There are several ways through which crime is related to illegal drugs. For example, distribution, manufacturing and possession of outlawed drugs are criminal offenses in the United States and many other parts of the world. Some of the drugs that have been noted to be potentially harmful include amphetamine, morphine, heroin and cocaine. These drugs are frequently abused and also have serious negative effects towards the normal functioning of the human body and mind (MacCoun, Kilmer and Reuter 70).
There are gangs, organized criminals and drug cartels that carry out the production and trafficking of these drugs to designated locations. It is imperative to mention that sexual assaults and robbery with violence are some of the drug-related crimes common in modern society. This essay offers a brief discussion of how the abuse of illegal drugs is related to both crime and violence.
Violent crime is an act whereby one person threatens or uses force on another person with the aim of obtaining something forcefully. It may entail murder, robbery, rape or assault (Jacobs 135). There are five types of crimes that are violent according to United States Department of Justice.
These include murder, rape or sexual assault, robbery as well as simple and aggravated assault. However, weapons and threats may not necessary be involved in a violent crime (Goldstein 79). This interpretation of violent crime is misleading people because it should entail physical injury.
Assault is a form of crime that occurs when an individual threatens or uses force knowingly on another person. Individuals who abuse drugs are highly likely to engage in assault crime because they are not psychologically stable. Rape is another type of violent crime that involves forcible sexual acts against an unwilling partner. Drug abusers also engage in robbery crime. The latter involves the use of dangerous weapons by the perpetrators. There are several cases of murder that have been related to perpetrators who are drug addicts.
It is prudent to mention that drug and violence have been noted to be closely related to each other according to some of the latest crime statistics. Hence, it is necessary for the law enforcing agencies to address the drug menace issue before handling actual cases of crime and violence on the ground.
Individual perpetrators who are under the influence of hard drugs such as cocaine, bhang and heroin, are often victims of illegal acquisition and ownership of weapons. These dangerous weapons are then used to commit acts of crime since they need monetary resources to sustain their lives with drugs.
In any case, these drugs are damn expensive and addictive. Therefore, victims of drug abuse are emotionally compelled to satisfy their addictive biological systems using any available means (Moore par.2). It is not possible to separate crime and drugs.
There is also a direct relationship between poverty and crime alongside the use of illegal drugs. Jacobs (134) notes that most poor people find solace in abusing drugs before even turning into crime. Perhaps, poverty can be linked to drug abuse and the emergence of criminal gangs that peddle and traffic dangerous drugs.
Goldstein (96) notes that the increase of violence in the contemporary American society is due to rampant use and excessive abuse of drugs. This implies that the use of drugs, poverty and crime are part and parcel of one significant challenge facing the society today. Therefore, anti drugs abuse and poverty reduction campaigns should be reinforced in order to minimize the rising rate of crime.
Works Cited
Goldstein, Paul. “The Drugs/Violence Nexus: A Tripartite Conceptual Framework,” In James Inciardi and Karen McElrath, The American Drug Scene (6th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Jacobs, Bruce. “Order Beyond the Law,” In Robbing Drug Dealers: Violence Beyond the Law. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 2000. Print.
MacCoun Robert, Beau Kilmer and Peter Reuter. Research on Drugs-Crime Linkages: The Next Generation in National Institute of Justice, Toward a Drugs and Crime Research Agenda for the 21st Century. Washington D.C.: National Institute of Justice, 2003. Print.
Moore, Solomon. Trying to Break Cycle of Prison at Street Level. 2007. Web.