Drug use and crime in USA

"Gil Kerlikoske, the White House director of national drug control policy, said a study by his office showed a strong link between drug use and crime.  Eighty percent of the adult males arrested for crimes in Sacramento, California, last year tested positive for at least one illegal drug.  Marijuana was the most commonly detected drug, found in 54 percent of those arrested.

"The study found similar results in four other cities: New York, Denver, Atlanta and Chicago.  Among the cities, it included examinations of 1,736 urine samples and 1,938 interviews with men who were arrested. 

"Researches found that marijuana was the most popular drug used by men who'd been arrested in all the cities, ranging from a low of 37 percent in Atlanta to a high of 58 percent in Chicago.  Chicago also had the highest overall positive test results, with 86 percent of the men found to have at least one drug in their bloodstreams.

"Cocaine ranked as the second most commonly found drug in all the cities, with the exception of Sacramento, where methamphetamine was number 2, detected among 40 percent of those arrested.

"Saying that drugs are fueling much of the crime in the United States, Kerlikowske used the study to make a pitch for more treatment.

"He said that while more than 60 percent of those arrested in the study had tested positive for at least one drug, 70 percent of the arrestees had never received any drug or alcohol treatment.  As a result, he said, U.S. drug policy should be approached from a public health standpoint, not merely as a criminal justice issue.

"That means addressing those factors that contribute to drug offenses, factors all too often include the disease of addiction."  Kerlikowske said in a speech at the Urban Institute, a public policy research center in Washington.  "It means abandoning simplistic bumper-sticker approaches such as boiling the issue down to a 'war on drugs' or outright legalization." - Rob Hotokainen in McClatchy-Tribune

These findings don't say the cause and effect, however there seems to be a definite correlation.  Someone who has an addiction is less likely able to hold down a job which makes for time occupying and money problems which could then lead to crimes.

Renee Madison, MA, LPC, CSAT is a counselor in Colorado.  She can be reached for appointments at 303-257-7623 or 970-324-6928