities to reduce substance abuse among youth.
USA PATRIOT ACT 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. Club Drugs
Club drugs are synthetic psychoactive substances often found at nightclubs, bars, “raves,” and dance parties. Examples include:
MDMA (Ecstasy)
Ketamine
Methamphetamine
GHB
Rohypnol

20. Costs of Abuse Direct 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 Drug and Alcohol Use by Jail Inmates Alcohol Drugs
Alcohol or Drugs
Dependent Only
23%
36%
45%
Abuse Only
24%
18%
Any Dependence or Abuse
47%
53%
68%
No Dependence or Abuse
32%
Under Influence at the Time of The Offense
33%
29%
50%
Source: Jennifer C. Karberg and Doris J. James, Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment of jail Inmates (Washington, DC: Bureau of Statistics, 2005).

22. Drug-Related Crime
Drug-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)

23. Money Laundering
Money 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

24. Federal Prisoners, by Offense
16.1
Federal Prisoners, by Offense
Table 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
National Security 96
0.0
Note: Data calculated only for those with offense-specific information available.
Source: Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Quick Facts,” (accessed July 2, 2011).
Lecture Notes
Drug abuse: Illicit drug use that results in social, economic, psychological, or legal problems for the user. Drug abuse has many consequences including lost productivity, economic impact on users, disease, illness, addiction, wasted human potential, fragmented families, violence and other crimes.
The problem of drug abuse is one of the most serious issues law enforcement faces today.
As a result of the rise of drug crimes, many courts have been overburdened.
Drug abuse is considered a social-order crime but has a large impact on the criminal justice system and society as a whole.
Drug dependence can lead to other crimes such as larceny, robbery and murder.
Controlled substance: A specifically defined bioactive or psychoactive chemical substance proscribed by law. A psychoactive substance is a chemical substance that affects cognitive, feeling or awareness.
Drug: Any chemical substance defined by social convention as bioactive or psychoactive. They can enter the body by injection, inhalation, swallowing or direct absorption.
Recreational drug user: A person who uses drugs relatively infrequently, primarily with friends, and in social contexts that define drug use as pleasurable. Most addicts begin as recreational users.
What is determined a drug is decided by the social convention or agreed upon definitions rather than on any inherent property of the substance itself.
Both the laws and social conventions make strong distinctions between drugs that are socially acceptable and those that are not. Those ideas change over time to reflect what society deems acceptable. For example, alcohol was once considered illegal (prohibition) and as times changed, so did the laws.

25. 16.1
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
Lecture Notes
21% of all inmates in state prisons are drug offenders.
The number of arrests for drug law violations increased by 24% from 1994–2003.
More than half of all arrestees tested positive for drugs at the time of the offense, no matter what the offense (ADAM, 2003).
Teaching Tips
Research the most current criminal justice statistics on the Bureau of Criminal Justice website.
Make the connection between the topics discussed throughout the term.

26. Solving the Drug Problem
Six 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)